Construction Industry News Archive
Welcome to the news archive page. This is where you will find articles from March 2007. If you would like to view our current news, please click here.
- Seaside resort to get £1 billion investment
- Ambitious sixth-form redevelopment plans drawn up
- Work on i360 due to start in May but don't hold your breath
- Green light for green housing
- £80m boost for college
- Falmer decision moves step nearer
Seaside resort to get £1 billion investment
An estimated one billion pounds could be spent restoring a seaside town to its former glory.
The newly created Bognor Regis Regeneration Board, charged with regenerating the town, has met for the first time and heard that both private and public investment being pumped into the town in the coming years could easily reach that amount.
An increasing number of ambitious projects for the town are being rubber stamped, including the £100 million redevelopment of the Hothampton and Regis Centre sites.
Other work is planned across the town which will, according to the board make it "one of the premier seaside locations on the South Coast".
Arun District Council Leader, Coun Mrs Gillian Brown added: "Bognor Regis is at an important stage in moving forward with many regeneration schemes.
"It is crucial that the way this is overseen brings together all the critical organisations to have the best chance of future success and that is why the board was created."
From The Argus, 28th February 2007
Ambitious sixth-form redevelopment plans drawn up
A sixth-form college has announced ambitious plans to regenerate its site to provide top quality facilities for its students.
Brighton, Hove and Sussex VI Form College (BHASVIC) in the Seven Dials area of Brighton has drafted proposals shown in artists impressions drawn up by Nick Evans Architects.
They involve knocking down both College House at the rear of the college and one wing of the existing main building.
New buildings would replace them turning BHASVIC into a V-shape, fitting into its triangular site between Dyke Road and Old Shoreham Road, set around a central open space.
The redevelopment would include new facilities for science, music, media and performing arts as well as a new student common room and refectory.
The college is now preparing an application to put to the Government's Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to secure funding for the scheme.
The college's plans are another boost for sixth form education in Brighton and Hove, following last week's announcement by City College Brighton and Hove of plans for an £80 million revamp of its campuses in Pelham Street, near Brighton station, and Wilson Avenue in Whitehawk.
Varndean College in Surrenden Road is also expected to make redevelopment plans in the near future.
All three could be beneficiaries of additional funding which has been made available by the LSC to improve education facilities for 14 to 19 year olds.
It is hoped modern colleges in line with the needs of their communities will encourage teenagers to continue education and training.
BHASVIC said work on its project could start as early as August and would take place in three phases over the next three years.
The first phase would be to build a science and general classroom and the refectory alongside Old Shoreham Road. The second to demolish Victorian College House and create a new car park in its place.
The third would be to create a new learning resource centre and computer classrooms in a building alongside Dyke Road on the site of the existing car park.
The college has made significant investment in recent years, refurbishing its main building and constructing a new sports hall.
From The Argus, 27th February 2007
Work on i360 due to start in May but don't hold your breath
The team behind the proposals for a "Brighton Eye" observation tower has revealed it is still waiting for Government approval - three months before work is due to start.
The West Pier Trust, which owns the site, said Government bureaucracy is holding up a decision on planning permission for the 172- metre seafront structure.
The Noble Organisation, which runs the Palace Pier, has objected to permission being granted on the grounds it would increase competition on the seafront and affect the pier's profits.
The tower, designed by the architects of the London Eye and known as the i360, is predicted to attract 500,000 visitors a year, boost the city's economy by £10 million and create more than 100 jobs.
Fears have been raised the project will be delayed if the decision drags on much longer.
Geoff Lockwood, chief executive of the West Pier Trust, said: "I remain confident that a decision is imminent. Work is due to start at the end of May so if we get the go-ahead in the next few weeks everything will be fine. We are sure the decision has not been delayed because of problems with our case, which is sound. It is just a case of Government bureaucracy.
"Noble's fears are unfounded. The council and independent consultants agreed the i360 would not take any of its share of the leisure pound and, if anything, would attract more people to the city and the seafront."
Councillors, conservation groups and tourism bosses have all backed the i360, Britain's highest observation tower, which would transport visitors up to 139 metres in a pod, providing panoramic views.
The pod, with a capacity of 125 people, would be more than nine times the size of a London Eye capsule.
Simon Burgess, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said: "We have made frequent inquiries to the Government, asking when the decision will be made.
"We have emphasised how important the project is to our plans for the future and the universal support it has received. The last thing we want to see is a delay on work starting."
A spokesman for the Department for Transport said a decision was expected to be made within weeks.
From The Argus, 23rd February 2007
Green light for green housing
A world first environmentally friendly housing development has been given the green light by councillors.
Brighton and Hove City Council yesterday agreed to plans to build the first ever One Planet Living community development at the Brighton Station site.
The One Planet Living (OPL) project is jointly run by the World Wildlife Fund and international sustainability organisation Bioregional. It aims to help people live within a sustainable ecological footprint.
The Brighton development is the first of its kind in the world and OPL hope to establish five like it by 2009.
Chairman of the planning committee Councillor Les Hamilton said: "This is a very special development and I'm very proud that Brighton and Hove is part of this global project and not only that, but we will have the very first One Planet Living community in the world. It will put our city on the international environmental map."
