(The Geothermal Plant in Iceland)

Plans for the first commercial geothermal plant in the UK could be approved in Cornwall and could be generating heat and electricity as early as 2013.

The news comes after an exploratory drilling project was granted local planning permission in the Cornwall area. Engineers will be drilling a 4.5km deep borehole at the beginning of next year at a site near Redruth and another site at the Eden project is still awaiting approval.

The drilling is the first sign of a possible geothermal power sector in the UK, the Government hope projects such as these can contribute one to five gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy in the next 2 decades. Germany has an estimated 150 geothermal power plant project in the pipeline.

Geothermal energy involves pumping water up to 5km underground where it is heated by hot rocks then is pumped back up to the surface and can either be converted into electricity or used as a source of renewable heat. A massive positive for using geothermal is that is it able to operate consistently 24 hours a day.

After extensive research which took place in the 1970s and 80s it is thought that Cornwall will be the best site for geothermal power due to the county’s granite bedrock.

The Department for Energy and Climate has backed both of the projects with over £2 million in funding to help get the ball rolling.

If successful in its exploratory drilling, the Redruth project would produce 10 megawatts (MW) of electricity and 55MW of renewable heat for the local community.

According to Ryan Law, Managing Director of the company behind the project Geothermal Engineering Ltd, the energy produced over the course of a year is the equivalent to 21 wind turbines.

The new design standard for houses could mean that the number of houses being built in London could fall by more than 2,400, according to the London Development Agency (LDA).

The LDA last week published its updated version of the London Housing Design Guide, which will set standards for areas such as minimum size and bicycle parking provision.

Research carried out for the LDA by agent GVA Grimley, and published alongside the guide says the space requirements could lead to 2,430 fewer homes being built on existing sites every year, as a worst-case scenario. It said the guide, part of Mayor Boris Johnson’s crusade against “hobbit homes”, was “most likely” to mean between 240 and 1,220 fewer homes.

The research also found that these changes would add anything between 3% and 16% to the cost of building a new home, depending on the type of dwelling, apartment will be the worst affected. The study says the new standards will add £24,000 a unit.

This increase could be enough to make apartments uneconomic in some areas of the capital. “There will be many instances where the viability is sufficiently robust … to be able to afford the requirements. However, in a number of cases, especially those where sale values are less than the average for London, the initial impact may be significant.”

Meeting the standard will be mandatory for homes receiving social housing funding, beginning April 2011.

The guide goes back on some items in the 2009 draft, including that flats should have windows in more than one side, following protests from developers.

Tony Pidgley, the chairman of Berkeley Group, said the guide was “balanced” but that it did raise some viability concerns. “You need to spend £100m to get on site in London, so developers have to be allowed to offer a range of products,” he said.

The guide has been welcomed by architects; with the RIBA saying new standards were crucial.

We have all stayed at rubbish hotels but this one is a little different, it’s a hotel made entirely out of rubbish.

The hotel is made up of approximately twelve tonnes of rubbish collected from Europe’s beaches. It has been built as an artistic method of raising awareness about the throwaway culture that we live in and to highlight the coastline’s worrying levels of pollution.

The hotel is located in the world famous tourist city of Rome and has been created by German artist HA Schult. The distinguished guest list of the hotel includes eco-warrior and Danish fashion model Helena Christensen.

Whilst this may be seen as a bit of fun by some, there is a very serious underlying message that we are ignorant about rubbish and resources. We currently consume far beyond the earths capacity of resources and at some point something must give.

To some extent the increased awareness of recycling has largely determined that our throw away lifestyles can be maintained safe in the knowledge that rubbish will be recycled. This fails to address the true underlying problems and the need to reduce our rubbish, where this is not possible then reuse should be preferential to recycling.

This is a value that BuilderScrap can assist with in relation to construction materials, we are always seeking to maximise the life cycle of products and resources by providing a platform to do so.

It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that we do everything we can to reduce the amount of consumption that we are currently inflicting on our planet, after all the earths resources are finite.

The docklands of the Wirral Peninsula faces a massive regeneration scheme over the next three decades after the £4.5 billion planning application was given the green light.

The Wirral Waters scheme will transform more than 500 acres of disused brownfield sites over the next 30 years in the Birkenhead region. The project aims to breathe fresh life into the area, creating environmental as well as economic benefits to Birkenhead, Wallasey as well as the Merseyside region as a whole.

The development is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs during the construction phase and has been hailed a massive boost to the economy of the area as well as the residents that the project will impact directly upon.

The cabinet member for regeneration and planning strategy, Andrew Hodson commented: “This is a great day for Wirral. We have been working closely with Peel for almost four years to bring jobs and regeneration to the borough”.

