Contract notice, The most economic tender, Education

Contract notice, The most economic tender, General public/services

Contract notice, The most economic tender, Other

Contract notice, The most economic tender, General public/services

Contract notice, The most economic tender, General public/services

£900,000 • Twelve dwellings consisting of one detached bungalow, two detached dwellings with detached double garages, three pairs of semi-detached dwellings and one block of three terraced properties, access, screening, landscaping, parking and associated fencing an

£2,900,000 • Erection of 49 bed care home, means of access including demolition of dwelling and associated landscaping.

£4,000,000 • lErection of 49 residential units comprised of 37 detached and semi-detached houses and 12 flats and associated infrastructure Outline Planning Permission 07/00741/WOPP

£400,000 • Full Planning – Proposed demolition of existing building and Erection of 2.5 storey building

£100,000 • ERECTION OF 2 DWELLINGHOUSES

£100,000 • Removal of storage container and conversion and extension of stables into offices in connection with applicant’s business

£100,000 • Erection of a pair of semi detached 3-bed dwellings.

£100,000 • Partial change to some offices on first floor to sleeping accommodation

£200,000 • Erection of 3 dwellinghouses with attached garages and formation of vehicular access

£600,000 • Proposed development of 7 houses on land at 1 Aughton Park Drive following demolition of the existing building (former Mount Carmel Preparatory School).

£100,000 • Temporary siting for a period of 12 months for a timber clad office building at 64 High Road, Beeston.

£100,000 • Change of use from Estate Offices Class A2 into 2no. 2-bedroom houses

£200,000 • Two storey extension to sports pavilion including extended car park, creation of infant & junior play parks with surrounding trim-trail and public footpath around existing football pitches, hard-surface floodlit multi use games area (MUGA), skate park, 2

£2,400,000 • Outline planning application with all matters reserved for the demolition of existing structure and redevelopment for up to 32 residential dwellings (Use Class C3) and associated works on land at George Street, Handsworth

£100,000 • 2 detached houses, garages and parking, demolition of existing

£100,000 • Proposed construction of swimming pool and enclosure

£5,000,000 • Proposed new 65 apartment Extra Care scheme with allied facilities.

£300,000 • Demolition and replacement of 4 no. dwelling units with associated parking, turning, landscaping and the provision of a new vehicular access point

£800,000 • Prior approval for the change of use of the building from B1(a) (office) use to C3 (residential) to provide 16 two bedroom self contained residential units.

£100,000 • Demolition of existing dwelling. Erection of 1 x 4-bed and 1 x 5-bed detached dwellings. Provision of amenity space, bin storage and parking.

The average cost of renting a home in the UK continues to rise, but in most parts of the country, there are sufficient numbers of tenants with higher incomes to sustain the increases.

The latest data from the May 2014 HomeLet Rental Index shows that the average tenant signing a rental agreement in May 2014 had an income 7.2% higher than the average tenant a year previously.

The index, the largest survey of private tenants in the UK, shows that the incomes of tenants taking on new properties have risen faster than rents in nine of the 12 UK regions covered with the average rent in the UK now standing at £846 a month, or £687 a month outside of Greater London.

The exceptions were Yorkshire and Humber, Northern Ireland and Greater London, though in the capital the average income increase over the past year of new tenants has lagged the average increase in rental cost by just 0.6%.

The effect is that across the UK as a whole, excluding London, rents rose by 2.5% but even with the highly distorting effect of London reinstated in the data, the average rent increase came in only marginally ahead of the average rise in incomes of tenants signing new rental agreements.

East Anglian tenants have faced the largest increase in average rents over the past 12 months. Demand for property in this region, with its proximity and strong transport links to London, may have been increased by a spill over of demand from the capital.

In Greater London, rents were on average £116 higher per month in May 2014 at £1,348, when compared to May 2013 when the figure was £1,232. Just as London’s house prices are rising far more quickly than in the rest of the UK, so too is its rental sector.

According to the index report the figures will reassure buy to let landlords amid some concerns that rent rises would price many would be tenants out of the market as there appears to be a steady supply of new tenants with higher incomes.

The Office for National Statistics says average incomes are currently rising by 1.7% a year in the UK. However, new tenants coming into the market, possibly in the face of higher house prices and tight mortgage finance, have the incomes required to pay higher rents.

‘The rental market is in robust shape. While rents are rising, there is not a shortage of tenants who are able to pay, and the return for investors in rental property looks secure,’ said Martin Totty, chief executive officer of Barbon Insurance, the group that owns HomeLet.

