In today’s news, we will look into the new phosphate regulations that hit ten of thousands of new homes and will cost the economy £16bn. Chester’s Northgate Development has been praised for its efforts to preserve the city’s Roman heritage. The award for Best Refurbishment or Revitalization Project in the United Kingdom goes to the Buxton Crescent Hotel & Thermal Spa in Derbyshire. Due to “national economic concerns” and an increase in price of £5 million, the Knowsley council decided to postpone building of the six-screen cinema.

New phosphate regulations affect thousands of new homes

Original Source: River pollution: New phosphate rules hit thousands of planned new homes

River pollution may delay or scrap tens of thousands of new homes, costing the economy £16bn.

Animal and human faeces contain phosphate, which is polluting rivers.

Tougher phosphate pollution regulations might affect 100,000 new homes in England and Wales.

Developers want governments to act quickly.

Our need for cheap food contributes to pollution.

A BBC investigation showed that demand has fueled an industry that threatens the environment.

More must be done to conserve the UK’s waterways, say campaigners.

More than 5,000 new dwellings in Wales are affected by 2020 phosphate pollution goals. The economy might lose £700m.

Delays may cost £16bn.

100,000 homes in 74 locations of England are affected by phosphate limitations on house building, according to the Home Builders’ Federation (HBF).

HBF estimates a £16bn loss in England and Wales economic activity.

The BBC fact-checked an industry standard model that estimates new purchasers’ financial footprint, including local spending and taxes.

“Government agencies have imposed moratoriums on house development throughout broad swaths of the country for nutritional neutrality,” stated HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley.

“The government must reevaluate the consequences of these expenditures and moratoriums to guarantee that the industry can produce badly needed new homes and the attendant social and economic benefits.

“After almost three years of homebuilder pleadings, the government seems to be looking for solutions, but we need quick actions that reflect the scope and urgency of the issue.”

“Damage”

Natural England, a UK government agency, warned phosphate contamination is inflicting “severe damage” to rivers and wetlands and their wildlife and made £100,000 available for each impacted river basin.

Natural England’s Melanie Hughes remarked, “We need these areas to safeguard us from climate crisis impacts like drought.”

“Their protection and improvement support our economy and well-being.

“Nutrient Neutrality ensures that new housing doesn’t add to the problem by allowing developers to decrease pollution by creating wetlands.

“Natural England works together with the government, local governments, developers, and planning authorities to produce development solutions. It’s now.”

First Minister Mark Drakeford of Wales met with farmers and water businesses to discuss phosphate pollution and summer house building.

High levels of phosphate and other nutrients in rivers can cause algal blooms and the loss of many river species, including fish, birds, invertebrates, and plants.

BBC Wales Investigates investigated the River Wye on the England-Wales boundary.

One of the UK’s most environmentally diversified waterways, it supports salmon, otters, and kingfishers.

Ecosystem will “collapse”

River Wye is deteriorating. NRW believes that roughly three-quarters of phosphates in the river come from farming.

Gail Davies-Walsh of Afonydd Cymru said, “We can’t wait any longer.”

“If this continues, the ecosystem will collapse.

“It’s salvageable, but it’ll take a lot of working together and all those sectors doing their part, and we’re seeing delays in that happening.”

Intensive farming pollutes?

Activists blame extensive chicken farming.

Since 2008, more than 300 intensive poultry farms and farm additions have been approved in Powys, which encompasses much of the Wye.

Water quality testing hasn’t shown a relationship between river phosphates and chicken farms.

National Farming Union Cymru President Aled Jones said agriculture is part of the problem.

“Complex issue. Many other factors contribute to river water quality.

“We need proof. We’ll respond once the evidence is clear.”

Lancaster University modelled how much muck is generated in the Wye catchment.

In the River Wye basin, animal dung generates 7,500 tonnes of phosphorus annually.

These crops can only absorb 4,500 tonnes of muck, leaving a surplus.

Dr. Shane Rothwell of Lancaster University remarked, “If you have too much phosphorus in your ecosystem, you’ll have worse water quality.”

Man Made wetlands to reduce river pollution?

Near the Wye in Herefordshire, construction has begun on the first wetlands funded by “phosphate credits.”

Similar to carbon offsetting, these techniques stop phosphate from entering waterways.

Luston’s wetlands should prevent 200kg of phosphate from entering the river each year.

Sewage floods Britain’s coastlines

French outrage over UK sewage dump

Why is sewage dumped at sea?

