INDUSTRY UPDATES

Each month, PSBJ rounds up the latest public sector construction updates, from new contracts to industry awards.

Leading energy and regeneration specialist Equans has been appointed by Lancashire County Council to deliver a brand-new, modular primary school in Ribblesdale, Clitheroe, which is designed to achieve net-zero carbon status. The new school will provide 210 much-needed new school places for children in the area, and local disruption will be kept to a minimum since the majority of the build will take place off site. The benefits of modular construction are vast; mainly that it allows for a higher build quality, which is also more energy efficient; and means a faster build time as opposed to traditional construction methods. Equans will install a ground-source heat pump, supplying the school with a sustainable source of heat and hot water. Solar PV will also be installed on the roof, which will generate power for the school. Equans has revealed the school will benefit from the company’s School Zero product, which concurrently promises net-zero construction, as well as teaching children about the importance of sustainability. Equans has invested in high-quality curriculum materials and built a portal of useful information for teachers, which has a range of bespoke ‘free-to-all’ materials for Key Stage 1 and 2 including ‘TED’-style talks for teachers to support and grow their understanding of climate change and help them better engage pupils and local communities on the agenda.

National framework provider Pagabo has issued a prior information notice (PIN) for its latest framework – the brand-new Mechanical & Electrical Solutions Framework. Valued at £545m, the framework has been designed as a solutions-based offering to complement Pagabo’s existing suite of frameworks. A range of specialist M&E subcontractors will be appointed to the framework, which will run for four years after going live. Pagabo has already been engaging with M&E providers ahead of issuing this prior information notice. To allow the framework to be open to a full range of suppliers, it will be split into four valuebased lots, allowing organisations to tender for different-sized projects. The national framework will also be split into a number of UK regions. It will be open to all types of public sector bodies, including, but not limited to, blue light services, housing associations, healthcare, education, aviation, highways and infrastructure, rail and nuclear. Jonathan Parker, Head of Construction at Pagabo, said: “We’re very pleased to be bringing a new framework into our suite of services. The drive and demand for more smart buildings has created more work for companies with mechanical and electrical capabilities, especially in support of the healthcare and higher education sectors, which we’re going to help them compete for.”

Global design and technology firm, Arcadis IBI Group Inc., has announced planning permission has been granted for a new 270-person primary school with Meithrin in Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taf. Construction is scheduled to start in April 2023 on the site of the former Chubb Factory, with an anticipated open date of 2024. Rhondda Cynon Taf Council selected Wynne Construction to lead the design team, which includes architect firm Arcadis IBI Group, landscape architect Land Studio, civil and structural engineer Curtins, MEP engineer Troup Bywater Anders and planning consultant Kew Planning. Once complete, the school is expected to replace the facilities located on Darran Terrace, creating a modern space for children to learn with a focus on sustainability and indoor and outdoor learning areas. The new facilities aim to enhance staff and pupil wellbeing and motivation alongside improved standards in academia, life skills, attendance and behaviour. Set to replace an existing Victorian-era school, the project allows for extensive external landscaping, ecological mitigation and space for future school expansion. The school’s design targets a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and aims to be net-zero carbon in operation, with a reduced embodied carbon target of 800kg/CO2m2 in accordance with Welsh Government targets.

The Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool has had its latest six month data refresh where the value of future planned Scottish public sector construction projects has increased £600m to £12.2bn and the number of businesses registered for updates has reached 900. Launched in July 2021 to provide the construction industry with greater knowledge of future public sector construction projects across Scotland, the Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool has now had its half-yearly update, with the online platform showing details of over 1700 individual projects, the value of projects in Pipeline are valued at over £12.2bn, and just under 50 public bodies are registered suppling details of projects across 18 industry sectors. Managed by infrastructure body the Scottish Futures Trust, the Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool was one of the actions coming from the Scottish Construction Leadership Forum’s Recovery Plan, published in October 2020 to support Scotland’s construction industry recover and rebuild better. The Pipeline provides a longer-term view on planned investment up to 2028, with the majority of the forecast spending occurring before 2025. The Pipeline allows the user to simply and easily look at the data using various criteria that include the chosen procurement route, the procuring authority, contract value and sector.

