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Leeds Council begins major office refurbishment and signs long term HQ lease

Merrion House, Leeds

Merrion House, Leeds

Leeds City Council has signed a new 25 year lease on its headquarters building Merrion House as part of a programme aimed at consolidating its property portfolio and housing the majority of its staff under one roof. The council claims the long term deal will save it £15 million over the course of the lease following work on a complete office refurbishment and a consolidation of its estate in the city centre. The refurb includes the addition of a new 50,000 sq ft six-storey extension  bringing the total space to around 170,000 sq ft. The revamped HQ will be home to around 1,900 staff including 700 who will move from 13 other buildings around the city. The new agreements is thought to be the largest office pre-let in Leeds for more than 20 years.

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Task group launched to define zero carbon for non-domestic buildings

New task group launched to define zero carbon for non-domestic buildings

A policy for all new non domestic buildings to be zero carbon from 2019 was introduced by the Labour government in 2008. Although the Coalition Government recommitted to this target, announcing in July it would strengthen energy efficiency standards for new non-domestic buildings from April 2014, they had yet to come up with a definition of zero carbon for non-domestic buildings.  The UK Green Building Council, whose membership includes the architects, developers, contractors, product manufacturers and others who will be tasked with delivering zero carbon buildings from 2019, is therefore launching a new Task Group to help define and build support for a definition of zero carbon for non-domestic buildings that works for industry.  More →

Demand in UK regional office markets beginning to outstrip supply

GlasgowThe latest report from property consultancy Savill’s looking at trends in the UK’s commercial property market paints a now very familiar picture of an increasingly healthy market driven by a number of sectors in general and the tech and media industries in particular, but also of growing confidence outside of London. It also highlights a marked shift away from public sector to private sector employment. Although the upsurge in demand is putting pressure on the supply of appropriate office space in certain parts of the country, a new report published today by KPMG also highlights the growing order books of UK construction firms and an increase in confidence amongst builders.

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New Smart City Forum to capitalise on $400 billion global sector

Infographic  Smarter Cities. Turning Big Data into Insight

IBM Infographic

London, Dublin, Barcelona, Boston and Bristol have something in common – they’re smart cities that use intelligent technology to monitor their urban infrastructure. The data is used in a variety of ways; to save money, minimise waste, measure water usage and manage transport routes. Solutions range from utilising IBM’s ‘Big Data’ to analyse traffic congestion on Dublin’s public transport network, to monitoring greenhouse gas emissions from Boston’s buildings. The smart cities industry has been valued at more than $400 billion globally by 2020, with the UK expected to gain a 10 per cent share ($40 billion). Now the government has announced it is to set up a new Smart Cities Forum, chaired by Universities and Science Minister David Willetts and Cities Minister Greg Clark, with representatives from cities, business, and scientists. More →

European business leaders join forces to target depression in the workplace

Stress

Mental health campaigners’ efforts to persuade employers to combat mental ill health at work took a significant step forward today when, for the first time, senior European executives from a group of major employers, including BT Group, Barclays, and Unilever, came together to assess and address depression in the workplace. One in 10 employees in Europe is estimated to take time off work due to depression, which equates to more than 34 million people. The “Target Depression in the Workplace” initiative recommends concrete tools and resources that will enable company executives to better identify and support employees with depression, as well as promote good mental health at work. More →

New CIOB survey lifts lid on extent of corruption in UK construction

Bribe brown envelopeA new survey from the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) claims that the majority of professionals in the UK construction industry believe that corruption in the sector is commonplace. The survey, which can be downloaded in full here, found that over a third (35 percent) had personally been offered a bribe or some other form of inducement at some point in their career, while nearly two-thirds (65 percent) believed the offer of gifts and corporate hospitality to win contracts is commonplace. A similar proportion (38 percent) of respondents had come across anti-competitive practices on at least one occasion, and of those, 29 percent had experienced cartel activity in the year running up to the survey.

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Refurbished office named ‘best of the best workplace’ in BCO awards

BCO best of best winner 2013A refurbished building which houses the manufacturer of the hi-tec GoreTex fabric range has been named the best of the best workplace in the British Council of Offices (BCO) annual awards. W. L. Gore’s Edinburgh headquarters was recognised for its transformation from a building which was no longer fit for purpose to a modern, green and inspirational workplace. National winners in the BCO 2013 awards include the Crystal in London for innovation; Birmingham City Council offices for fit out of workplace; Cannon Place in London for refurbished workplace; and Astellas in Chertsey and Nestle Product Technology Centre in York for projects up to 2,000m²

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Over half of UK and US workers still go into work when they are sick

Over half of UK and US workers still go into work when they are sick Over half of UK and US workers still go into work when they’re sick, according to separate surveys from either side of the Atlantic. The US study by Kimberly-Clark Professional found that 59 per cent of people go to work even when they feel ill; with three in 10 saying it was because they were too important to the business operation. In the UK, new YouGov research on behalf of Westfield Health found that exactly the same percentage (59%) of workers turned up despite being unwell because of work commitments; 82 per cent of employees had worked over their contractual hours in the last 12 months and 64 per cent admitted to feeling stressed at work. More →

IPCC climate report: built environment has major role to play in cutting carbon

built environment has major role to play in cutting carbon

The built environment has one of the biggest roles to play in tackling global warming, said the UK Green Building Council following the publication of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report which confirms that there is at least 95 per cent certainty that human activities are its principal cause. The Summary of the Report for Policy Makers; prepared by 259 climate experts from 39 countries, warns atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide have increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years, while CO2 concentrations have increased by 40 per cent since pre-industrial times. It advises that containing these changes will require “substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse gas emissions”. More →

What’s wrong with adopting a more positive approach to work and workplaces?

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Has there ever been a UK government more interested in the workplace than this one? Most of it has been about cutting costs of course, so the majority of announcements emanating from the Cabinet Office have been about procurement, design and environmental performance. David Cameron even at one point announced that he wanted to measure people’s happiness. The questions needed to work out how happy we are proposed by the Office for National Statistics as a result would have had a very familiar feel for anybody who has ever completed a workplace satisfaction survey even if they miss the most blindingly obvious point that when you’re skint and in mortal fear of losing your job, most other things about work lose their lustre.

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Value of offices and property rental income across the UK hit two year high

Manchester Media CityThe value of commercial real estate in the UK rose for the fourth consecutive month during August, led by increases in the average value of offices, according to a report from Investment Property Databank (IPD). The average value of offices, warehouses, retail and industrial rose by a 0.4 percent across the country. Office buildings rose by 0.6 percent during the month while total return, which combines changes in real estate values and rental income, was 0.9 percent, to reach the highest level since March 2011. The report claims the upturn is down to the wider economic upturn and persistent  low interest rates which incentivise investors to acquire high income generating assets. The report also notes that investors are looking to acquire more property outside of London as the economic recovery spreads across the UK. More →

The latest issue of Insight newsletter is now available to view online

Oof for newsletterIn our weekly newsletter, Insight, now available to view online; a preview [pictured] of 100% Design, (Earl’s Court 18 -21 Sept) featuring the latest designs from some of the world’s most progressive suppliers of office products; BCO research into the way space and budgets within buildings are allocated; how widespread adoption of BYOD can leave organisations’ data vulnerable; confusion amongst FMs at to what BIM actually does; and advice on compiling a list of the world’s coolest offices. Andrew Mawson argues it’s still possible to deliver a pleasurable and effective workplace whilst achieving economic objectives; and reflecting on the BBC Head of HR’s grilling at the hands of the Public Accounts Committee, Simon Heath asks would your business bear the same scrutiny unscathed?