“The approval of this planning application will lead to the total transformation of what is currently derelict brownfield land within East Float at Birkenhead Docks and when finished will create over 27,000 jobs.

“This has taken place against a backdrop of the worst recession in living memory and it is a credit to both Peel and Wirral Council that we have kept the plans moving.”

He added: “Subject to getting the okay from the government, we hope work will start on site within the next two years and officers of the council will continue to work with Peel as we move into the development phase.”

At BuilderScrap we are delighted to hear the news of this local development, as a Wirral based company this announcement marks exciting times for the area and we look forward to seeing the project progress.

Source: EDIE (net) 23 August 2010

Laing O’ Rourke became the first winner of the North West Construction Hub (NWCH) framework tendering process securing the £90m Manchester Central Library and Town Hall redevelopment.

The project which has been designed by architect Vincent Harris includes the restoration of Manchester’s Grade II- listed Central Library and Town Hall as well as redevelopment of St Peters Square. The project is due to be delivered by 2013.

Andrew Jackson, leader of Laing O’Rourke’s Construction North division, said: “Securing this exciting and unique project will enable Laing O’Rourke to build on our solid reputation for delivering landmark projects. It is a complex and challenging project, and one of huge value architecturally, culturally and civically. We look forward to partnering once again with Manchester council.”

This is the first of a number of tenders which will be done through the North West Construction Hub which divides work into three separate frameworks dependent upon project value. The High Value Framework tenders for jobs over £10m and is competed between a total of five organisations, the others being Bovis Lend Lease, Kier, Morgan Sindall and Wates.

The Framework has been developed as a method to ensure that local council can work in partnership with public sector construction in order to ensure that the delivery is efficient and on time. It also shares knowledge and experience as well as creating an emphasis on improved quality and sustainability.

(Source: Building.co.uk)

Councils in England are to be offered extra money for every newly-built home, as part of a government programme aimed at easing housing shortages.

Under the New Homes Bonus scheme the government will match the council tax raised on each new house for six years.

For every new home built the government will match the council tax raised on each new house for a period of six years – for a band D home that would be around £1400.

With 4.5m people now on council house waiting lists the new drive has been designed to help lower these lists and provide modern, efficient housing for their new residents.

Brendon Kenny of materials reuse platform BuilderScrap commented that, ‘this bold new initiative could help millions of people off waiting lists and into affordable housing. What the government needs to ensure is that construction site waste is minimised and that any reusable materials are put back into the community by posting them onto BuilderScrap. Statistics show that 14% (equivalent to approx 16.8m tonnes per annum)of all new construction materials are wasted and simply thrown away. Given the size of this new initiative, many other community building projects could benefit hugely if a properly managed, materials reuse policy using BuilderScrap is deployed by the construction companies’

This month seen the scrapping of the Building Schools for the future scheme, the Education Secretary Michael grove said 719 school revamps which have already been signed up will now be terminated, with a further 123 to be viewed by a case-by-case basis.

The 706 schools in the existing BSF programme which have reached financial close will go ahead, but officials will see what money can be saved within each project.

Mr Gove said: “The Building Schools for the Future scheme has been responsible for about one third of all this department’s capital spending.

“But throughout its life it has been characterised by massive overspends tragic delays, botched construction projects and needless bureaucracy.”

He called the scheme “dysfunctional” and “unnecessarily bureaucratic”, with nine “meta stages”.

He added: “It is perhaps no surprise that it can take almost three years to negotiate the bureaucratic process of BSF before a single builder is engaged or brick is laid.”

180 schools have been rebuilt or revamped since the programme and one school in particular has truly benefited from the scheme achieving 78.18% score from BREEAM making it the most sustainable school in the UK. Let’s hope the 231 schools about to begin work can live up to this potential and that the government’s cost cutting will not affect the children’s learning environment.

1,100 school who signed up for the scheme, investing their time, money and energy into drawing up plans for redevelopment have seen their hopes dashed by this move.

The plan was for all of England’s 3,500 schools were to be revamped by 2023, it was supposed to replace out dated buildings which have no place in modern education.

Ed Balls Shadow Education Secretary said “Today is a black day for our country’s schools”

He added that he and his Labour colleagues would fight to “save our new schools”.

Christine Blower, the General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, was very unhappy with the decision and said, “Poor learning environments have a negative impact on the education of children and young people.”

“School buildings were woefully run down prior to Labour coming to power in 1997 and while much has been done to improve them there is still a lot more to do.”

I know everyone with in the industry will have an opinion on this, whether you’re a supplier of building construction materials or a UK builder. I for one am opposed to the scrapping of the scheme, it sends a very direct message that saving money is more important than using environmentally friendly materials and that construction materials which may be hazardous to the environment are not a concern for this government. I may be a little bias, but I think eco building and reusing and recycling building materials to lower our carbon footprint is of the utmost importance.

