News

In Brief

■ The Hill Group has renewed its sponsorship of Cambridge United Football Club for the next three seasons. Neil Rowe, Head of Commercial at Cambridge United Football Club commented: “We are proud to continue working with The Hill Group which has been a long-standing partner of the football club. Alongside the excellent work they do building sustainable homes, the company is a leader in community work including providing modular homes to people experiencing periods of homelessness.”

■ Timber distributor James Latham has introduced a new online carbon measurement tool designed to give specifiers the confidence to make greener design choices. The Carbon Calculator has been developed in partnership with the University of Bangor and is part of the company’s commitment toward sustainable construction and design, helping specifiers make more informed, lower-carbon choices.

■ Figures recently released by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) indicate construction apprenticeships have bounced back from the pandemic, stronger than ever. The Modern Apprenticeship Statistics report reveals that the number of Construction and Related Modern Apprentices (MAs) in training for the end of quarter three 2021-22 was 12,814, which is 254 more apprentices than in 2019-20 and account for 32% of the 34,000 apprentices in Scotland.

Appeal of new-builds rose during the pandemic

Over a quarter of homeowners (26%) are more likely to consider purchasing a new-build property compared to before the pandemic, new research from FJP Investment has revealed.

The investment firm commissioned an independent survey of 1,185 UK homeowners and homebuyers. It found that 50% would be willing to buy a newbuild for their next home, with the figure jumping to 65% among those aged 18-34.

The research revealed nearly two fifths (39%) of homebuyers viewed new-build developments as part of the search for the last property they bought. Almost a quarter (24%) of respondents said they would consider investing in a new-build property but not living there.

Nearly three quarters (74%) said they are attracted to the greater energy efficiency of new homes. Over two thirds (68%) consider the modern facilities and furnishings to be another appealing factor, while 45% said that a big selling point is that new-builds are free from the complications that come with a property that has had previous owners.

Jamie Johnson, CEO of FJP Investment, said: “The UK property market has been a hive of activity over the past 18 months, and our research clearly shows that more people are now considering new-builds for their next home or property investment. The greater energy-efficiency and conveniences that modern developments afford stood as a key factors working in the favour of new-builds.”

British Gypsum launches new training offering

British Gypsum has opened the doors to a newly refurbished training academy at its Head Office in East Leake, Leicestershire. Designed to provide an enhanced practical training environment for those already in the industry as well as the next generation of installers, the new training academy is part of an investment that the company has made to help upskill and increase the competency of those already in the industry, and ensure that it does its bit to help the industry close the skills gap.

James Maclean, Head of Training Academies said: “We are committed to lead the way as a trusted partner and provide the support and facilities to help produce better building outcomes, so we are delighted to have invested in our training offering and open the doors to our new training academy in East Leake.

“As the UK’s leading manufacturer of high-performance drylining solutions, our customers rely upon us to provide them with the correct technical and installation advice, so we are pleased to be able to provide them with state of the art training facilities, increase the number of courses we offer and develop more resources that are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure that we do all we can to help the industry close the skills gap.”

To discover more please go to www.rdr.link/dad001

ASHPs fitted at Somerset development

Delamare Park is the first Barratt development in the country with no gas supply or connection on-site, in a move that the company says will ‘pave the way for future developments’.

All 82 properties at Barratt Homes’ Delamare Park development are fitted with air source heat pumps as standard. The Ecodan air source heat pumps installed at the development have an ErP (Energy Related Products Directive) A++ performance rating and can be controlled via a smartphone, tablet or computer.

Louise Ware, Sales Director at Barratt David Wilson Homes South West, said: “We’re really excited to be the first team within Barratt Developments to fit air source heat pumps in our homes. Heat pumps are clean and highly efficient and the way to a greener future.”

Danger of falling from height underlined in new report

Property developers are being reminded that falling from height remains the number one cause of fatal and non-fatal incidents in the construction sector. The findings, collated by specialist providers of plant hire in London, Herts Tools, used construction statistics from Health and Safety Executive reports from 2018 to 2021.

Stefano Lobban, Director at Herts Tools, said: “Although there will always be accidents in the wider construction industry, we can never stop trying to reduce them. These latest findings show just how far we have to go, with fatalities continuing to rise, despite the UK having some of the most thorough health and safety regulations anywhere.

