Council plans £26.6m property deal to provide hundreds of council homes
Plans to invest over £26million to acquire hundreds of new homes and address the growing need for affordable housing in Leicester have been announced by the city council.
Leicester City Council intends to buy 371 new properties at a cost of £26.6million.
The money will come from £100million of capital set aside by the city council to support the delivery of affordable housing in Leicester and help increase the number of homes available through the council’s housing register. This will include £10.5million from a pot of cash retained from the sale of council properties under the Government’s Right to Buy scheme.
The vast majority (366) of the properties being purchased are a mix of bedsits, studios and one-bedroom flats. The council will also buy four 2-bedroom flats and a three-bedroom house as part of the deal.
Currently, there are 6,366 households on the council’s housing register, waiting for suitable homes. Of these, over a quarter are waiting for one-bedroom accommodation, with the average waiting time between five months for those assessed as being in the highest priority people, and two years.
The Leicester & Leicestershire Housing and Economic Needs Assessment (HEDNA) 2017 concluded that the city needs a further 786 new units of affordable housing each year to meet need.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “There is a desperate need for more affordable housing in the city and we are constantly looking for new ways to provide it. This major investment will significantly increase our housing stock and help address the growing need for affordable homes.
“The Government’s Right to Buy scheme means that we have been forced to sell thousands of council houses over the past 30 years. However, we can only keep half of the money raised through these sales and need to spend it within strict time limits, or we risk losing it all together. This means that it is absolutely vital that we reinvest this cash into replenishing our housing stock to help meet the desperate need for more affordable homes in the city.”
McCann selected as strategic partner for Smart Motorway Alliance
The Smart Motorway Alliance (SMA), created and operated by National Highways, has chosen its roster of contractors and partners for the framework with Nottingham-based McCann selected to work for the alliance across five packages of work.
The Smart Motorway Alliance contract was awarded in April 2021, with seven strategic partners selected to manage the framework on behalf of National Highways – including awarding works to appropriate contractors. These partners include Fluor, Jacobs, WSP, Balfour Beatty, Costain and BAM/Morgan Sindall joint venture.
Over a 10-year period, the alliance framework will be responsible for £4.5bn worth of projects across smart motorway infrastructure on behalf of the government, with work commencing in 2021. McCann has been chosen to work for the alliance across five packages covering motorway communications, road lighting, direction drilling, traffic signs, permanent CCTV systems, radar masts, MIDAS Outstation and side fire radar, ramp metering and traffic counting. It will be a Tier 1 contractor across four of the five packages it has successfully won – taking the lead on planning, budgeting and delivery. The allocation of projects to McCann is still to be determined but the value of works is estimated to be in excess of £49m per annum. News of working for the Smart Motorway Alliance aligns with the company’s three year growth plan set out at the start of 2021, which sets the target of expanding the firm by £60m – £150m by 2024. McCann’s strategic highways director, Clive Leadbetter, said: “Once again we’re delighted to be strengthening our ties to key clients and the Smart Motorway Alliance is an exciting new framework from National Highways which will deliver on key strategic objectives for the government in how we safely and efficiently maintain and upgrade our motorway network using the latest technologies. “Coupled with our SDF wins, we are perfectly placed to achieve our ambitious growth targets in the coming years and show why McCann is a major player in the successful delivery of the country’s infrastructure.”Managing Director, John McCann, said: “The Framework has been designed to encourage collaboration across our industry and we’re really looking forward to partnering with a number of firms we’re already well acquainted with such as Balfour Beatty, Costain and BAM/Morgan Sindall joint venture.
“We’re proud to be delivering once again for National Highways and to have been selected to work for the Smart Motorway Alliance. Our team brings decades of highway and motorway expertise to the framework across multiple disciplines and our track record for safe and reliable delivery speaks for itself.”Industrial unit a clean sweep for cleaning and janitorial supplies wholesaler
Hygienix Ltd, a cleaning and janitorial supplies wholesaler, has completed on a new relocation to Unit 3 Eagle Park, Alfreton Road in Derby.
The letting follows a brief marketing period which generated interest from occupiers from all over the country. The short marketing period enforces the fact that there is still high demand for industrial units in Derby.
William Speed of Salloway Property Consultants, who agreed the deal on behalf of a private client, said: “It is great to see a local company like Hygienix move onto Eagle Park, a scheme we have been involved in since the beginning.
“Eagle Park provides one of the most premium trade counter/industrial locations in Derby and consists of a variety of different occupiers. Adding Hygienix to the list of occupiers helps to boost the tenant mix on the site.”
