Construction Industry News Archive
Welcome to the news archive page. This is where you will find articles from November 2006. If you would like to view our current news, please click here.
- New look for King Alfred
- Architect in stinging attack on city’s ‘banal’ master plan
- Firms taught how to fill gap in skills
- Marina towers cut down to size
- 650 homes planned for seaside town
- From derelict site to £55m sports arena
New look for King Alfred
New images of a proposed controversial housing development have been released.
The artist's impressions show the £290 million scheme earmarked for the King Alfred Centre in Hove from a range of new viewpoints and are included in a recent application by developer Karis.
Conservative councillor Averil Older said the pictures reveal for the first time the full impact on the city. She said:
"We can see what it will look like when you are walking along the seafront and it is a massive development on that small site."
The shots include views from the beach and Hove's bowling green.
The controversial seafront development was given the nod after an eleventh-hour agreement last month. Green councillors decided to back the proposal under the proviso alternative plans for Frank Gehry's Hove towers would be investigated.
The policy and resources committee agreed that Karis and the council would look at whether some of the 270 affordable housing units could be built elsewhere.
But a planning application was then submitted including all 751 flats on the original site, leading to calls of foul play from the Green Party.
Council leader Simon Burgess has since said changes will only be introduced after planning is agreed.
From The Argus, 9th November 2006
Architect in stinging attack on city’s ‘banal’ master plan
A top architect slammed city planners as a hearing began to decide if a 42-storey tower should be built on land near Brighton Station.
Plans for the 400ft building were unanimously rejected by Brighton and Hove City Council in April 2005.
For the next 11 days, planning inspector Kenneth Barton will hear evidence after an appeal by developer the Beetham Organisation against the council's decision.
The tower would contain 146 flats and a public rooftop garden, while the rest of the site would include a four-star hotel and form a pedestrianised square opposite the City Point building on New England Street.
The project's architect, Graham Morrison, attacked the developments already built or under construction on the 24 acres east of the station, which were earmarked by a council masterplan in 2002. He said:
"You have got a series of buildings whose architectural banality beggars belief given the significance of this site. How could the planners let that happen?"
Barrister Mary Macpherson, representing the council, told the inquiry the council objected to the tower because it did not fit in with the surrounding area, it had no outdoor recreation space, it did not offer enough social housing, it would block out sunlight and change wind patterns and it could affect nature conservation.
Both the council and the developer are due to call experts in planning, ecology and weather.
Mr Morrison gave evidence for four and a half hours yesterday as the inquiry got under way at the Clarendon Centre in New England Street
He defended the height of the planned building, provoking snorts of derision from the public gallery when he compared it to the bell tower in St Mark's Square, Venice. He said it would attract attention to the Grade I listed St Bartholomew's Church in Ann Street and the Grade II* listed railway station.
The developer claims a publicly accessible rooftop garden just below the tower's highest point would provide better views than the i360 planned for the foot of the West Pier, while the square at the foot of the tower would create a safe public space and provide a natural route from The Level up Ann Street to the station.
A former Brighton College schoolboy, Mr Morrison counts the BBC White City development among his architectural credits.
He is now working on masterplans for the 2012 London Olympics.
He said the tower would make a statement of self-confidence for the city.
From The Argus, 8th November 2006
Firms taught how to fill gap in skills
A £1 billion scheme to improve workers' skills was launched in Sussex yesterday.
Under the Government's Train To Gain programme, employers talk to a "broker"
who identifies skills gaps in their company and puts them in touch with a relevant training organisation. A consortium of 21 training providers, led by Central Sussex College, has been formed in Sussex to deliver training in IT, manufacturing and engineering, retail, health, construction and finance.
The scheme, run by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), was set up in response to a barrage of complaints from businesses that workers lacked the basic skills to do their jobs properly.
It also aims to address the apparent contradiction that a third of employers in Sussex have failed to invest in vocational training, NVQs or apprenticeships in the last 12 months.
Train To Gain, which is being rolled out nationwide, was launched at City College Brighton and Hove, one of the colleges which stands to gain from the initiative.
David Smith, area director for LSC Sussex, said:
"Train to Gain is a dynamic new way of working with employers and is designed to put their businesses' skills development needs first and ensure that the delivery of training is much more responsive to their needs.
We know that across Sussex 25 per cent of adults in the workforce lack the basic Level 2 qualification, equivalent to five good GCSEs - the minimum set of skills and competencies needed to get on in working life.
This compares to 21 per cent in Surrey and 29 per cent in Hampshire. Clearly this skills gap has implications for businesses in Sussex. Train To Gain plugs this gap and provides business-led training."
Helyn Soud, LSC skills broker for Sussex, said:
"These days in a competitive business market it is the survival of the fittest. Skills brokers can help you by kick-starting your fitness campaign so your people are skilled and ready to meet the challenges ahead."
The Sussex consortium provides training at a time and place to suit local businesses, with the majority of clients being new employers or those previously not engaged in training.
As well as free advice from skills brokers, much of the training qualifies for a Government subsidy; including basic reading, writing and maths, first full Level 2 qualifications and Apprenticeships, meaning that businesses aren't out of pocket.
Marie Harris, head of employer services at Central Sussex College said:
"Train To Gain presents an opportunity to respond to the skills and training needs of local employers and, in doing so, build long term relationships and trust."