Merry Albright has 52 housing projects on hold owing to phosphate limits, but the wetlands scheme helps.

Developers don’t mind helping biodiversity.

Her words: “We’re being blamed for a problem new housing didn’t cause and expected to pay for a solution that won’t address it.

“I’m pleased to help the environment, therefore I’m not looking to eliminate red tape, but I do want people to focus on what caused this and how to remedy it.”

In England, Defra has tripled its workforce and agricultural inspections from 300 to 1700 a year. They want to conduct 4,000 annual inspections.

NRW enforces Wales’ water quality laws. They’re negotiating with the Welsh government for more money to enforce environmental standards.

Siân Williams of NRW said, “People on the ground are crucial.”

“We’re looking at temporary externally sponsored programs and baseline Welsh government spending.”

Lesley Griffiths, Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister, said the government was working on “immediate wins” and long-term solutions.

She answered, “Of course I’m part of the solution.” “Everyone must take responsibility”

Northgate Development in Chester hailed for preserving Roman heritage

Original Source: Chester’s Northgate Development praised for care to preserve Roman heritage during building work

Archaeologists applauded Cheshire West and Chester Council for minimising damage to the city’s Roman history.

The £72 million scheme’s planning approval established a disturbance objective, which the building team met by disturbing the Deva fortress under Northgate less than projected.

The council planned the site’s building with Vinci Construction UK and Oxford Archaeology North to minimise intrusion.

Historic England lauds their efforts.

New buildings were built to minimise archaeological damage. A comprehensive mitigation approach was developed in cooperation with the Cheshire Archaeology Planning Advisory Service and approved by Historic England to minimise incursions into sensitive strata.

The Northgate location lies in the north-west corner of the huge Deva Roman stronghold, which was first built in AD 70s. Barracks, stores, and officers’ housing quarters had painted plaster and concrete floors.

During the works, about 10,000 Roman artefacts were uncovered, including over 2,000 ornamental and functional pottery fragments from Spain, Germany, and southern England.

Glassware, copper-alloy keys, tweezers, and a bone token were also found. A ceiling tile or antefix displaying the name of the Twentieth Legion (Leg XX) and its emblem, a running boar, has been chosen as the logo of the new market in acknowledgment of the site’s Roman past.

Despite all the development, no substantial archaeological remains were damaged. The actual impact figure was under 2.4%, allowing valuable archaeological remains to be left undisturbed in conformity with the National Planning Policy approach to protecting such major historic remains.

Archaeologists recorded and excavated ancient deposits that couldn’t be left in place during construction. Once inspected and cleaned, they will be sent to the Grosvenor Museum.

Andrew Davison, Historic England’s inspector of ancient monuments for the North West, said the initiative “sets a high precedent for excellent practice in historic cities.” Despite minimal damage to valuable archaeology, the Northgate excavations have taught us a lot about Chester’s Roman growth.

Councillor Richard Beacham, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Growth, Economy and Regeneration, said, “It has been a truly impressive achievement to complete the archaeological element of the project with so little intrusion and yet it has given us fresh insight into the lives of ordinary Romans who lived in Chester nearly 2,000 years ago.�

Rachel Newman, senior executive officer for Oxford Archaeology North, said, “We’re delighted to have been involved with this project, from the planning and design process in 2014 to the fieldwork on site during construction. We look forward to seeing the work published in the Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society.”

New Chester Market opens Nov. 5.

Derbyshire hotel and spa wins prize for 1780s refurbishment

Original Source: Derbyshire hotel and spa wins award for beautiful restoration of 1780s building

Buxton Crescent Hotel & Thermal Spa in Derbyshire is the UK’s Refurbishment/Revitalization Project of the Year.

The winners were announced at The Londoner Hotel, Leicester Square, on Friday, October 21.

The Crescent Hotel & Thermal Spa stood out because of its restored Grade-I architecture. The Crescent was built between 1780 and 1989 and has been rebuilt into an 81-room luxury spa hotel, a thermal mineral water spa, a visitor experience, and six shops.

They joined with Trevor Osborne Property Group and CP Holdings Ltd (who own Danubius/Ensana Hotel and Spa Group) in 2003. The hotel and spa opened in October 2020 under Covid-19 limitations after a summer 2020 restoration.

The Fifth Duke of Devonshire erected the Crescent in Buxton in the 1780s. The Grade 1 listed building is one of the UK’s most important architecturally.

The restoration of a unique Georgian structure in an urban context took more than two decades. It is a worthy winner and can be supported as the restoration of the decade.

