NEWS DIGEST FROM CECA NORTH WEST, 8 JUNE 2016

Welcome to this round up of news from CECA North West. If there are any items you wish to include, please let me know. If you would like to contact me, or wish to arrange a meeting, I can be reached via email: [email protected] or mobile 07703 585027.

Civil Engineering Contractors’ Association North West news

Contact details: The address is: CECA NW, Cinnabar Court, 5300 Daresbury Park, Daresbury, Warrington WA4 4GE Tel: 01928 248735. Although the office is not manned full time, I can be contacted on the above email and mobile number. We are also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CECANW

Free and discounted services for members – what can we do for you? CECA NW always wants to make sure it delivers the services that members want. So, please tell us what your priorities are. We are always looking for ways to enhance the services CECA NW offers to members, which currently include:  Legal services (see below)  Training  Tendering support  Market intelligence  Hot desk facilities at the Daresbury Park office – call Guy Lawson for details  Lobbying But, please contact Guy Lawson if there are any specific areas where we can be of assistance.

The updated CECA NW Capacity & Capability matrix is now live: http://www.ceca.co.uk/regions/north-west/news/ceca-north-west-capability-capacity-matrix-april- 2016.aspx

CECA NW Roadmap 2016 – update now out The CECA NW Roadmap sets out events planned for the year ahead, and has been updated: http://www.ceca.co.uk/media/216806/ceca-north-west-road-map-2016.pdf

CECA NW 2016 flyer The flyer is available online, with hard copies currently being printed: http://www.ceca.co.uk/media/225747/ceca-north-west-flyer-may-2016.pdf

CECA NW Legal Advice Service Willow Contracts has provided very high quality advice to CECA NW members over the last year – and their support and expertise for legal and contractual matters is highly recommended. The email address exclusively for members is [email protected] and this will automatically contact Chris Hutchinson and his colleague. For the telephone service, the dedicated number is 01924 919392. In the event that the call cannot be taken any voicemail left is automatically routed to Chris’s mobile phone. Call costs I am advised are at standard rates.

Tendering workshops Members are invited to contact Guy Lawson for 1-2-1 tendering workshops, where he will advise on PQQs and ITTs, eg on how to present socio-economic and CSR data as effectively as possible. This is a free service to CECA NW members. Please contact him at the above number or email.

CECA NW Executive Committee, Weds 29 June 2016, 08.30 for 09.00, Daresbury Park Hotel All are welcome, whether you are a committee member or not, but please contact Guy Lawson to book your place. Also, members are encouraged to bring a young professional along. We are also an all-male committee at the moment – we have some free places and would particularly welcome applications from women working for any of our member companies.

CECA Vision NW 2016 – Friday 14 October 2016 CECA Vision North West Vision will take place at the Midland Hotel, , on Friday 14 October. As this is CECA’s 20th anniversary, the event promises to be a bit special. To book your places, please contact Alison Young: [email protected] The afternoon session is from 16.00 to 18.00 – it’s free to attend, but please contact Alison to book your place. Speakers lined up for a Question Time style debate, so far, are:  Kate Willard, Director of Stobart Group and Chair of Atlantic Gateway  Deborah McLaughlin, Regional Director of the Homes & Communities Agency  Nick Spall, Route Delivery Director, Network Rail  Stuart Westgate, Programme Development Director, HS2

There are awards for the following categories:  Project of the Year (up to £5 million)  Innovation & Sustainability  Project of the Year (over £5 million)  Collaborative Partnership  Young Professional of the Year  Lifetime Achievement  Social Value Please note that all entries must be received by Monday 5 September 2016, and that all entries for project of the year (both categories) should be accompanied by a submission of up to 500 words, high resolution images, video or timelapse photography, so that they can be displayed on the night.

CECA NW/Sustrans Rosslyn Colderley, England Director North for Sustrans, has offered to meet CECA NW members to go through its development plans. Please let me know if you would be interested and I will arrange a date accordingly.

CECA NW planned client liaison meetings Client meetings currently being planned are with:  SSE  Environment Agency  Network Rail  IUS  Tidal Lagoon Power Some of the above are taking longer to set up than anticipated. More details will be issued in due course, but interested parties should contact Guy Lawson to book a place.