‘This is good news for tenants and landlords alike. We expect demand for rented accommodation to continue to rise, while investors will no doubt be attracted to the returns on offer in the sector if they are confident in tenants’ ability to pay,’ he added.

Home prices in the United States increased by 8.8% year on year in May and are expected to rise 6% in the next 12 months, according to the latest index data from property analysis firm CoreLogic.

Prices have now increased year on year for 27 months in a row. The data also shows that month on month prices were up 1.4% in May compared with April.

No states saw prices fall in May 2014 and 25 states and the District of Columbia were at or within 10% of their peak home price appreciation.

New highs were recorded in Alaska, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Texas and New York. The strongest year on year appreciation was in the West, led by Hawaii, California and Nevada.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices nationally increased 8.1% in May 2014 compared to May 2013 and 1.2% month on month compared to April 2014. Also excluding distressed sales, all 50 states and the District of Columbia showed year on year home price appreciation in May. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices, including distressed sales, are projected to increase 0.8% month on month from May 2014 to June 2014 and 6% year on year.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices are expected to rise 0.7% month on month from May 2014 to June 2014 and by 5.1% year on year.

The CoreLogic HPI Forecast is a monthly projection of home prices built on the CoreLogic HPI and other economic variables. Values are derived from state level forecasts by weighting indices according to the number of owner occupied households for each state.

‘The pace of home price appreciation is cooling off quickly as the weather warms up. May's 8.8% year on year growth rate is down almost 3% from just three months ago,’ said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.

‘The influences of modestly rising inventory and less than expected demand are causing price growth to moderate toward our forecasted expectations,’ he added.

The fact that home prices are continuing to climb across most of the country has both positive and negative implications for the housing market, according to Anand Nallathambi, president and chief executive officer of CoreLogic.

‘While the rapid rise in prices over the past two years has lifted many home owners out of negative equity, it has also become a negative factor in buying decisions for prospective purchasers weighing affordability concerns. As we move ahead, a moderation in home price increases over the next 12 months should help cool things down a bit and keep the housing recovery going,’ he explained.

Home affordability across New Zealand has deteriorated by 7.6% over the past year, according to a new analysis.

The news for would be home owners is not good, according to the report from Massey University’s Real Estate Analysis Unit which covers the quarter from March to May 2014.

According to the report’s author Professor Bob Hargreaves the overall decrease in affordability is no surprise because the average annual wage increase of $34.53 was not enough to offset a $38,000 increase in the national median house price and an increase in the average mortgage interest rate from 5.57% to 5.64%.

He warned that this deterioration in affordability is likely to continue as recent interest rate increases are incorporated into the debt servicing costs for home mortgages.

On a quarterly basis, the national affordability index deteriorated by 4.5% compared with a 2.8% improvement in the previous quarter.

Auckland was, unsurprisingly, the least affordable region followed by Central Otago/Lakes and Canterbury. Southland retained its place as the country’s most affordable region, followed by Manawatu/Wanganui and Taranaki.

Professor Hargreaves pointed out that one of the most striking trends is the growing gap in affordability between larger urban centres and provincial towns, caused mainly by the differences in house prices between regions.

On a regional basis annual changes in affordability showed five regions with improved affordability. In Southland it improved by 14.4%, in Taranaki by 8.4%, in Manawatu/Wanganui by 6.2%, in Nelson by 2.2% and in Otago by 0.8%.

A deterioration in annual affordability was evident in seven regions. In Central Otago/Lakes it fell by 12.2%, in Canterbury by 10.6%, in Auckland by 9.1%, in Waikato by 4.8%, in Northland by 3.5%, in Wellington by 3.4% and in Hawkes Bay by 0.7%.

On a quarterly basis the all districts national affordability index deteriorated by 4.5% compared with 2.8% improvement in the previous quarter.

Auckland at 138% of the all districts national index was the least affordable region followed by Central Otago/ Lakes at 133.9% and Canterbury at 100.6%.

Southland retained its place as the most affordable region with an index of 42.5% of the national average. Manawatu/Wanganui at 55.2% was in second place followed by Taranaki at 56.7% in third.

The report says that there appears to be an ongoing trend where the affordability gap is widening between the larger urban centres and the provincial urban centres. Hargreaves said that this is mainly a function of differential house prices between regions.

Property prices in Edinburgh increased by 1% in the second quarter of the year, taking the annual price rise in the city to 5.7%.