LSC research shows almost a third, 29 per cent, of employers in Sussex have not invested in vocational, apprenticeship or NVQ training over the last 12 months.
Colleges and training organisations are expected to reap significant financial rewards from the Train To Gain scheme, which aims improve the skills of 350,000 people nationwide.
Andrew Green, City College's assistant principal, said:
"We will be specifically looking to engage with employers who are yet to realise the real positive impact on profits that investing in the training of their staff can bring."
From The Argus, 7th November 2006
Marina towers cut down to size
The height of the tower blocks proposed for Brighton Marina have been reduced by half, after developers took note of residents' concerns.
The tallest building now proposed is 29 storeys, standing on the site of the existing petrol station and forming the focus of the new Marina Square.
Plans for the controversial 40-storey skyscraper at the seaside end of the marina, dubbed the Roaring Forties, are not affected as it is part of a separate development.
Project manager Jim Dennis of the Brighton Marina Regeneration Project said they had listened to feedback from 1,300 residents who attended two public exhibitions in July and September. He said:
"We gave the community a commitment that we would work collaboratively and openly to create a development that responds to the aspirations of all stakeholders."
He said the project team, which is being led by the house-building arm of construction firm Laing O'Rourke, was committed to investing £30 million in the marina. He said:
"Our brief to the team was to explore how radically we could push the changes without destabilising the delicate financial sensitivity of the scheme."
The towers would have underground parking, with shops on the ground floor.
The rest of the building would contain flats. A total of 1,300 new homes would be built, 40 per cent of which would be affordable homes.
A 15-storey tower on the site of the estate manager's office has been cut to nine floors so it sits beneath the height of the cliff.
The proposed 32-storey tower on the McDonalds site would be replaced by three towers, with heights of nine, 14 and 17 storeys.
The 26-storey tower on the harbour wall has been replaced with three, ten-storey pavilion-style buildings, which would be sited to partially hide the multi-storey car park.
Although the scheme now includes more separate buildings, the total area of the site will not increase.
There are also plans to knock down the Asda store and build a new one with underground parking.
There would be a community centre, and developers are in talks with the city's primary care trust to open a doctors' surgery.
Other ideas include planting the rooftops with vegetation to increase biodiversity and to improve the view; building a lagoon alongside the new Asda store; and building a park under the cliffs with viewing platforms.
A newsletter giving further details about the scheme will be sent out to 10,000 homes in and around the marina this weekend.
From The Argus, 3rd November 2006
650 homes planned for seaside town
Plans have been drawn up to create 650 eco-friendly homes, a college, bus station, shops and a health centre.
Regeneration body Sea Space has submitted an outline planning application for the Ore Valley area of Hastings.
The homes would be built as part of the sustainable living Millennium Communities Programme run by English Partnerships.
There are also plans for a further education college in Parker Road and a public transport interchange next to Ore station.
The planning application is the result of two years' work by Sea Space, Hastings Borough Council and English Partnerships.
The homes will be two and three-bedroom houses and flats and will be built on derelict sites at Mount Pleasant Hospital in Frederick Road, Stills Factory in Fellows Road, Ore station goods yard and Broomgrove power station.
They will be built to "excellent" standard - the Building Research Establishment's highest environmental rating for houses.
Thirty per cent will be "affordable" and many will be available under shared ownership.
A decision by the council's planning department is expected in the new year.
If permission is granted, work will start in the spring.
From The Argus, 23rd October 2006
From derelict site to £55m sports arena
Developers want to build a £55 million international sports complex and low-rise futuristic homes.
The Brighton International Arena would feature two Olympicsized ice rinks, a skating school run by Olympic champions Jane Torvill and Robin Cousins, a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena and a cinema.
A planning application is being drawn up and is expected to be submitted next month.
The arena would host major sports events including European and international skating competitions and exhibitions. Rivalling the Brighton Centre, it would be a modern complex on a par with the Birmingham NEC.
Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson has expressed an interest in building a restaurant as part of the complex.
Business leaders say the project would give the local economy a massive boost, providing 126 permanent jobs and 225 part-time positions.
Yesterday Brighton and Hove City Council confirmed a planning application was expected next month and, if successful, work could start at the site at Black Rock, next to Brighton Marina, next year.
It is estimated that building work could take up to two years but the complex has already been offered as a home ground to major sports teams, including the Brighton Bears.
The application could bring to a close almost four years of speculation over the derelict site.
The consortium behind Brighton International Arena has been working to adhere to planning regulations since city councillors chose its design, created by London's S&P Architects, to develop the site in 2003.
Bids were invited for the site as far back as 2002.
Rival proposals, including a five-star spa hotel and winter gardens, have all been rejected.
The city council said the arena would best enhance the city and would have major financial benefits, including about £8 million in increased tourism revenue.
The exterior of the arena would be covered largely in glass and lightweight metals.
A 64-unit low rise housing block would offset the cost of building the arena.
The council said at least 40 per cent of the housing would be "affordable".
Yesterday a spokesman for the arena consortium said developers did not want to comment on the plans. However, Lynda Hyde, a member of the planning committee, said she would look at the application with an "open mind".
From The Argus, 20th October 2006