Proposed civils training facility – June update The proposed civil engineering training facility at Reaseheath College, in conjunction with University of Chester, is developing well. A £5 million centre is planned, and a bid has gone into Cheshire & Warrington LEP, to be followed in July by a bid to CITB. There is no funding requirement from CECA NW, just the need for members to support the proposal and potentially offer on-site experience for some of the learners. Further details will be circulated as the project develops.

CECA NW Schools Brochure Attached is our first step in a campaign to attract more young people into civil engineering: http://www.ceca.co.uk/media/170369/ceca-north-west-schools-brochure-may-2015.pdf It has also started to be circulated via the STEM network in the North West: http://www.merseystem.co.uk/2015/06/engineering-career-the-civil-engineering-contractors- association/

Sponsoring the Civil Engineering Challenge We are also sponsoring resource packs for Girlguiding UK in the North West, to enable guides to achieve the Civil Engineering badge, developed by Pippa Higgins of Vinci. Please let me know if you would like more information. We have now funded the first resource packs for 14th St James Southport Brownies, and the 32nd Warrington Scouts.

CECA National Committees - 2016 Calendar 23-Jun-16 CECA Environment Group 13-Oct-16 CECA Procurement Group 23-Jun-16 CECA Energy Forum 20-Oct-16 CECA Innovation Group 12-Jul-16 CECA Health & Safety 02-Nov-16 CECA Transport Group 12-Jul-16 CECA Water Group 08-Nov-16 CECA Health & Safety 12-Jul-16 CECA Training & 24-Nov-16 CECA Training & Development Forum Development Forum 07-Sep-16 CECA Environment Group 29-Nov-16 CECA Conference 08-Sep-16 CECA Rail Forum 29-Nov-16 CECA 20 Anniversary 15-Sep-16 CECA Roads Forum 06-Dec-16 CECA Environment Group 06-Oct-16 CECA Energy Forum 08-Dec-16 CECA Rail Forum

Training & Development

NW Contractors’ Training Group – free for all CECA NW members from 1 Jan 2016 The Group provides access to CITB funding to support training, and its members receive free or substantially discounted training, for a nominal membership charge (£100 per annum for non-CECA NW companies). If you are interested in joining the Group, please let Gill Steele know: [email protected] Please CECA NW could members advise their Training Managers of this opportunity.

Copies of the presentations from the last meeting, on Modern Slavery, Travelling Time and an update on Holiday Pay, are available upon request from Guy Lawson. The next meeting is at the Holiday Inn Preston South, at 08.00 for 08.30 on Wednesday 19 July. Please book your place with Gill Steele: [email protected]

CECA NW Mock Trial A Mock Trial will be held for CECA NW members on Friday 11 November. Further details will be issued shortly, but please let me know if you would like to attend – it will be a half day, and free for

CECA NW members. We are planning a seminar on Employment Law, to examine recent updates, with ACAS They have asked us to suggest topics that you would like to be covered. Please send suggestions to me, so that I can get the seminar set up and booked.

Social Value seminar Copies of the slides from the social value seminar, given by Knowsley CVS, are now available.

Knowles seminar programme, spring 2016 The following topics are included in the seminar programme with Geraldine Fleming, Vice President of Knowles. All are free except where marked. Please note, to book your place for all of the seminars, please contact Jemma Carmody: [email protected]

Date Topic Location

08.00 for 08.30 Knowles/CECA NW legal Knowles offices Tuesday 12 July 2016 seminars 3 3200 Daresbury Park Framework contracts Warrington WA4 4BU 08.00 for 08.30 Knowles/CECA NW legal Knowles offices Tuesday 20 September 2016 seminars 4 3200 Daresbury Park Ten top tips for using an NEC Warrington contract WA4 4BU

CECA NW/CDM seminar We are looking into arranging a seminar on the new CDM regulations for CECA NW members. Further details in due course, but please let me know if you are interested in attending.

Potential technical seminar on Geotechnical Solutions in Civil Engineering David Gibson of BAM Ritchies, UK Registered Ground Engineering Adviser, recently gave a seminar on the above to CECA SW. If members would be interested in a similar session in the North West, please let me know. It will be free of charge.