This follows a rise of 1.3% in the first quarter of the year, according to data from the latest Edinburgh City Index from property firm Knight Frank.

It means that after 18 months of static pricing, values have now been growing for four consecutive quarters, the longest period of sustained growth recorded by the index and an indication that the market is recovering well since its low point following the financial crisis.

Over the three months to June, homes in the north of the city and the area around the New Town and West End areas enjoyed the greatest growth, with prices increasing in value by 1.5% and 1.2% respectively.

Stock levels increased over the course of the quarter, albeit from a very low base, but Knight Frank says it is an indication that some vendors, who have been waiting on the sidelines, are deciding to enter the market.

The increase in available stock helped contribute to a 31% increase in sales in the second quarter of 2014, compared to the same three month period last year.

‘An increase in the number of homes available for sale is good news for potential buyers, who have a greater degree of choice when it comes to finding a new home,’ said Edward Douglas-Home, head of Edinburgh City Sales.

‘While the bulk of sales so far this year have been concentrated in the sub £1 million price band, we have completed a number of deals above this level for townhouses in the city centre,’ he explained.

‘However, while stock levels have increased and the number of sales has risen, there are indications that some buyers are waiting until after the result of the referendum on Scottish independence is known before considering a purchase,’ he added.

He also pointed out that one factor that tends to unsettle the housing market is periods of uncertainty, as individuals defer making long term decisions until the direction of policy is clearer.

The number of prospective purchasers registering their interest in purchasing a home in the three months to June 2014 was 32% lower than the same period last year, while the number of viewings conducted was also down, by 18% over the same period. This suggests that the rate of growth in sales volumes could start to slow in the run-up to the referendum in September.

Edinburgh accounted for more than half of all £1 million plus sales in Scotland in the first three months of 2014, according to data provided by the Registers of Scotland. The city is the traditional hub of the prime market in Scotland and over the last 12 months has accounted for 55% of all £1 million plus transactions.

Interest is particularly strong for homes in the New Town and West End area of the city. However, a closer look at our data suggests that buyers of £1 million…

Demolition is about to start on the first of Battersea Power Station’s four chimneys, ahead of its reconstruction.

The existing chimneys are not structurally safe but are such a fixture of the London skyline that they are being rebuilt as part of the £8bn redevelopment of the power station site.

Next week sees specialist contractor Beroa Bierrum start work demolishing the southwest chimney.

A circular rig that will carry workers and equipment has been built around the chimney. It will slowly climb to the top of the chimney next week. On its way up, Beroa Bierrum will record details of the chimney in its current form. The dismantling of the chimney by four hydraulic jaws attached to the rig is expected to begin in mid-July.

The chimney debris will be funnelled down a chute in the centre of the chimney, collected and recycled. Several different on-site uses for the material are being explored, including reuse as artwork.

Once the chimney has been fully dismantled, it will be rebuilt from the bottom using the same materials as the original. It will take approximately five months to dismantle, and about six months to fully rebuild the chimney to its height of approximately 50 metres.

Once the southwest chimney has been reconstructed back up to a height of 25 metres above the brick washtower, work will start simultaneously to dismantle and reconstruct the three remaining chimneys. All four chimneys are expected to be fully reconstructed by early 2016.

Paint scrapings have been taken to ensure that the new chimneys will be visually identical to the chimneys when they were first built. The developer says that the new chimneys will consist of the same materials as the originals, but with more modern steel reinforcements within the concrete to provide a more permanent solution to their conservation than simply refurbishing them. For each chimney approximately 600 tonnes of concrete will removed and a similar volume used in the rebuild.

Battersea Power Station Development Company chief operating officer Philip Gullett said: “The four iconic chimneys are not only one of the most distinctive features of the London skyline; they are the very DNA of this historical building.  Today, we are a step closer to the start of this vital restoration work to safeguard the chimneys and the power station building itself for future generations.”

Justin Phillips, ‎partner and director of environment & infrastructure at Buro Happold Engineering, said: “For over 15 years we have tried various different ways of affecting repairs to the chimneys but if they are going to be safeguarded on the skyline for future generations it has become clear they need to be dismantled and rebuilt.  The process will be done sensitively using a circular rig which will gradually descend from the top as the chimney is dismantled, and then ascend shortly afterwards as the chimney is rebuilt.  The rebuilt chimney will be visibly identical but the pattern of the steel reinforcement and the composition of the concrete has been improved to make the new chimneys less vulnerable to corrosion.”