Nick Walker from Hygienix said: “We have been looking to relocate for some time now so when this property came onto the market, we knew it was right for us. We are very excited to start a new era at Eagle Park, we recognise that it is one of the best trade counter spots in Derby and we can’t wait to make the most of it.”
William Speed added: “It is still evident that high spec industrial units are still extremely popular in Derby with more and more tenants looking for space as we come out of these uncertain times.”
Rolls-Royce delivers 1000th Trent XWB-84 engine built in Derby
Rolls-Royce announced today that it has delivered its 1000th Trent XWB–84, achieving another key milestone for the engine programme. The engine, which will power an Airbus A350-900, was built at the company’s state-of-the-art Production Test Facility in Derby, England.
The Trent XWB-84, the world’s most efficient aero engine in service, is the latest in the Trent family to reach this milestone, and has done so faster than any of its predecessors.
Following its entry into service in 2015, the Trent XWB-84, quickly became the fastest selling large engine of all time. It has now achieved more than eight million engine flying hours in service with more than 30 operators, demonstrating its versatility and capability by flying a range of different routes, from short-range segments to ultra-long-range flights of more than 18 hours.
Enabling our airline customers to build more efficient fleets, the Trent XWB-84 has a 15 per cent fuel consumption advantage over the first Trent engine, goes further on less fuel, and offers leading performance and noise levels. It is also ready to operate on Sustainable Aviation Fuels as they become more available to airlines in the future. In addition, the Trent XWB-84 has contributed to avoiding more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 since it launched in 2015 – that’s the same amount of CO2 it takes to provide electricity to nearly two million homes each year.
As well as offering improved efficiency, the Trent XWB-84 delivers a step change in maturity and reliability for the industry, consistently achieving better than 99.9% dispatch reliability.
Chris Cholerton, President Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace, said: “Reaching this milestone is another great achievement for the Trent XWB-84, which is the most efficient aero engine in service. It is important to our customers to build ever more efficient fleets, and new-generation engines, like the Trent XWB-84 allow them to achieve this. We would like to thank everyone, including our customers, employees, partners and suppliers who have helped create the engine programme’s success.”
Sebastian Resch, Director of Operations Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, said: “We take great pride in our state-of-the-art assembly line in Derby – where our highly-skilled colleagues have accumulated more than 7,500 years of assembly experience. To assemble 1000 Trent XWB-84s has required more than 25 million parts brought together and more than 6,000 assembly steps per engine. This achievement is the result of the skills and dedication of our operations teams, with the strong support of our partners in the programme: GKN Aerospace, ITP Aero, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, as well as our external supply chain.”
Manufacturing orders strongest on record, but supply issues continue to bite
UK manufacturing total order books in November improved to their strongest on record (since 1977), according to the latest monthly CBI Industrial Trends Survey.
The survey of 282 manufacturers also saw export order books at their strongest since March 2019.
Output growth in the three months to November remained firm, increasing at a similarly above-average pace to October and September 2021. 12 out of 17 sectors saw output increase, with headline growth being driven largely by the food, drink & tobacco, electronic engineering, and chemicals sub-sectors. Manufacturers expect output growth to accelerate in the next three months.
Stock adequacy for finished goods worsened to its weakest on record (since April 1977). Meanwhile, expectations for output price growth in the coming quarter were at their strongest since May 1977.
Anna Leach, CBI deputy chief economist, said: “It’s good to see strong order books and output growth in the manufacturing sector holding up as we head into winter. Output growth has been steady for three months now and remains quicker than its long-run average.
“But intense supply side challenges continue to put pressure on firms’ capacity to meet demand. Alongside record order books, stock adequacy was the weakest on record in November and manufacturers are increasingly having to pass on significant cost increases to customers.
“These pressures highlight that the Government was right to establish the supply chain taskforce to address acute challenges. But with these challenges likely to persist into the new year, business is ready to work with the Government to adopt a more holistic, cross-economy approach to identifying solutions which support the entire supply chain.”
Tom Crotty, group director at INEOS and chair of the CBI Manufacturing Council, said: “It is promising that manufacturing total order books have improved to their strongest on record, with output growth seen across the majority of sub-sectors.
“However, cost pressures continue to mount amid ongoing global supply chain difficulties. It is essential that government continues to support manufacturers as we head towards the winter months. Only by working with business can they build back better post-pandemic.”
Brick sales volumes up at Forterra
Forterra, the Northamptonshire-based producer of manufactured masonry products, has hailed a strong trading performance in the four months ended 31 October 2021, with brick sales volumes up 6% vs 2019.