“Training is key to protecting workers, whether it’s highlighting dangers or teaching workers to make their own risk assessments on site. Then there’s ensuring workers have all the PPE they need, such as helmets, safety goggles and slip-resistant footwear.

“I hope these findings act as a wake-up call to the industry and we’ll see a reduction in incident numbers next year.”

To read the full report please go to www.rdr.link/dad002

Close Brothers launches Tomorrow’s Developer

Close Brothers Property Finance has launched ‘Tomorrow’s Developer’, a network to support the next generation of housebuilders.

The move comes amid the lender’s survey of the younger generation, which found that 85% felt more could be done to help them progress as SME housebuilders. The survey also highlighted the major barriers to entry as funding (85%), sourcing sites (52%) and planning (45%).

Andrew Argent, Business Development Manager, Close Brothers Property Finance, commented: “For decades now the number of SME housebuilders has been in decline – with 80% fewer developers now operating than 30 years ago. To reverse this trend and plug the widening skills gap, we must find ways to help young people to start their own enterprises. Tomorrow’s Developer is the start of that journey and we’re very excited to help lay the foundations for the future of housebuilding in the UK and provide tangible, practical and concrete advice on how to break down the barriers to entry into property development.”

For further information on the network and the programme of events please go to www.rdr.link/dad003

Grant launches heating podcast

Grant UK has launched the ‘Net Zero Heating Show’ – a podcast covering low carbon heating solutions featuring industry experts and engineers.

The podcast discusses a range of topics relating to domestic home heating and how it can be more sustainable. Amongst the topics are the Government’s decarbonisation strategy and the different ways heat pumps can be installed.

“We are incredibly excited to unveil our Net Zero Heating Show podcast,” comments Anna Wakefield, Head of Marketing at Grant UK. “More and more of us are listening to podcasts, either as an alternative listen to traditional radio or for inspiration while out walking or exercising. We are incredibly grateful to our hosts and guests who gave up their time to take part – their viewpoints and comments are insightful and should give listeners plenty of food for thought.”

To discover more please go to www.rdr.link/dad004

Persimmon to appoint more women into trainee construction roles

Persimmon Homes marked the recent International Women’s Day by launching its Target 50 initiative – with the aim of bringing 50 additional female apprentices or technical trainees into constructionrelated roles across the country this year.

The initiative forms part of Persimmon’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Madi Pilgrim, Director of Talent and Diversity at Persimmon, said: “On International Women’s Day, I am delighted to recognise the contribution and achievements of all the women who work for Persimmon, and I am also excited to announce our Target 50 challenge.

“There is no doubt that welcoming 50 female apprentices or technical trainees into construction-related roles this year is a stretching target, but we are fully committed to achieving the goal.”

Millie Slack (pictured) is an apprentice quantity surveyor working in the North Midlands area. “I’ve found coming into the construction industry a lot easier than I originally thought before joining Persimmon Homes,” said Millie. “Construction is known as a male dominated industry, but I wouldn’t let this put me off. I wanted to come in and show that I’m just as capable as anyone else.”

For more information about Target 50 please go to www.rdr.link/dad005

Maintain showering performance

Following the recent incentives being announced by Thames Water for housebuilders installing low-flow showers, Methven is advising specifiers to consider how to overcome any impact on showering performance.

Thames Water has recently announced measures to protect its water stressed region by rewarding housebuilders, developers and specifiers for installing low-flow showers and other technologies to save water. As well as offering discounts on the cost of joining the sewage network the company is also offering further incentives for housebuilders looking to reduce water usage in their properties.

Martin Walker, CEO for Methven, commented: “We’re encouraged by these new incentives that Thames Water has set out, water shortages in the UK are becoming increasingly worrying and as a manufacturer we have been committed to bringing about real change in the bathroom industry.

“One of the things we hear time and time again from housebuilders, developers and specifiers is that they worry that lowflow products will have an impact on performance. That is why we’ve invested heavily in water saving technologies to ensure that they deliver the highest standards in water efficiency without compromising on form or function.”

The company’s Satinjet, Aurajet and Vjet shower spray technologies provide low-flow rates and focus on harnessing the natural power of water.