Pictured below in front of the demolition rig are Justin Phillips from Buro Happold, Timothy Jones from English Heritage, Philip Gullett of BPSDC and Wandsworth Council leader Ravi Govindia.

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Above: Artist's impression of the Battersea Power Station masterplan

Galliford Try Infrastructure has been fined for safety failings after a worker was seriously injured when an excavation trench collapsed on his leg.

Paul Fennelly, then aged 45 from Hamilton, was working for Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd, trading as Morrison Construction, at a site off the B9012 near Duffus, Moray, when the incident occurred on 1 July 2011.

Elgin Sheriff Court heard yesterday (3rd July) that Mr Fennelly was cutting a section of cast iron water pipe within a 1.3m-deep excavation trench. He had been told the water supply had been turned off but there was a sudden gush of water from the pipe. He dodged to the other side of the pipe but part of the trench collapsed, trapping his right leg against the pipe and covering it with clay. His thigh bone snapped.

His colleagues dug him out and he was taken to hospital where the bone was pinned and bolted back together. He was in hospital for 10 days, had to use walking sticks for five months and was unable to return to work until 11 months later.

Mr Fennelly still needs a further operation and remains in considerable pain.

An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd had identified the risks involved in excavation work and implemented daily excavation inspections and training in excavation work. However, insufficient consideration had been given by the company to the potential effect of a sudden flow of water to the stability of the excavation.

Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd, of Melville Street, Edinburgh, was fined £3,000 after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 31(1)(a) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

Following the hearing, HSE principal inspector Niall Miller said: “Risks relating to the collapse of excavations are long-standing and well-documented. As one cubic metre of soil typically weighs between 1.6 and 1.8 tonnes, even the collapse of a small quantity of material is potentially dangerous. Soil collapse can be rapid and completely without warning.

“While the inspection carried out by Galliford Try had concluded that the excavation had been dug appropriately, it had not sufficiently taken the water into account. As a result, the company failed to assess whether additional protective measures were needed to prevent collapse, such as sloping or battering the sides or some form of support such as shoring.

“As a result Mr Fennelly has been left with a very painful injury from which he has still not fully recovered.”

Rising property prices in the UK are causing an about turn in rental yields but more complex buy to let properties are still commanding considerably higher yields, new data shows.

According to the latest Mortgages for Business Complex Buy to Let Index gross yields on vanilla buy to let properties have dropped to 6.3% in the second quarter of the year, down from 6.4% in the first three months of 2014.

This comes as modest rent rises have been outstripped by rapid growth in property values. But houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) saw gross yields of 9.3% in the second quarter of 2014. While this is also down slightly from the 9.6% recorded in the first quarter, the gross yield remains around 50% higher than for vanilla properties.

Multi-unit freehold blocks (MUFBs) also offer a premium compared to standard buy to let investments, the data shows. In the second quarter these properties commanded an average gross yield of 7.3%, almost a full percentage point higher than vanilla yields.

The index shows that landlords with standard buy to let properties have remortgaged at a record rate in the second quarter. Remortgaging now represents 70% of new vanilla buy to let mortgages. This compares to 65% in the first quarter of 2014.

By contrast, new purchases make up an increasing proportion of activity for more complex properties, as landlords increase their exposure to a wider variety of property types. In the second quarter of 2014 some 31% mortgages for multi-units were for new purchases, up from 19% in the first quarter. Meanwhile, 28% of loans secured against HMOs are now for new purchases, compared to 25% in the first quarter of the year.

This comes as the choice of buy to let mortgages has reached a record high, with an average of 637 different products available to UK landlords in the second quarter of 2014. Compared to the previous quarter, when landlords had a choice of around 586 mortgages, this represents growth of 8.7%. On an annual basis this leaves the number of buy to let mortgage products 37% greater than in the second quarter of 2013.

As prices have risen, loan to value ratios have dipped. The average LTV on a vanilla buy to let mortgage in the second quarter was 67%, down from 69% in the previous quarter. Loan to value ratios for HMOs have also fallen, now standing at 70% compared to 72% in the first quarter, while loan ratios for MUFBs are steady at 66%.

‘Within the space of six months the UK property market has seen a rising tide of optimism translate into steadily rising property prices. But with the ying of capital appreciation, landlords are also facing the yang of a dip in rental yields as rent rises have not kept up with increases in purchase prices,’ said David Whittaker, managing director of Mortgages for Business.

‘Landlords are now looking more carefully at their portfolios and their financial situation. With signs that price rises may start…