The Pegasus Report - Issue #132

In Infrastructure, Transport for London has opened southeast London’s first major protected cycleway. New cycle routes of the type seen in the UK’s biggest cities could also be created on three key Solihull roads as part of a drive to get more people cycling.

In the South East, the green light has been given for a £200m business park on the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells in Kent. In Hertfordshire, BAM is set be chosen for the high-profile deal to build a £230m TV and film studios for Sky. In Croydon, the go-ahead to start construction of the £250m Morello II twin tower residential scheme has been given. In Nine Elms, the world’s first ‘sky pool’ has been lifted into place suspended between the rooftops of two luxury skyscrapers.

In the Midlands, Birmingham’s tallest commercial building – and the tallest under construction in the UK outside London – has reached its full 108m height. In Worcester, plans have been submitted for a new £85m waterfront community. In Nottingham, work will start next month to build a £15m ‘mock hospital’ training facility at Nottingham Trent University.

In the north west, planning consent has been given for a £200m transformation of the former Kellogg’s site in Manchester’s Old Trafford district.  A plan has been revealed for a £530m transformation of Stockport station which would serve as the ‘ultimate southern gateway to Greater Manchester’.

In Yorkshire, plans are in for £40m 39-storey residential block in Sheffield city centre. In Hull, contractors are being invited to bid for the £12m refurbishment of the Hull Maritime Museum.

In the latest Meet the Boss series, I speak with Mark Lacey, Equity and Founding Partner at alinea Consulting.

alinea are a London based pure Cost Consultancy with a headcount of around 100.

This is a wide ranging discussion, including why Mark and alinea are so passionate about BIM and the wider impact of technology, why alinea will be very measured about future growth and why the sustainability and carbon agenda are so important.

As a business, alinea is synonymous with the London Office sector; currently acting as QS on most of the tall office towers currently under construction in London, so we of course delve into Mark’s view of the office sector.

This is a great discussion that I am sure you will all find interesting.

In this week’s technology news we start with news of large, brightly coloured road airbags that are been trialed to protect workers and warn drivers that work is underway.

We have a jam packed ‘green’ section this week!

This week’s global round-up.

This week’s first article looks at mentorship and how nurturing early-career talent can have a profound impact.

Have a great week ahead!