David Brooks-Wilson FRICS, chair of the judging panel, said, “The judging panel and I were extremely impressed with the passion of the teams behind these winning projects. They are a great monument to the relentless dedication of industry experts across the UK.”

“Their talent and collaborative approaches have resulted in excellent and inventive schemes that are the best-built in the region.

“Each of the winning projects is having a profoundly good influence on their local area, and the RICS is glad to honour the hard effort that went into delivering them successfully, especially during the epidemic.

“The teams behind them should be pleased with aiding their communities and local economy.

Ten national RICS Award winners are:

Commercial Development Project – Hylo, London

Community Benefit Project – The Wilds, Barking Riverside, London

Environmental Impact Award – St Sidwell’s Point, Exeter

Heritage Project – Seaton Delaval Hall, Whitley Bay

Infrastructure Team of the Year – North West Multi-Modal Transport Hub Project Team, Northern Ireland

Outstanding Large Surveying Firm Team – Investors and Insurers Team, Arcadis Lenders

Outstanding Small Surveying Firm/Team – Modus Construction Consultants Ltd

Public Sector Project – Erne Campus, South West College, Northern Ireland

Refurbishment/Revitalisation Project – Buxton Crescent Hotel and Thermal Spa Project, East Midlands

Residential Project – Perry Barr Regeneration Scheme, West Midlands

Buxton Crescent Hotel & Thermal Spa in Derbyshire, East Midlands, is UK’s Refurbishment/Revitalisation Project of the Year. The awards honoured the UK’s best building projects. The Grade-I listed building was renovated into an 81-room luxury spa hotel. The Grade-I listed building is architecturally noteworthy in the UK. The renovation includes a thermal spa. It took more than two decades to restore an urban Georgian building. It may be named the decade’s best restoration.

Knowsley halts Kirkby cinema amid escalating costs

Original Source: Knowsley halts Kirkby cinema project over rising costs

The council halted construction of the six-screen cinema due to “national economic uncertainties” and a £5m price hike.

Knowsley Council planned to borrow money to pay for the project, with cinema and restaurant owners repaying the debt. The project would have broken even based on interest rates in early 2022, the council said.

Cllr Tony Brennan, Knowsley Council’s regeneration and economic development cabinet member, said the decision was difficult but necessary given the country’s financial situation.

“We’re confronting growing costs, inflation we haven’t seen in almost 40 years, and the detrimental impact of recent government policy announcements,â€� he stated.

“It’s aggravating that this government’s actions in a few weeks have turned everything upside down and caused us to put our plans on hold. We hoped to start the scheme before the end of the year, but now we must wait for markets to settle and better economic certainty.”

Brennan said an additional £5m for a cinema couldn’t be justified given the cost of living crisis.

“But I want to emphasise that our ambition for Kirkby and Knowsley has not decreased,” he said. “We aren’t writing this project off – we’re suspending it.”

November 2020 granted cinema planning permit. More than three years earlier, Reel Cinemas was confirmed as the operator.

Three-story movie structure with three eateries. Saunders Architecture + Urban Design designed a 34,000-square-foot building.

Morgan Sindall Construction was granted the pre-construction contract in February with the expectation that it will also do the construction.

Fairhurst was the plan’s civil and structural engineer. M&E consultant Budd Bentley. John Francis Planning and Transport Planning Associates also participated.

The cinema would be located on Cherryfield Drive, near the former Kirkby Library.

Knowsley isn’t the only council to stop a regeneration project. Salford City Council shelved plans for a Pendleton leisure centre after construction costs climbed by £3m.

Manchester’s Factory International cost further £25.2m due to rising building expenses. Manchester’s Town Hall building expenses rose £17m.

Summary of today’s construction news

Overall, today we discussed the construction of tens of thousands of new homes might be slowed down or even cancelled due to pollution in rivers, which would cost the economy £16 billion. Archaeologists were pleased with the efforts made by Cheshire West and Chester Council to preserve as much of the city’s Roman heritage as possible. Buxton Crescent Hotel & Thermal Spa in Derbyshire is the UK’s Refurbishment/Revitalization Project of the Year. It was built between 1780 and 1989 and renovated into an 81-room luxury bath hotel, a thermal mineral water spa, a visitor experience, and six shops, and it stood out because of its restored Grade-I architecture. Construction on the six-screen cinema was suspended by the council as a result of “national economic uncertainty” and an increase in cost of £5 million.