GoConstruct A new campaign by CITB to attract more entrants to the industry, GoConstruct, has been launched – the website has been significantly developed since the launch: https://www.goconstruct.org/en/

ICES Training The following courses are being run at ICES’s Training Suite in Sale: http://www.surco.uk.com/training/suite/ Site Safety Plus courses – removal of renewal of Grace Period A change has been introduced to the renewal process for Site Safety Plus Course (e.g SMSTS, SSSTS) – the attendance of the refresher course and renewal of the certificate MUST be completed BEFORE the certificate has expired; this comes into force from the end of the year. Previously a certificate could be renewed up to 6 months after it expired.

Engineering UK 2016 Engineering UK 2016 The State of Engineering analyses the engineering industry’s capacity for growth and details engineering in education, training and employment. http://www.engineeringuk.com/_resources/documents/EngineeringUK-Report-2016-Full- Report_live.pdf

Policy & Industry Affairs

Update on the Apprenticeship Levy and CITB The Government’s new Apprenticeships Levy (AL) kicks in next April, and all companies with a payroll over £3m will need to pay it at 0.5% on their paybill above that figure. In England these employers can use the money raised by AL vouchers towards the cost of apprenticeship training. In Scotland and Wales, we are still waiting to hear how the funds raised by the AL will be used. The government will not exempt employers who already pay the CITB Levy from the AL. So CITB needs to work with employers to look at how any potential future CITB Levy would sit alongside the AL. This is a complex issue and employers have said that CITB should provide the time to have a meaningful consultation on this. CITB has therefore agreed with government that it does not need to accelerate the Consensus process but can stick to the original timetable, which will see formal Consultation on the CITB levy start in January 2017 on a new 2018 Levy Order. By then you will have the full details of the Apprenticeship Levy and CITB will have set out its offer to the industry and agreed with you how it will modernise the Grants Scheme. CECA have been speaking with CITB about this over the past few months. We think a full consultation on the future of the CITB Levy is essential. To make this possible, there will be a one- year ‘transition’ package from April 2017, when the Apprenticeship Levy comes in. This will provide enhanced grant support on their training activity for one year to employers who are required to pay the AL to mitigate the burden of paying both levies. This will not affect the grant support available to firms not paying the AL as this is temporary transition package will be funded through efficiency savings and reserves.

Double levy payment to cost contractors at least £38m The CITB is looking for ways to hand back cash to contractors who will be hit with double levy payments next year. At least 900 of construction’s biggest firms will have to pay two training levies from next April – the current one to the CITB and the Government’s new apprenticeship levy. The double bills will be delivered to firms with a wage bill of over £3m. Large companies will have to pay a 0.5% levy on their total wage bill to the CITB and a similar payment to the government. Now CITB chiefs are looking for ways to give some of the extra cash back to soften the blow to contractors. The CITB is looking to hand back the money in the form of ‘enhanced funding for training they undertake’. The rebates are expected to total £38m and the CITB will fund them from efficiency savings and its bank deposits. Steve Radley, Director of Policy at CITB, said: “We are currently working with industry to agree the mechanics of the transition arrangements and will announce this in early July.” The CITB has also set up a working party to consult with the industry on how the levy will look from 2018.

CIJC pay negotiations Pay talks with the unions have stalled with a formal “failure to agree” situation currently existing. The current pay settlement expires on Sunday 26th June and the expectation was that a new agreement with regard to pay etc. would have been negotiated by now and effective Monday 27th June. However, as nothing new has been agreed there will be no change to terms and conditions from 27th June. A minimum of one month’s promulgation notice is required following any settlement/agreement before any changes can take effect. This includes all aspects of pay and conditions including fare & travel allowances, lodging allowance & Industry sick pay. We do not back- date. Employers next meet with the unions on Wednesday 22nd June when it may be possible to reach an agreement. If so a minimum of 1 month’s notice of any changes agreed will be promulgated.

