Leicestershire BUILDER Magazine • NOVEMBER 2015 • Tel: 01530 244069
Leicester City The Clowes Arms (c/o Agent: Karan Chadha, MKC Design Consultants) Change of use of first floor and loft from rooms ancillary to public house to one 4-bed flat and one 2-bed flat, with dormers to front and rear - at 29 Portsmouth Road, Leicester. Leicester Independent Living Consortium (c/o Agent: Lee Searles, Enzygo Ltd, The Byre, Woodend Lane, Cromhall, Gloucestershire GL12 8AA) - Two and three storey building containing 82 extra care flats, communal facilities and cafe at Former Queensmead School, Hamelin Road, Leicester. Singla Properties Ltd (c/o Agent: Keshiv Sudera, Design Studio Architects Ltd, 1B Salisbury Road, Upper New walk, Leicester LE1 7QR) - Change of use from house to 2 flats - at 2 Westbury Road, Leicester. Westdale Court Ltd (c/o Agent: Neil McMinn, Ink/Drawn Ltd, Federal Tower, 44 Abbey Street, Leicester LE1 3TD) - Four and six storey block of 104 flats to extend existing six storey block of 15 flats with 58 bedrooms at 118 Western Road, Leicester. Leicester Independent Living Consortium (c/o Agent: Lee Searles, Enzygo Ltd, The Byre, Wootton under Edge, Gloucestershire GL12 8AA) Three storey building containing 73 extra care flats, communal facilities, landscaping and access road - at Tilling Road, Leicester. Mrs Priti Sachdev (c/o Agent: Dennis Dziko, Zone Development, 7274 Western Road, Leicester LE3 0GE) - Change of use of second floor from 2 flats to 8 student bedsits - at 1820 Albion Street, Leicester. Mr T O’Sullivan (c/o Agent: Andy Sell, AJS Architectural Services, 41 Braunstone Avenue, Leicester LE3 0JH) - Erection of 6 new dwellings adjacent to public house - at land adjacent to The Adventurers, Felley Way, Leicester LE3 9TA. Hazelton Homes/NHS Trust (c/o Agent: Kevin Twigger, KRT Associates Ltd, Rushall House, School Road, Brewood, Staffordshire ST19 9DS) - Erection of 18 dwellinghouses - at Former Towers Hospital, Herongate Road & Grosvenor Gate, Leicester. Mr Nadeem Hussain (c/o Agent: Jamal Mahmud, JKM Building Design Ltd, 59 Longley Farm View, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S5 7JX) - Change of use from 2 houses to 4 flats, external staircase at rear plus alterations - at 6-8 Medway Street, Leicester.
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The bounce back begins • • • •
Glenigan Index for October down 2% year on year. September and August both see strong levels of new construction project starts. But a weak July, the result of election hiatus, holding back growth. Project approvals point to widespread growth across the UK and across the industry’s sectors.
The construction industry has solidified further gains after a summer slump, according to figures released in mid-October by industry analysts Glenigan. The latest Glenigan Index shows that construction activity is shaking off the effect of one of the most unpredictable elections in recent British history as confidence returns to the industry’s clients. The underlying value of new schemes starting on site was 2% lower than a year earlier during the third quarter. This drop was entirely due to a weak July; both August and September saw work well above a year earlier, driven by private housing, commercial and industrial project starts. The strongest area of expansion was in private housing, where the value of starts was up 15% on a year earlier. The private residential sector has been the strongest construction sector during 2015 so far, with starts up 9% over the first three quarters of the year compared to this stage a year ago. Non-residential starts as a whole were down 6% on a year earlier, as modest growth in private sector activity was insufficient to outweigh continued weakness across the public sector. Though industrial starts were up 10%, growth in retail (7%) and offices (3%) was weaker, while the hotel and leisure sector slipped back (-7%). Glenigan Index for OctoberNonresidential starts were dragged back by the health and community and amenity sectors where starts were down by over a third on a year earlier. More positively, education starts have edged back into growth, up 1% on a year earlier. Education starts have been buoyed during the third quarter by £20 million plus schemes at Edinburgh, Birmingham City and Leeds Universities. Commenting on this month’s figures, Allan Wilén, Glenigan’s Economics Director, said: “Glenigan recorded an unprecedented freeze in university projects starting on site ahead of the election. However universities now appear to have renewed confidence in their funding and are pressing ahead with planned schemes.” While starts have spluttered during 2015, there has been a steady flow of additions to the pipeline of future projects. According to Allan Wilén: “During the first three quarters of this year the underlying value of projects receiving planning approval has risen by 15%. Moreover, of the 11 construction sectors, 9 have seen growth, pointing to progress across
the industry.” The latest index figures show a decline in seven of the UK’s devolved nations and English regions, and growth in five. The West Midlands has bounced back strongly: Having seen declining activity for the last year, the value of starts rose a strong 41% on a year earlier. The North East also saw a strong 34% expansion, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber where starts were up 16%. Of those areas seeing a decline, most were fairly modest. The North West, South East, South West and East Midlands all saw starts at between 2% and 6% down on
a year earlier. However sharper declines were recorded in Wales, Scotland and in the Capital, where starts were 19% lower than a year earlier. Mr Wilén concluded: “Approvals are up in 11 of the 12 constituent English regions and nations of the UK, with only the capital seeing approvals down compared to a year earlier. This points to the recent rise in confidence, evidenced by the strong levels of starts during August and September, driving widespread growth in construction over the coming 12 months.”
The bishop came to our church today but I think he was an imposter. He never once moved diagonally.