Ray O’Rourke, the chairman of Laing O’Rourke, has decided to write to all the firm’s major customers before he attends an employment tribunal for the apparent unfair dismissal of a former senior member of staff.

Neels Kriek, formerly managing director of Integrated Solutions for Laing O’Rourke’s European business operations, is hoping to be successful in his claim for unfair dismissal and hopes that a compensation packet be rewarded to him. As well as wrongful dismissal he has accused Laing O’Rourke of cheating the NHS of money.

O’Rourke took the unusual step by writing to his clients to tell them about the allegations at the end of June: “The claimant claims his dismissal was a result of having allegedly made disclosures on unlawful practices relating to commercial activities in parts of our business, which he claims to have brought to the direct attention of the European board.

Those accusations are: that we failed to declare the cost savings of central supplier rebates when we were required to under the terms of a Procure 21 framework agreement with the NHS; [and] that there were irregularities in the way the group managed main contractor discounts.

We were not, and never have been engaged in any unlawful practices relating to these issues. Further we can find no evidence that the claimant brought these allegations to our attention prior to discussions with him regarding his departure, which was a direct consequence of the disbanding of the business unit he headed.”

A source at Laing O’Rourke said the NHS had been made aware of the allegations and had given it “a clean bill of health”. A spokesman for Laing O’Rourke said it had “vigorously defended” the allegation.

Kriek had hoped that his claim could be heard under “whistleblowing regulations”, but the tribunal last week decided that the disclosures did not fall within whistleblowing laws.

Revolutionary building materials reuse web site BuilderScrap is to launch a premium membership programme designed especially for builders’ merchants.

BuilderScrap was founded by commercial contractors The Trustland Group as a response to the ever increasing problem of construction waste. It aims to connect surplus building material, otherwise destined for landfill or recycling, with projects in the local area requiring those materials.

Previously aimed at contractors and tradespeople, BuilderScrap has now launched a membership for suppliers into the trade. This membership not only allows suppliers to pass on slow moving or returned stock to their local community, thus saving on storage and/or disposal, but allows them to demonstrate their commitment to the environment and the industry.

In an increasingly competitive environment, companies need to show that they are going above and beyond what is required by legislation and policy. By using BuilderScrap to pass on materials to charities,

community groups and other parties in need, companies can prove their corporate social responsibility.

The new membership programme will provide merchants with a whole list of benefits including:

1. Demonstrating your support for reuse within the supply chain

2. Evidence based corporate social responsibility

3. Helping provide your customers with the reuse solution

4. Stimulating the market by moving surplus materials which otherwise would have be thrown away

5. Visibility in the BuilderScrap directory

6. A route to market for obsolete and slow moving stock lines

BuilderScrap, a not for profit organisation, is seeking new ways to both improve the service and also help support what has become an invaluable industry resource.

Recent awards, including the Green Apple ‘Gold Award’ and the NW Construction Industry Carbon Reduction award, have shown how the industry now regards materials reuse as an integral part of the battle to combat waste and also cut costs associated with sending materials to landfill.

Les Owens, Managing Director of BuilderScrap commented, ‘with the launch of this new programme, we are confident that builders merchants will see value in supporting the site and also being part of a growing community of organizations within the construction industry, all brought together with one common purpose; the reduction of our dependence on landfill sites’

For more information about BuilderScrap please contact:

Rebecca Owens, Marketing Manager

E: rco@builderscrap.com

T: 0844 225 3000

Home sweet homeNational Housing Federation (NHF) has announced 85,000 planned home will no longer be built in England after the government has made the decision to axe the regional house-building targets.

The report which was commissioned by the NHF has revealed that town halls substantially reduced plans for new homes after the new government decided to axe the previous government’s regional building strategies. There were only 123,000 homes built in 2009/10, which is the lowest figure since 1923.

Eric Pickles, the community secretary, dubbed the regional targets “a terrible, expensive, time-consuming way to impose house building.”

The South-west had the most cancellations with 60,000 new homes being axed.

The NHF warned that the government’s inability to replace the regional targets with another, will probably lead to a further slump in house-building across the country, regardless of local demand for new homes.

David Orr, NHF chief executive, said: “It is frankly disappointing that so many local authorities have decided to revise down the number of homes planned for their areas. Local authorities need to recognise that just because regional targets have gone, housing need has not.”

This seems to be yet another blow to the building trade, the recession is definitely still in effect, which is why it’s more important than ever to obtain discount building materials from builders surplus stores in order to benefit from cheap building materials so I guess that it’s more important than ever to use BuilderScrap.com.