Third annual UK Rail Event, 22 - 23 June 2016, Inmarsat, London https://rail.newcivilengineer.com/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiT1dFelltWTFOV1kyTkdVdyIsInQiOiJuMFIraEkxST FvbFFVS0tqUzBsTWhYY0RNdGFrTWk1VnUvRWZXNUthZ2JWajQxK09mRmtyVkV1UHVCWDRDV 2F0YVNYVnlsNFRnaGZWYUoxTzhSS2F4ZC96dHZidWNYYWtZcWp1WXZ4am80bz0ifQ%3D%3D

City & Financial’s 13th annual Infrastructure Policy Summit, 7 July 2016, London http://www.cityandfinancialconferences.com/events/the-2016-uk-infrastructure-policy-summit/event- summary-f7d49342f9a84b04bef4a195ad9459f4.aspx?i=2329cf5d-7bbd-4de4-a950-a9458e728480

UCATT Conference Votes for merger or transfer to Unite the Union UCATT conference on May 18 voted for a merger or transfer of engagements to Unite the Union. The union made the decision in order to preserve its existing structures and to maximise the representation of construction workers in all sectors. Following the vote UCATT will now enter into full negotiations with Unite the union. Once negotiations are complete a vote on a transfer of engagements of all UCATT members will take place. https://www.ucatt.org.uk/ucatt-conference-votes-merger-or-transfer-unite-union

Slow progress for women in construction The number of women employed in the construction industry is 16 per cent lower than it was 10 years ago, according to labour force statistics from the ONS. As of Q1 2016, there were 265,000 women working in construction, 16 per cent lower than the 315,000 in construction in Q1 2006. In contrast, the number of men working in construction is only 4.2 per cent lower over the same period. Comparing Q1 2006 with Q1 2016, the number of directly employed men in construction has dropped by 14.3 per cent, while the number of directly employed women has fallen by 22.6 per cent. However, labour force statistics have recently shown signs of recovering: the number of women in construction was 18 per cent higher in Q1 2016 than the recessionary low point of 224,000 recorded in Q3 2011. Nevertheless, women only made up 11.7 per cent of the total workforce as of Q1 2016 – down from 13.2 per cent 10 years ago.

Government adds £63bn to its construction pipeline in just seven months The government’s construction pipeline has soared by nearly 53 per cent in the last seven months but questions have been raised over its delivery. There are now 14,705 government-funded projects in the pipeline covering March 2016 to 2020 and beyond, worth a combined £181.36bn, according to research by KPMG. This is £62.64bn higher than KPMG’s previous government pipeline analysis, released last August.

Procure 22 shortlist announced All six firms currently on the ProCure21+, the Department of Health (DoH) administered framework are on the shortlist for P22, along with seven other bidders – some of which are newcomers. The incumbents are: Balfour Beatty, Galliford Try hps, Interserve, Integrated Health Projects (Sir Robert McAlpine / Vinci), Kier and Willmott Dixon. Former ProCure21 partners BAM Construct, Laing O’Rourke and Medicinq (Midas and Simons) are also shortlisted on the new Department of Health- administered framework, having failed to win a place on ProCure21+. Carillion, Graham Construction, Morgan Sindall and Sisk are understood to have been invited to tender for a place on the £4bn P22 framework. P22 will require savings targets to be identified, while all projects and costs will be benchmarked. It will use the NEC3 Option C form of contract and contractors will have demands placed on them for use of BIM and Government Soft Landings. Requirements will include contractors providing a “BIM champion” to take part in a framework development working group and ensuring BIM is used throughout their companies and their supply chain for P22 projects. In the DoH’s high-level requirements document, contractors are told to ‘encourage health clients to use the P22 framework over other procurement routes’. The contractors will be rated on KPIs, which will be publicised, including: client satisfaction; project management criteria (time, cost and quality); health & safety performance; bidding frequency and success rates. The framework is expected to commence at the start of October with six contractors likely to be appointed.

Northern Powerhouse conference – Outcomes Report https://www.uk-northern-powerhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/UK-Northern-Powerhouse- Outcomes-Report.pd f

Lord Adonis: HS3 could be the rail revolution of the 21st century A higher speed, higher frequency, higher capacity railway, supported by a better smarter motorway system is long overdue in the north of England. Transforming transportation between the great cities of the north is undeniably necessary. On capacity alone, existing infrastructure will simply fail if it is not drastically improved. http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/apr/27/lord-adonis-hs3-rail-revolution-north- high-speed

National Needs Assessment – an update from Sir John Armitt https://www.ice.org.uk/media-and-policy/the-infrastructure-blog/april-2016/national-needs- assessment-an-update

The Government’s response to the NIC’s reports on Northern connectivity http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written- statement/Commons/2016-04-13/HCWS671

