The Pegasus Report - Issue #135

In the North West, the green light has been given for 650 apartment scheme in Liverpool. Also in Liverpool, one of the major gateways into the city, Lime Street, is to undergo a £47m radical revamp, it will improve access for pedestrians, cyclists and bus passengers. In Salford a contractor has been named for a £70m residential scheme, two blocks, one of 14 and one of 17 storeys, will provide 280 apartments. In Salford Quays a £75m 29 storey, tower, Anchorage Quay, has been approved by planners. In Manchester, plans to add a seven-storey extension to the rear of the grade two-listed Old Bank Building have been approved by the City Council. Co-op Live has also been given the green light by Manchester City Council, it will become the UK’s largest arena. Plans have been submitted for for a four-storey building and car park in Manchester city centre with two office towers linked by a glasshouse. In Rochdale an £8.3m grant has been given by the National Lottery to fund the restoration of  the Town Hall. In Bamber Bridge, land has been acquired for the expansion of the Wren Green development.

In the South East, planning permission has been given for the regeneration of Stevenage town centre. Along with 1,864 new homes the scheme will deliver an integrated public services hub comprising new state-of-the-art health facilities, library, retail and workspaces. Work has started on the £50m contract to build The Oak Cancer Centre at The Royal Marsden in London.  The green light has been given for a 20-home scheme in North Kensington on the banks of the Grand Union Canal. Crossrail trial running, a vital testing phase of the Crossrail project should be underway before the end of March. The University of Oxford has been granted investment of £200 million worth of funding, it will provide a new science building with the university’s departments of zoology, plant sciences and experimental psychology. Turner & Townsend have had a major win after picking up the QS and PM roles on a scheme to revamp the Ritz Hotel in London’s Piccadilly

In the South West, a contract has been awarded for a new 6 storey office building in the heart of Bristol’s commercial district.

On the South coast, a contract has been awarded for the preliminary works contract for the proposed £1.7bn upgrade of the A303 between Amesbury and Berwick Down including a tunnel under Stonehenge. A London-based developer has submitted plans for a hotel and residential scheme on Fisherman’s Dock next to Poole’s marina in Dorset. The project will see the construction of 228 flats in three blocks next to a 118-bed boutique hotel with rooftop restaurant and bar.

In Wales a £16.5m renovation of the Pantycelyn student hall of residence for Aberystwyth University has been completed. A new £23 million integrated Health and Wellbeing Village in Bridgend is to get an £18 million funding boost from the Welsh Government.

In the West Midlands, plans have been submitted to construct the world’s tallest pure octagonal residential building at the Paradise site in Birmingham and lans for a “state-of-the-art” new medical centre in the middle of Wednesbury are moving forward, with work expected to start next year.

In Scotland, a main contractor has agreed a £161m contract price for a new Aberdeen cancer and maternity hospital, work on the landmark project is set to start next month. The construction of a second golf course at President Donald Trump’s Aberdeenshire resort has been approved.

Deals worth a combined £16.5m to build border control posts at British ports as the UK gets ready for Brexit have been annouched. Three new border control posts will be built at ports in Plymouth, Hull and Immingham for Associated British Ports (ABP), which operates 21 ports around the UK and manages around a quarter of the country’s overseas trade.

In this episode, I chat with Steve Allcoat, five months into his journey as Managing Director of Callidus, a Leeds based multi-discipline consultancy; originally founded as a Health & Safety consultancy, but now much more diverse in it’s offering. In this episode you will hear about;

How Callidus have actually been operating with a remote team well before Covid and the benefits it has brought

How and why Steve was given the MD role in his early 30s and importantly why his previous roles had made him ready to take it on

Why Steve believes technology is going to change the industry for the better

His career lessons and what he would advise others to do to advance their careers.

We have a bumper technology section for you this week!

This week’s green news.

This week’s global round-up.

I do like to see innovative ways of attracting a new generation to the construction industry. This week’s first article is about eight schools in Hampshire that have been lucky enough to receive a unique LEGO Education.

Have a great week ahead.