News

Unfair letting fees have long been a problematic issue and it wasn’t until the the late 2016 Autumn Statement produced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, that the problem was tackled head-on at last. The statement was given on the 23rd of November 2016 last year in the Parliament (the full version can be found here, on the official government’s website) and the news spread rapidly like wildfire and raised numerous questions among tenants, landlords, letting agents and property portfolio managers alike all across the country. Will tenants really save hundreds? In recent years, fees had become so out of control that when the Autumn Statement was publicly released, it resulted in a 13pc share prices drop for Foxtons, one of the most high-market estate agencies …

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The 100 metre high pylon for Sunderland’s new £117m bridge is set to be lifted into position in the coming two weeks. The 1550-tonne A-frame tower will be raised at the site of the city’s new bridge over the River Wear during a carefully orchestrated operation that is likely to take up to 24 hours to complete. Nothing of this scale has been lifted in this way in the UK since the London Eye was raised in 1999. The white pylon was transported to the site of the New Wear Crossing from the Port of Sunderland during the early hours of last Thursday. The New Wear Crossing is being built on behalf of Sunderland City Council by Farrans Construction and Victor Buyck Steel Construction. During this week, it…

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Liverpool City Council is set to sell its former administrative headquarters to a Singapore based developer who plan to turn it into a hotel. The sale of the Municipal Building on Dale Street to Fragrance Group Limited (FGL) is set to be rubber-stamped next month. The Grade II listed city centre office is expected to be handed over in Spring. Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, Cabinet member for regeneration, said: “Municipal Building has been a magnificent home for Liverpool City Council since the 1860s but we no longer have the staff numbers to justify retaining it. “I’m delighted we have a buyer of international repute who is looking to use Liverpool to break into the UK and European hotel market. “This will have a great impact in terms…

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TIMco, one of the UK’s largest independent wholesale suppliers of screws, fixings and power tools accessories, has introduced the innovative cavity wall fixing, Zip-Fix, to its newly extended range of products.  The fixing is an ideal heavy duty hollow wall anchor that’s suitable for use in plasterboard, concrete block, cavity walls and ceilings. The new product, one of more than 700 new items in the latest TIMco brochure, is available in bags of ten and provides the ideal anchor for hanging radiators, TV brackets and cabinets.  The Zip-Fix anchor can be used on a number of substrates including plasterboard (12.5 and 25mm thick) as well as 15mm dense board and block and, with safety factors applied, is capable of holding weights between 30 and 60kg. Simon Midwood…

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The field of industrial doors includes many different models, and each one is conceived for specific uses and have special features. Let’s see some of the main types of industrial doors, their peculiarities and their most common applications! Sectional doors: one of the main peculiarities of these types of doors, which are also used in residential contexts, is their vertical opening. The fact that they open vertically brings a big advantage, since this permits to save space both in front and behind the door itself. Also for this reason sectional doors are very versatile and can be used in various different contexts. Sectional doors can be both manual and motorized (in this case they can be equipped with remote automatic control) and the safety of the lifting …

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CLOCS commends new national Vulnerable Road Users course for construction industry Considerate Constructors Scheme creates e-learning course on Best Practice Hub to achieve greater awareness of vulnerable road users London, United Kingdom, 18 January 2016: The Best Practice Hub – the construction industry’s free to access online platform for sharing best practice – has produced an e-learning course about Vulnerable road users. Launched on 9 January, the course is designed to increase knowledge and understanding of the risks construction activity can pose to vulnerable road users and provides practical methods which can be adopted to minimise these risks. It is available to all registered Best Practice Hub users. A fundamental part of the course is to provide participants with an understanding of CLOCS – the national standard for …

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5 tips for tackling a listed property restoration in 2017 If you have been thinking of getting your listed property spruced up, whether it’s an extension or re-structuring the foundations, there are fundamental things that you will need to consider before. Sarah Khan, a member of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) and Jonathan Clark who is a member of the RIBA conservation group share their top tips on approaching a listed building restoration. Be particular with restoration scale According to RIBA accredited Conservation Architect Sarah Khan if you plan on doing work to both the interior and exterior of the building, you’ll need to apply for listed building consent and planning permission. If your listed building is in a conservation area, you’ll need to…

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January 17, 2017 – Construction firms’ call handling standards have come into question as the result of a major new study into telephone practice. The research conducted by audio branding specialist PHMG, which audited 185 firms in the construction industry, discovered the large majority risk losing custom by subjecting customers to generic music and audio while on hold. Typically, waiting on hold is seen as a major bugbear but 54 per cent of construction companies still leave customers listening to nothing but generic music. A further 26 per cent subject them to beeps, while 16 per cent leave callers in silence and four per cent force them to listen to ringing. No companies were found to employ brand-consistent voice and music messaging – viewed as the best practice approach to handling calls …

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Councils across England are today finding out their share of £1.2bn local roads funding for the next financial year. Transport Minister Andrew Jones announced funding to improve roads, cut congestion and improve journey times includes money from the new National Productivity Investment Fund, announced in the Autumn Statement and the Pothole Action Fund. It also includes £75m which councils can bid for to repair and maintain local infrastructure such as bridges, street lighting and rural roads. The government has today also published further information about what the funding will be spent on – the latest step in the economic plan to stimulate the economy and build a country that works for everyone. A key part of this is putting in place improved transport links including …

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Kier and Galliford Try have together secured over £60m in Government funding to build affordable homes. The funding, which for the first time saw cash handed to contractors as well as housing associations, formed part of a £1.28bn tranche of first round grant awards under the 2016-21 Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme. Among the housing contractors securing Government support for the first time Kier bagged nearly £42m to deliver 1,378 homes, plus 335 associated but non-funded affordable homes.. Galliford Try was awarded almost £19m for 530 affordable homes, Keepmoat bagged nearly £18m for 439 homes and Lovell secured over £11m for 420 homes. Private builder Westleigh Developments was also allocated £48m of grant to build 1,590 new homes under the programme. The first round of…

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