UCATT wins landmark victory in Dudley over holiday pay rights Construction union UCATT has won a significant victory at an employment tribunal in Dudley, in the West Midlands, where 56 members working for Dudley Council successfully secured the right to be paid holiday pay at the level of pay they usually earned – and not just at their contractual pay level. The workers worked extra voluntary shifts on a regular basis, as part of a normal weekly and monthly work pattern. Judge Warren accepted that as these voluntary shifts were carried out week-on-week, as a regular part of the job, and thus the received pay for these extra shifts was the workers’ usual wage level - and so should be reflected in their holiday pay. This includes elements for voluntary overtime, call out and standby payments. The fifty six workers are specific and multi-skilled tradesmen working for Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. The members work a standard 37 hour contract with 2 to 4 hours additional contractual overtime. https://www.ucatt.org.uk/ucatt-wins-landmark-victory-dudley-over-holiday-pay-rights

Tough new health and safety sentencing guidelines Large companies in England and Wales can expect fines of around £10 million for the most serious breaches of health and safety law. https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/HS-offences-definitive-guideline-FINAL- web.pdf

ACAS Workplace Trends Survey http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/l/4/Workplace_trends_of_2016.pdf

News from ACAS – dress codes and discrimination http://northwest.cmail2.com/t/ViewEmail/r/E64C7EE997984E672540EF23F30FEDED/AF34B5EA269 6F65F05AF428974F65BCD

North West

MediaCityUK to double in size with £1bn of development MediaCityUK is set to double in size over the next decade under plans submitted to Salford City Council. Up to ten new buildings are planned with a development value of more than £1 billion. The second phase will include 540,000 sq ft of offices and 1,800 apartments alongside retail and leisure elements. The plans are expected to be considered by Salford’s planning panel in September. MediaCityUK is a joint venture between Peel Land and Property and Legal and General Capital. The current creative and digital hub already houses 250 businesses including the BBC and ITV.

Penwortham bypass consultation begins Public consultation ahead of a planning application has opened into the proposed £17.5m Penwortham Bypass in Lancashire. A six-week public consultation has begun, closing on Friday 15 July. The public are also being asked for their views on improvements proposed along the A59 and in Penwortham town centre, once the bypass has opened. People will be able to see some early ideas for developments in the centre of Penwortham, including opportunities to give more space and priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users, as well as ways to tackle local parking issues. The public events will be held at St Mary’s Church Hall in Penwortham from 10am to 8pm on Monday 13 June, Thursday 16 June and Wednesday 22 June. A planning application is due to be made in autumn this year. If approved, the bypass will run along the south western side of Penwortham between the A59 Liverpool Road and A582, forming a junction with Broad Oak roundabout. The road has been designed as a dual carriageway, with a 50mph speed limit along its whole length. It is a major multi-million pound investment in the road network in South Ribble that will provide extra capacity on the roads and reduce congestion through the town itself, especially at peak times.

Northern highways maintenance goes to market again Highways England is planning to let its newly-framed maintenance and response contracts covering North West area 13 and North East area 14 after cancelling the previous round of bidding. Highways England announced it had abandoned procurement of asset support contracts for these regions over a year ago, in favour of bringing control of area maintenance and minor build works in-house. Area 1 and Area 2 are also to be delivered under the new regime, after previous bid submissions were also under-bid by contractors. Highways England is aiming to let the maintenance and repairs-only contracts for up to 15 years, with reviews every three years for modifications to the winning contractor’s accepted plan. It aims to appoint a winning firm to start the new regime on 14 December, running until April 2032 if all goes to plan. New estimated costing for upkeep covers a broad annual spending spread of £8.75m-£27.5m in area 13, which covers roads in Cumbria and parts of Lancashire, while area 14 covering Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham and North Yorkshire is estimated to have a £6.2m-£33.5m annual spend. Highways England is planning a tender conference on Monday 13 June at the Holiday Inn Darlington, DL10 6NR from 10am — 1pm to set out plans. To register an interest email Highways England: [email protected]

Plans in for Chester’s £300m Northgate Development Cheshire West and Chester Council have formally submitted plans to develop the Northgate area of the city centre as a retail-led, mixed use development. The Chester Northgate Scheme aims to deliver around 500,000 sq ft of new retail, restaurant and leisure facilities which are planned to be delivered over two phases of construction. The project has been around in various guises since 1991 with the last version sunk by the 2008 credit crunch. This latest scheme will require a financial investor to get it off the ground. With backing, phase one could start by autumn 2017. This would see the development of restaurants within the shell of the current library building, a new market hall replacing the current Chester Market, a six screen cinema and a 167 bedroom 4 star hotel and conference centre. The hotel would replace the Crowne Plaza Hotel which together with the Forum and several other buildings on the site would be demolished in 2019. Work would then begin on the second phase of construction to create the main retail offer, department store and residential.