The business is expecting to deliver a 2021 result in line with management’s expectations.
In a trading update the company added that significant cost inflation was being experienced across a range of categories including energy, raw materials and transportation.
It noted that to recover cost inflation, concrete product selling price increases have already been achieved with significant brick price increases secured from 1 January 2022.
Stephen Harrison, Chief Executive of Forterra plc, said: “The strong trading seen in the both the housebuilding and repair maintenance and improvement (RM&I) markets in first half of the year continued into the second half. As expected, we encountered significant pressures across our supply chain in the period, although, due to the agility of our operational management, we have been successful in limiting any disruption.
“We also experienced meaningful input cost inflation, which has had a short-term impact on margins, however we are mitigating this through significant selling price increases. Notwithstanding these factors, we continue to anticipate delivering a full year result in line with management’s expectations, with higher than expected revenues offsetting the increased cost base.
“Heading into 2022 we are optimistic about the continuing buoyant demand for our products, underpinned by favourable market fundamentals. With the brick capacity uplift provided by the new Desford brick factory now only a year away, and with the Wilnecote project increasing our presence in the commercial and specification market from 2023, we are confident that group performance will continue to strengthen.”
PKF Smith Cooper Systems acquires Sci-Net Sage Business
Derby-based PKF Smith Cooper Systems has acquired Sci-Net’s Sage Business Systems Division.
Based in Oxfordshire, Sci-Net Business Solutions’ core business is as a Tier 1 Microsoft
Dynamics & Azure Gold Partner. However, they have also provided Sage solutions and
enjoyed great long term relationships for many years with their loyal group of Sage 200 clients.
Chris Smith, MD of PKF Smith Cooper Systems, said: “The acquisition of Sci-Net’s Sage Division is another positive and sensible step forward for our business. The Sci-net team has done a great job in looking after their Sage clients over the years, but with the ever evolving world of Sage 200 and Sci-net’s increased focus on Microsoft solutions, it is great timing for the clients to benefit from the wider Sage 200 experience of the Smith Cooper team.
“We are excited to work with our new clients and help them move their Sage systems to the next level. We also welcome David Gruby to our company as part of the transaction, who brings many years of Sage 200 experience to our support team.”
Sci-Net commercial and operations director, Kye Souter, said: “We are really pleased with this deal which will allow us to focus fully on our core Microsoft offerings. However, we are also very happy that, in Chris Smith and the team at PKF Smith Cooper Systems, we have found a good home for our loyal Sage clients, most of whom we have worked with for many years.”
PKF Smith Cooper Systems thanked Kye Souter, Duncan Fergusson, and the senior team at Sci-Net, as well as Flint Bishop LLP for their professional assistance in moving this transaction to completion.
PKF Smith Cooper Systems are Sage Business Partners and experts with Sage 200 & Sage Intacct.
Funds to be released to get Corby town investment plan rolling
North Northants Council’s Executive Committee welcomed the announcement of the early release of 5% of the £19.9m Town Fund award by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC, formally Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) at the Executive meeting held last week.
The Executive approved these funds, which total approximately £995,000 to be added to the Capital Programme to get planned projects in Corby off the ground.
This fund will cover the cost of design work, feasibility studies and business case development (including accurate financial projections) for each project, including a Sixth Form College, a Multi-use Building, Corby Station Links and Smart and Connected Corby.
Leader of North Northants Council, Cllr Jason Smithers, said: ”It’s welcome news that a percentage of the funds will be released so that we can get things moving in the right direction regarding the Corby Town Investment Plan. This funding will support the development of business cases and get them to a suitable standard, whilst also allowing us to progress to the next stage of this process.”
Executive Member for Growth and Regeneration, Cllr David Brackenbury, said: “The objective of the Town Fund is to drive the economic regeneration of towns for long-term economic and productivity growth and with the early release of these funds, we can really get moving and make some positive progress.”
Construction of new prison reaches milestone
A Topping Out ceremony to mark the latest milestone in the construction of the new prison at Glen Parva has taken place.
The new prison is expected to be completed in 2023 and sits on the site of the former Young Offenders Institution. It will house up to 1,700 prisoners and create up to 600 new jobs for local people. The new structure is being built with green in mind, with rubble from the old, demolished prison on this site reused.
Green energy will also see more than 960 solar panels and infrastructure for electric vehicle charging points. Power generators during the construction have used specially treated vegetable oil – cutting CO2 by 90 per cent and helping the air quality in Glen Parva.
