Search Results for: london

August 11, 2014

Government extends public estate scheme as DCLG moves in with Home Office

by Mark Eltringham • Facilities management, News, Property, Public Sector

The UK government has announced that it is to extend its groundbreaking One Public Estate scheme to a further twenty local authorities. The programme aims to divest and consolidate government-owned land and property to cut public sector spending and boost economic growth and regeneration. The government believes the initial phase will save £21m in running costs and £88m in capital receipts, generate around £40m for local economies and create an estimated 5,500 jobs and 7,500 homes over the next five years. The Cabinet Office is now looking to build on this with the extension of the schemes to councils including Liverpool and Birmingham city centres as well as six from Greater Manchester and Cornwall, Southampton and Plymouth. The Government Property Unit will provide funding and training to the participating authorities.

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July 23, 2014

Three major UK office developments get green light following months of talk

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, News, Property

Plans for the new Astra Zeneca facility in Cambridge by Herzog & de Meuron

Three of the most talked about UK office developments have been given the go ahead within the space of a few days. The Government has finally announced that the new construction headquarters for HS2 will be in Birmingham, rather than London. Meanwhile, following all of the wrangling about its proposed takeover by Pfizer, Astra Zeneca has announced that the controversial move of its research facility from Cheshire to a new base in Cambridge will involve the creation of a new £330 million complex designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. Finally, planning consent has been granted for the 4.9 million sq ft Wood Wharf development in docklands including nearly 2 million sq ft of office space which the developer claims will be aimed at the thriving London technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector.

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July 17, 2014

More construction developments required to solve office supply shortage

by Sara Bean • News, Property

The development of new workplaces, shopping centres and industrial facilities is playing an increasingly important role in the UK’s economic recovery, according to the inaugural Commercial Construction Index by JLL and Glenigan. But the report raises concerns that the development of commercial space is still lagging behind the UK’s booming economy. Although the quarterly index reveals that work began on £22.7bn of commercial projects over the 12 months to June 2014, an increase of 6.6 per cent on the previous 12 months, Jon Neale, Head of JLL’s UK Research team warns that: “despite these positive trends, the volume of commercial space being started has not risen substantially since the recession and is still significantly behind the position before the crisis. There is evidence of an increasing supply shortage, particularly in the office market, and the amount of development needs to accelerate if this is not to hamper longer term recovery.” (more…)

July 17, 2014

RIBA announce Stirling prize shortlist for best new building 2014

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News

The Shard in the City of London, the Library of Birmingham, the Manchester School of Art, the London School of Economics, the Everyman theatre in Liverpool and the London Aquatics Centre have been named in the shortlist for the 2014 RIBA Stirling Prize for the best new building. The six shortlisted buildings will now go head-to-head for architecture’s highest accolade, to be awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) on 16 October 2014. The six buildings will be judged by the same criteria: their design excellence and their significance in the evolution of architecture and the built environment. Stephen Hodder, RIBA President said: “The RIBA Stirling Prize is awarded to the building that has made the biggest contribution to the evolution of architecture in a given year. Every one of the six shortlisted buildings shows what great public architecture can do: it can transcend mere construction to something quite poetic.” (more…)

July 14, 2014

UK’s snail-paced broadband is failing businesses, claims FSB report

by Mark Eltringham • News, Technology

The UK’s snail-paced broadband infrastructure isn’t up to the demands placed on it by 21^st century businesses and there is not enough ambition to bring it up to speed with that of other nations, according to a new report from the Federation of Small Businesses. The report found that while nearly all small business owners (94 percent) consider a reliable internet connection essential, just 15 percent are happy with their provision and a staggering 45,000 small businesses are still dependant on a dial-up connection and many more are struggling by with slow broadband speeds under 2 Megabits per second (Mbps). The FSB also claims that current Government targets of 24Mbps for 95 per cent of the population and 2Mbps for the remaining five per cent will not meet future demands and that it should commit to delivering a minimum of 10Mbps (megabits per second) for all homes and businesses by 2017 rising to 1Gbps (gigabit per second) by 2030.