The theory behind OPL is that the development agrees to adhere to the OPL principles of zero carbon and sustainability.
Green city councillor Keith Taylor said: "Climate change, resource shortages, housing provision, traffic congestion, air pollution, sustainable food sourcing, reducing food miles, promoting social and environmental justice and participation and making positive health and community life - One Planet Living addresses all these challenges in the way their buildings are made and run."
Work is due to begin before the end of the year on the 162- apartment development, which will include roof allotments and wind turbines.
From The Argus, 22nd February 2007
£80m boost for college
A rundown area of the city centre could be transformed by an £80 million scheme to rebuild a college.
City College Brighton and Hove yesterday unveiled plans to demolish its facilities in Pelham Street and Cheapside, near Brighton station.
It wants to create a series of facilities, including an oval "hub", set around a public space, which would extend from the end of the North Laine shopping district to London Road.
Principal Ann Smith said the college wanted to build a vocational skills centre at its Wilson Avenue campus in east Brighton and tear down the Comart school buildings it took over in 2005.
The proposals include an education centre in the east stand of Brighton and Hove Albion's planned stadium at Falmer.
Mrs Smith said: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a 21st century college for this city. This is our opportunity to give this city the education facilities it deserves."
The proposals were drawn up following the announcement the Government's Learning and Skills Council (LSC) would be making extra funding available for providers of post-16 education.
To reduce the number of 16 to 19-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training, the LSC will spend £750 million on capital projects each year between 2006-07 and 2010-11.
City College plans to bid for funding to cover about £70 million of its project. Mrs Smith said its strong proposal stood a good chance of winning the funds.
It was invited by the LSC to make a comprehensive proposal for its sites, which could be completed by the 2011-12 academic year.
Chichester College has also outlined plans to bid for £80 million to regenerate its campuses in Chichester and Brinsbury, near Pulborough.
Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College in Dyke Road, Hove, and Varndean College in Surrenden Road, Brighton, are expected to make funding applications in the next few months.
City College wants to demolish the Pelham Tower eyesore and 100-year-old Cheapside buildings to free up a site stretching from York Place to Whitecross Street.
The main hub building is likely to be glass sided - although it has been shown in our pictures in bright colours for the purposes of illustration - and would be constructed on the car park.
Pelham Street would be pedestrianised and additional buildings would go where Pelham Tower stands and at the corner of Cheapside and Whitecross Street.
The further education college for more than 13,000 students ceased to run A-levels two years ago and has become the city's centre for vocational and training courses. It is one of Brighton and Hove's top ten employers.
The city campus would contain specialist centres for catering, science, hair and beauty, travel agency, media and other courses.
Mrs Smith said: "We have travelled around the country visiting colleges to come up with proposals."
City College chairman Martin Perry said: "There are 13 major construction projects tabled for Brighton and Hove in the coming years. With this centre we can make sure that work is done by young people from this city."
From The Argus, 21st February 2007
Falmer decision moves step nearer
The long-awaited decision on Brighton and Hove Albion's proposed community stadium at Falmer will move a step closer this week.
Thursday sees the deadline for written representations to be made to the Government, which is reconsidering the club's application to build the 22,000-seat facility.
Albion fans have already sent thousands of postcards supporting the stadium to Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly, who is set to make the final decision in the
Ms Kelly angered the club by agreeing to a request by Lewes District Council to extend the original December 28 deadline to allow the council more time to object to the plans.
She asked for more information about the Sheepcote Valley site which the council is touting as a better option for a stadium than Falmer.
But Albion say transport concerns make Sheepcote unworkable, a claim backed by the inspector at the last public enquiry.
Despite campaigners suffering from "Falmer Fatigue" after the ten-year battle for a new home, thousands of people have sent postcards to Ruth Kelly in a last-ditch attempt to prove the overwhelming public support in Sussex for the stadium.
The postcards feature key facts about the club's plans for the ground including the public transport links and the economic benefits.
Paul Samrah, chairman of the Falmer for All campaign, said: "Already thousands have been sent but it is vital that people continue to send the postcards.
"Thursday is one step further down the line for the process but in terms of the campaign we want people to keep sending postcards throughout February.
"It is a way of demonstrating the strength of feeling behind the stadium and to prove to Ms Kelly just how important her decision is.
"We've already had one secretary of state say yes and there is no reason why the new one shouldn't."
The original decision to grant permission, made by John Prescott in October 2005, was quashed in the High Court after it was revealed he had made a mistake in the wording of the document.
Now in its sixth year, the planning process has already cost the club more than £3 million.
Once the written representations have been received by the Government, supporters and opponents to the scheme will again have a chance to comment before Ms Kelly makes a final decision, likely to be released in time for the new season in August.
However campaigners fear the minister may even choose to re-open the public inquiry for a third time - a move which would spell financial disaster for the club.
The club are delivering a 'Falmer The Facts' leaflet across the Lewes District, and writing to each MP with a briefing pack detailing the history of the Falmer saga.
An Early Day Motion has also been tabled by Sussex MPs in Westminster urging officials to make a quick decision.
From The Argus, 13th February 2007