North East property developer Modo Bloc has announced a unique project to support and fund people experiencing homelessness across the region. The Newcastle-based developer has formed a partnership with Christian homelessness charity Oasis Community Housing to donate £2000 towards housing and supporting a homeless person for every new house or two flats it sells this year. Modo Bloc has already sold two properties ‘off plan’ at its luxury, seven design-led, four-storey townhouses development, The Ropes, at St Lawrence Road, overlooking the Ouseburn Valley and River Tyne, in Newcastle. A first donation has already been paid to the charity. George Jenkins, MD of Modo Bloc, explained: “We have a busy, exciting year ahead with new home developments across the city – especially in and around Ouseburn. These projects will set a new standard in residential development and drive regeneration in a key area of the city. As part of our wider plans to be a catalyst for regeneration, we felt it was important to do something with people struggling in the communities in which we invest. It’s important to look to the people as well as living places when trying to build better communities and attractive destinations.”

Work has started on 11 new affordable homes being created at two sites in the north of Plymouth. The £2.4m project is being delivered by Plymouth Community Homes, the city’s largest social housing provider, with support from Plymouth City Council and Homes England, and involves a mixture of two-bed homes and one-bed bungalows created for affordable rent by those in registered housing need in the local area. All of the new homes will be gas free, with air-source heat pumps installed, to help ensure they are more energy efficient for tenants and have a smaller environmental impact. The build has been made possible thanks to £70,000 of funding from the council’s ‘Plan for Homes’ funding pot, £378,000 from Homes England, and surplus land from Plymouth City Council transferred to PCH for a nominal fee of £1. Devon-based firm Coyde Construction is managing the building work, which got underway at both sites last month. Work is expected to complete in winter 2023. Gavin Sutton, Senior Project Manager for Development at Plymouth Community Homes, said: “It’s great to see work starting on new affordable homes for people in Plymouth to help meet the growing need for good quality social housing in the city. We are grateful for the support of our funding partners and of Plymouth City Council in enabling these two sites in the north of Plymouth to be developed.”

Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) has appointed Morgan Sindall Construction to deliver Houghton Regis’ new £25m community and leisure centre, which has been designed to help drive forward the region’s Levelling Up agenda. Morgan Sindall Construction’s Northern Home Counties business is set to deliver a stunning new centre, with superb leisure and community facilities. The project has been procured through the Pagabo National Framework for Major Works. Driven forward by £20m of Government Levelling Up funding, which was announced by Government at the end of October 2021, the new community and leisure centre on the Kingsland Campus will support the post-pandemic health and wellbeing of the area’s community. Residents can look forward to an eight-lane, 25m community swimming pool, which is more than double the size of the pool at the existing Houghton Regis Leisure Centre. To enhance the swimming experience, there will be a learner pool with a movable floor to raise or lower the depth for swimming lessons as well as a separate splash pool. A 127-station, state-of-the-art fitness suite and exercise studio will provide dedicated spaces for a range of different classes. It will also include two squash courts, a cafe, community space, a creche, a children’s outdoor play zone, an outdoor fitness trail and enjoyable public areas.

The names of the first two Passivhaus communities being built by City of York Council have been announced, as work gets underway on the 60% affordable homes on the second zero-carbon site. The first of the council’s sites will be known as Duncombe Square. The second, where work has now begun, will be Burnholme Green. Duncombe Square’s name celebrates the generous green space at the heart of this new community, and remembers the site’s former use as a Ministry of Defence training ground. Burnholme Green reflects the homes’ sustainability, their new private gardens, shared open space and green ginnels. This site is on the grounds of a former school, whose playing fields are now used by the community. Work to clear and level Burnholme Green began last year and work to build the foundations for the 78 new homes starts this month. The total 112 homes on both sites will be 60% affordable and Passivhaus certified. They will be zero carbon in operation, use very little energy to keep warm and comfortable and are highly sustainable with timber frames. The homes’ design began with residents inputting their ideas, which were realised by Stirling Prize-winning architect firm Mikhail Riches. The sites have won a number of awards, including the Housing Design Awards 2022 and the RTPI Planning Excellence Awards 2022.