Leader of the Council, Councillor Terry Richardson, Portfolio Holder for Planning Delivery, Councillor Ben Taylor, Portfolio Holder for Community Services, Les Philimore, and Chief Executive, Julia Smith, attended the ceremony as the final levelling of concrete on the structure was completed.
Blaby District Council has worked closely with Lendlease, the company contracted to build the new prison, to maximise the number of opportunities for community involvement in the new prison.
Initiatives have included school educational visits for students interested in construction, and helping local businesses access routes to tender for work on the site.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and local MP Alberto Costa also attended the ceremony, praising Blaby District Council’s work to support the new prison’s development.
Councillor Terry Richardson, Leader of Blaby District Council, said: “We are delighted to see the progress that has been made on the site of this new prison. It has been fantastic to work with the Ministry and Justice and Lendlease on this project to enable local residents, our young people and local businesses to take advantage of the unique opportunities that have emerged from this construction.
“We will continue our strong relationship as the prison opens to make sure that the local community are kept up to date with the latest news, and can have their say long into the future.”
Blaby District Council has worked closely with Lendlease, the company contracted to build the new prison, to maximise the number of opportunities for community involvement in the new prison.
Initiatives have included school educational visits for students interested in construction, and helping local businesses access routes to tender for work on the site.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and local MP Alberto Costa also attended the ceremony, praising Blaby District Council’s work to support the new prison’s development.
Councillor Terry Richardson, Leader of Blaby District Council, said: “We are delighted to see the progress that has been made on the site of this new prison. It has been fantastic to work with the Ministry and Justice and Lendlease on this project to enable local residents, our young people and local businesses to take advantage of the unique opportunities that have emerged from this construction.
“We will continue our strong relationship as the prison opens to make sure that the local community are kept up to date with the latest news, and can have their say long into the future.” Access Legal expands conveyancing capability with Legal Bricks acquisition
Access Legal, the Law technology specialist, has acquired the Legal Bricks group of companies, a provider of conveyancing searches and property related services to the legal sector.
Part of The Access Group, a Loughborough-based provider of business software solutions to the mid-market, Access Legal’s latest acquisition strengthens its existing footprint in the legal sector. It also extends the breadth of services for current and future customers with the addition of specialist conveyancing capabilities.
Launched in 2017 and based in the West Midlands, Legal Bricks has built a business deploying innovative technology to offer solicitors a customised online property search platform that simplifies and speeds up the conveyancing process.
Legal Bricks also provides a full suite of conveyancing and Anti Money Laundering products, which aim to reduce law firm dependencies on the use of multiple systems, resulting in a quicker and more transparent process.
The acquisition of Legal Bricks complements Access Legal’s vision of creating a first-of-its-kind digital workplace for law firms, bringing together a comprehensive suite of legal software solutions and services delivered through Access Workspace for Legal.
Doug Sawers, Managing Director of Access Legal, said: “The addition of Legal Bricks and its innovative suite of property and conveyancing services moves us closer to the goal of a single sign-on, single vendor, single solution.
“We take pride in listening to our customers and we know that creating a digital workplace has never been more important for law firms to facilitate improved client experience and collaboration. The addition of Legal Bricks extends the suite of relevant solutions we provide, adding even more richness for our customers and will provide a more efficient, simplified platform for managing the property and conveyancing process.
“Existing Legal Bricks customers have been welcomed to Access Legal and we’re confident that their already great experience with Legal Bricks will be further enriched by the Access Group’s investment in people, product development and customer success.”
All Legal Brick’s 40+ strong team will be joining Access Legal, adding another layer of legal expertise to the division. Founder of Legal Bricks, Mike Connelly takes on the newly created role of commercial director at Access Legal.
Commenting on the acquisition, he said: “Access is an exciting software company with a passion for innovation and a customer-centric culture. The decision to acquire us reflects our position as a modern provider of property and conveyancing services to the legal sector.
“It’s always been our aim to help conveyancing firms increase productivity, increase profitability and most importantly, reduce workload, and we know that Access Legal shares those values too. Combining with Access enables us to further harness our investments in technology and gives our customers access to a wider range of specialist legal solutions from a single provider that can help create a comprehensive, optimised Digital Workplace.
“We have formed an incredible team who deliver our products and services allowing customers to better serve their clients. From today we believe that will grow to even greater heights as we combine the Access Legal and Legal Bricks teams.”
This latest acquisition follows Access Legal’s acquisition of integrated cloud IT services provider Oosha earlier this year.