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July 14, 2014

The latest Workplace Insight newsletter is available to view online

by Sara Bean • Facilities management, Newsletter, Work&Place, Workplace design

In the latest copy of the Workplace Insight newsletter available to view online; Chris Kane argues that people and place are a company’s most valuable assets and only by developing them both in tandem will you unlock their true value. We reveal that far from improving their work/life balance, flexible working means nearly half of managers work an extra day each week; the Dutch beat the Germans in workplace happiness and productivity levels, and the UK’s public sector spends almost twice as much on outsourced services as the country’s private sector. The BBC announces plans to move more staff out of its central London offices as part of its strategy to reduce property costs, and news of a transformation in the way the US corporate real estate market approaches the environmental performance of buildings. We also include a link to the new issue of Work&Place, the journal we publish in partnership with Occupiers Journal.

July 11, 2014

6 Bevis Marks, the Gherkin’s new neighbour, is ready for tenants

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, Property, Workplace design

6 Bevis Marks – next to the Gherkin in the City of London – has been completed, with the first two tenants expected to take occupation in August. The mixed use building comprises 160,000 sqft (14,864 sqm) of office and retail space over 15 floors, and has been developed in a joint venture between AXA Real Estate and BlackRock. Located close to Liverpool Street, where the new Crossrail station is due to open in 2018, the building features a rooftop garden square, a ground floor business lounge, full on-site cyclist facilities and a private landscaped courtyard with access to the public realm surrounding the Gherkin. The development also features a 26-screen media wall in the reception, which is being used to host the Vivid Digital arts programme – a commission of young filmmaking talent supported by the developer. The building is BREEAM Excellent rated, with a range of sustainability features. (more…)

July 9, 2014

Smithfield mixed use development plans thrown out by Communities Secretary

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, News, Property, Workplace design

The UK’s Communities secretary Eric Pickles has – in no uncertain terms – thrown out the controversial £160m plans to redevelop London’s historic Smithfield Market. The development, which would have been located in the heart of London’s creative and office design communities, was rejected with a strongly worded statement that concluded: ‘the extent of damage that the application would cause to the important heritage assets at Smithfield runs entirely counter to national and policy objectives intended to protect such assets from harm and that this would seriously undermine any economic, social or environmental benefits otherwise arising from the development, such that the proposal would not represent sustainable development.’ Objections to the plans had been led by the Victorian Society and Save Britain’s Heritage and enjoyed the backing of high profile public figures such as Alan Bennett, Kristin Scott Thomas and RIBA Journal editor Hugh Pearman.

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July 2, 2014

RIBA calls on next Government to put built environment centre stage

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property, Public Sector

A new report from The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) sets out a number of recommendations for the next UK Government and calls for greater economic leadership from English cities to rebalance the UK economy and take some of the pressure off London and the South East. RIBA’s report, Building Better Britain: A vision for the next Government, advises that by focusing on architecture and the built environment, the next Government will be better placed to address a sluggish economy, a shortage of new homes, an aging population and the effects of climate change. Building on the findings of the Farrell Review, the report is intended to provide policy makers with a greater understanding of the impact of how places are designed, planned and built and how they affect our day to day lives.

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July 1, 2014

First female President in RICS’ history will focus on diversity

by Sara Bean • Company news, Facilities management, News, Property

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has confirmed the first female President in the Institution’s 146 year history. New President of RICS Louise Brooke-Smith will give her inaugural speech today (1 July) during RICS’ Governing Council meeting in London. Alongside her presidency of RICS, Brooke-Smith will continue to be involved with the Birmingham based planning and development consultancy, Brooke Smith Planning. RICS accredits over 118,000 qualified professionals across the globe in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. She succeeds outgoing RICS President, Michael Newey and during her year-long presidency, will focus on three core areas; diversity, Africa and her professional specialisms, planning and land economics. Commenting on her diversity plans for the year Louise Brooke-Smith, RICS President said: “Chartered Surveying is a globally recognised profession, and we must ensure that it is open to all, whatever their background, or gender. (more…)

June 24, 2014

Five things we have learned about flexible working ahead of the new right to ask regs

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

You can’t help but notice that surveys about flexible working have been pretty thick on the ground over the last few weeks and months. The reason is that – as well as the usual ongoing fascination with the subject – the UK Government is extending the right to request regulations at the end of this month, allowing all staff to ask their employers for flexible working after six months in a job. As well as the numerous studies that firms have commissioned to explore the issue, there has been even more commentary and guidance, often from law firms. While we should always view each of these in context, adding however much salt we deem necessary to season their findings, what is always interesting when you have a media pile-in like this is to sift through it all to look for patterns, common themes and contrasts. Here are just five: