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Warrington Borough Council is set to revamp the town’s centre after it announced a new £52 million proposal. The new initiative will see a new retail centre emerge, complete with a family-friendly shopping area, featuring restaurants and other leisure experiences. There will also be a contemporary market hall at the heart or the centre that will hopefully boost business in the area. It will be built on the same site that previously accommodated the Boots building on Bridge Street and will therefore preserve a street front entrance feature of the Grade II-listed brick facade. Other key elements include a new multiplex cinema and a civic centre to build community ties. The project, which is subject to a public consultation process and ratification by the …

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Construction work has begun on more than 1,000 homes at an Oxfordshire town. Cherwell District Council has described the 185 acre (75 hectare) site at Longford Park as “Banbury’s largest outstanding housing development”. Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Homes and Bovis Homes have started work on land south of Bankside and east of Oxford Road. The development will have 1,092 homes, shops, a school, a pub and 2,200 sq m (7,200 sq ft) of office space. Michael Gibbard, lead member for planning, said: “We have always included this development in both the local plan and land supply figures so the delivery of these houses will not impact upon either. “However, what it will do is provide people with completed, rather than pending homes to live in.”

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Carillion Alawi has been awarded a £92 million contract by The Oman Hospitality Company SAOC to build the Kempinski Wave Hotel in Muscat, Oman.  The 24 month contract, which is to start this month, involves the construction of a beach front resort including a 309-room 5-star hotel and 77 hotel apartments, to be operated by Kempinski Hotels. The plot is approximately 40,000 m2, and the resort will be built to a maximum five storey height plus basement car parking. Carillion Alawi has previously delivered projects worth £75 million for The Wave, Muscat development. Commenting on the award, Carillion Chief Executive, Richard Howson, said: “We are delighted to have been selected to deliver this contract, which follows a number of significant recent contract wins in Oman and reflects Carillion …

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LIFE finally looks to be getting a little easier for people looking to buy their first home in Scotland, as evidence begins to emerge that activity among first-time buyers is increasing. The new £220 million Help To Buy shared-equity scheme launched last week in Scotland adds to the growing feeling among estate agents, housebuilders and analysts that mortgage prospects are improving for those aiming to reach the first rung of the property ladder, alongside low interest rates and the easing of deposit demands from some lenders. Ian McGrail, managing director of broker FirstMortgage, said: “The introduction of Help To Buy in Scotland comes as a great relief to us as we will now be able to deal with the escalating demand from first-time…

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WORK is set to start on construction of a £6m Wirral indoor skate park and sporting village after the project was given outline planning permission. Rampworx’s plan for a 7,000 sq m complex on land at Valley Road in Bidston that could create up to 35 jobs was unanimously approved by councillors on Wirral’s planning committee when it met on Thursday. It includes a skate park with floor space up to 6,00 sq m and more than 1,000 sq m of commercial floor space. Ancillary facilities would include admin offices, a cafe, flexible learning spaces and business support facilities for young entrepreneurs and car parking. Rampworx, the charity and social enterprise that work with young people to provide sporting and learning opportunities, already has a skate park in Aintree, Liverpool, …

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Pre-engineered construction business Building with Frames has launched a new venture, backed up by support from the Regional Growth Fund. The funding has helped the Truro-based company launch Building with Boxes, aimed at helping businesses expand by using energy-efficient outdoor space. The new product range is constructed with insulated SIPS panels, and combines “inspirational design with quality”, offering extended living/work space outside.

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The scheme at Colegrave House, which sits above The Plaza shopping mall, will see the contractor substantially reconfigure and fit out four storeys of existing accommodation to create new offices for the retail group. Arcadia is the owner of several high street brands including Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Topshop and Topman. Arcadia’s plans for the reconfiguration and refurbishment of the Oxford Street Plaza Centre include the creation of a new 73,500 sq ft flagship retail store, an enlarged double height office reception and a range of retail and gym extensions as well as enlarged offices for the Arcadia Group, which occupies around 125,000 sq ft of offices above the mall. Arcadia Group employs around 600 staff in the 125,000 sq ft of offices on the upper floors. The contract …

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WinPad IO – 10″ IP65 Ruggedized Windows Tablet a fantastic ruggedised tablet for external use, now with 500 nit screen rating and Pixel Qi versions. This fully loaded tablet is highly ruggedized without being over-sized or too heavy. Complete with every connectivity and data capture option available the WinPad® IO has it all. There is now a new model with N2600 CPU and 500 nits screen if you just want a brighter screen and also a Pixel Qi  version, see below for more details. The amazing WinPad® IO encapsulates the new energy efficient OakTrail CPU  platform in a highly ruggedized IP65 and MIL810G proof housing at only 1.6kg.  Combining a sunlight readable display and dual hot-swappable batteries this rugged tablet offers the choice of all wireless radios: WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, 3.5G …

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If you need a measured building survey or even several measured building surveys or a measured building surveyor,  you have come to the right place. If time is of the essence, or clients time constraints are limited on site, we can accommodate you. Whether your survey project is large or small, a single house plan of a few square metres, up to thousands of square metres or several house plans, or a schedule of building plans or ‘As Built’ surveys, we can meet your requirements. We have vast experience of Measured Building Surveys, floor plans, elevational drawings, sections, topographical surveys, everything from private homes & domestic premises, apartment blocks, and flats, Housing Associations, to churches, ecclesiastical buildings, hospitals, NHS Trusts, PCT Trusts, supermarkets, High Street…

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The worldwide consumption of all liquid fuels, including crude oil, is predictably and unexpectedly rising each year – only the first quarter of each year ever sees a dip in demand and, even then, it’s always higher than the levels of previous years. According to the US Energy Information Administration, which independently compiles statistics and presents analyses and prediction based off these, the worldwide demand for liquid fuels (like oil) will be the highest it has ever been by this time next year. In a bid to combat the demand and be able to continue with the rising need to supply, the industry has to make a big push in a number of areas – particularly in the offshore oil industry, which is growing at a similarly …

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