Apprenticeships in construction are the way forward for young people

February 9, 2012 Leave a comment

The current levels of high unemployment, and difficulties faced by young people in getting into the job market have caused head of construction and contracting firm, Andy Hill, of Hill, to urge more construction companies to provide more apprenticeships. Currently the youth unemployment rates in the UK are at a record high. Of the UK’s 16-22 year olds, 22% are currently out of work.

Mr Hill believes that the provision of apprenticeships is beneficial to all, as once the apprentice is fully trained, he or she becomes a valuable asset to the company. Hills Craft Apprentice Training Scheme (CATS) trains young people in a variety of skills from painting and decorating to ground skills. Read more of this post

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Flooding to threaten to British property

January 26, 2012 Leave a comment

Heavier rainfall caused by the warmer temperatures brought on by climate change, are predicted to cause mass flooding, damaging property and infrastructure and expected to threaten up to five million people over the next hundred years.

The Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA), have predicted that if further preventative action against climate change is not taken, then the costs of Britain’s annual flood damage bill rising from the current £1.2billion to £12billion by the 2080s.

Extreme weather, such as last year’s snowfalls, which cost £600m per day, and the floods of the summer in 2007 is expected to become a more frequent occurrence. Further flood risks are expected to cause a shortage of mortgage and insurance availability in at risk areas, making home ownership more difficult. Read more of this post

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Benefits cap will damage family life

January 17, 2012 Leave a comment

Simon Hughes, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats warns that a new benefits cap which is to be restricted to £26,000 during the financial year 2012/13, will be detrimental to the lives of thousands of children.

According to the Department of Work and Pensions, The Welfare Reform Bill, which came into action on the 16th of February last year, is the biggest change to welfare system to date. It was legislated with the aim of creating incentives for those claiming benefits to go back to work, whilst protecting society’s most needy and ensuring fairness to both those who need benefits and to the tax payer. The caps would overall create a more sustainable welfare system. Read more of this post

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Eco friendly homes to replace derelict houses

December 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Eco friendly homes will be constructed from empty houses as it is revealed that three quarters of million UK houses have no occupiers. Some Victorian houses with lead-stripped roofs remain boarded up in the Midlands and the North, while another 16,000 period properties have been torn down but only 3,000 new homes have replaced them.

Designer George Clark will next month present a programme called ‘The Great British Property Scandal’ bringing these issues to light. Furthermore architect Mark Hines together with the preservation group Save Britain’s Heritage are working on the eco friendly homes concept by adding pre-made extensions to houses which create more space and are energy-efficient. Read more of this post

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Government planning reforms might endanger the heritage sites

November 29, 2011 Leave a comment

Government planning reforms might endanger the heritage sites

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)  fears, that government planning reforms might endanger World Heritage Sites, Greenfield land and irreplaceable archaeology. This includes Georgian Bath, Stonehenge and the Jurassic Coast from East Dorset into East Devon. The Government’s National Planning Policy Framework is supposed to stimulate economic growth by trying to simplify and organise the planning system.

Twenty-seven representative samples of local authority responses to the public consultation on the draft of NPPF were analysed by CPRE. The outcome was that most of the local authorities, regardless of political affiliation, were very critical and concerned about the proposed changes, especially the definition of sustainable development (twenty-six authorities mentioned that problem). Insufficient focus on reusing brown-field land and the need for appropriate transitional arrangements to make the shift to the new system effective and smooth were also issues expressed by the surveyed authorities.  According to them some parts of the draft should be clarified and specified in order to protect the World Heritage sites. Read more of this post

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Dangerous UK housing is a major health and safety hazard

November 28, 2011 Leave a comment

Dangerous UK housing could cost up to £52 billion to repair, according to research by SearchFlow.

More than one in five homes (21%) are believed to be affected by Category 1 Hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, which include death, lung cancer, loss of consciousness, loss of limbs, burn injuries, eye disorders, heart attack, and poisoning. Under the 2004 Housing Act, dangerous UK housing would need to be repaired or the owners could face prosecution, as local authorities are obligated to intervene, either deeming the property to be vacated or repaired immediately.

The English Housing Survey also estimated that 1.9 million houses have unsafe stairs. Read more of this post

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Showers or baths? Which is more economically friendly?

November 23, 2011 Leave a comment

 Showers or baths? Which is more economically friendly?A recent survey has revealed some interesting trends. It is claimed that the showering habits of Average Joe have changed. The classic debate of showers or baths now seems to show that showers are not as great as initially thought.

Apparently the average shower lasts eight minutes, a three minute increase on the time previously thought. This uses almost as much water and energy as the average bath. Unilever recorded 2,600 showers by 100 families over a 10-day period and claimed that eight-minute showers use 62 litres of hot water and baths use an average of 80 litres.

This increase is blamed on the rise in the number of households that now use ‘power showers’. These require twice as much water and energy as a bath. It also needs to be kept in mind that it is not only water that is wasted, it is the energy needed for heating the water too. Figures have also been given. Eight-minutes showers would cost an average UK family £416 a year, with power shows doubling the annual cost to £918. Read more of this post

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New development of eco scheme in Rackheath, Norwich

November 22, 2011 Leave a comment

New development of eco scheme in Rackheath, NorwichThe new development of an eco scheme was officially opened in Rackheath, near Norwich, reported the Green Building Press. A plaque to mark the special occasion was unveiled in the presence of the residents, as well as the officials from the Broadland District Council and local housing provider Wherry Housing Association, who together funded the £1.7 million development.

At first sight the quiet Norfolk village doesn’t seem to differ from the other developments. However, in reality the 12 brand new houses have the latest building design and low carbon technology. With a zero carbon status and the sustainable homes code level 6, they are considered one of the greenest in Britain. Read more of this post

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Nottingham Uni Gateway building completed

November 9, 2011 Leave a comment

Nottingham Uni Gateway building completedThe Biosciences Building at the University of Nottingham’s agriculture campus at Sutton Bonington is the largest prefabricated straw bale construction in UK. Nottingham Uni Gateway building was designed by Make Architects studio from London ad has been recently completed, reported World Architecture News. School of Biosciences and the School of Veterinary and Medical Sciences (SVMS) are located in this 3,100 sq m building, which is a combination of laboratories and office spaces.

The new building is a first stage of a 20-year visionary Master plan, also designed by Make Architects. It aims to build the reputation of Sutton Bonington campus as the primary destination for the study of bioscience and transform the site into a wholly sustainable, eco friendly and people-focused development for research and learning. The building’s form frames the beginning of a future central avenue and serves as a gateway to the Campus. The facades are made up of repetitive narrow vertical elements that echo rows of trees nearby. The internal finishes consist of part fair faced concrete and part plaster finished walls. Read more of this post

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Housing plan for brownfield in Edinburgh receives an award

October 21, 2011 Leave a comment

Housing plan for brownfield in Edinburgh receives an awardThe housing plan for brownfield in Edinburgh, which aims to create sustainable housing and an active community urban village at an Edinburgh site, has won a prestigious national design award. A 31 year old, Michael Bryan is a Sustainable Community Design student at Heriot-Watt’s School of the Built Environment. He won the Integrated Habitat Design Competition Award 2011 for his project named ShrubhillWorks, which involves 122 affordable houses and facilities which will eventually turn the site into a ‘new hub of biodiversity’. Read more of this post

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