Winners of North Yorkshire County Council £600m civils and carriageway frameworks Contractors have been picked for three frameworks that could be worth more than £600m. North Yorkshire County Council has appointed 13 contractors, from 44 bidders, to its civil engineering framework, worth up to £400m over four years:

CECF2016 Cemex UK Operations Applebridge Construction Colas Balvac Ltd (Balfour Beatty) Galliford Try Infrastructure Balfour Beatty Hanson Quarry Products Europe Ltd, trading CR Reynolds as Hanson Asphalt & Contracting Clugston Construction Rainton Construction Coffey Construction Ringway Infrastructure Services Esh Construction Tarmac Trading Farrans Construction, trading as a division of Thomas Bow Northstone (NI) Ltd PCF2016 Fox (Owmby) Alfred Bagnall & Sons Fox Building & Engineering CR Reynolds Hall Construction Services Eric Wright Civil Engineering Hinko Construction Industrial Coating Services PBS Construction (North East) Pyeroy Ltd (Wood Group) CPSCF2016 RLP Painting Contractors CR Reynolds Taziker Industrial

Burnham says government left Manchester £1bn short Manchester mayoral hopeful Andy Burnham has accused the government of leaving the city short of £1 billion in public funding. Mr Burnham, who plans to run for mayor of what the Tories claim will be a Northern Powerhouse, has written to Chancellor George Osborne insisting more resources are needed.

Luciana Berger to stand for mayor of Liverpool city region Luciana Berger, the shadow minister for mental health, has said she intends to run for mayor of the Liverpool city region, becoming the second Labour frontbencher this month to launch a bid for a northern English mayoralty.

BBC Oxford Road plans set for thumbs up The proposed transformation of the former BBC Oxford Road site into Circle Square looks set to take a major step forward after Manchester's councillors were advised to approve the second phase of development, which involves creating almost 500,000 sq ft of accommodation, 300,000 sq ft of offices, 100,000 sq ft of commercial space, and a 1,000-space multi-storey car park.

Five city region projects allocated share of £21m EU funding by Liverpool LEP Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has revealed that up to £21m worth of European Regional Development Funds is now up for grabs as part of the wider €221million European Structural & Investment Funds (ESIF) Programme. Five new projects within the region are due to benefit from the investment cash, which are specially selected by the LEP to help drive sustainable economic growth and create new jobs in the area. https://bdaily.co.uk/entrepreneurship/24-05-2016/five-city-region-projects-allocated-share-of-21m-eu- funding-by-liverpool-lep/#bulletin- 8c549006bcab3fb4624b4581d744fbd3e71632bc?utm_source=bulletin

Plans go in for £185m Manchester towers Muse Developments and Network Rail have submitted plans for a £185m mixed-use development in Manchester city centre next to the recently redeveloped Victoria station. A master plan has been unveiled for the 2.5-acre site on Corporation Street which is currently a car park. The proposed development will feature three new buildings – a 150,000 sq ft, Grade A, eight- storey office block and two 20 and 25 storey residential buildings.

Shortlisted designs for Moorside Power Station In January 2016, NuGen commissioned the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Landscape Institute to run independent design competitions for architects and landscape architects respectively. The idea was to find some of the best design thinking in the world to influence the Moorside Project. The Landscape Institute ran a competition to find designs for the landscape mounds and a panel of local experts worked with NuGen to shortlist the finalists. The eventual winning architects and landscape architects will have the chance to bid for a contract to support NuGen’s design work for aspects of the Moorside Project. The design competition entries represent the ideas of independent architects and landscape architects, and do not form part of NuGen’s Proposed Scheme. However, NuGen is keen to hear views about the designs from the public. http://moorside.landscapeinstitute.org/submissions/

Manchester tables Medieval Quarter and Piccadilly Basin plans Masterplans to guide £10m of public realm improvements around Manchester Cathedral and Chetham’s School of Music, and the construction of more than 1,000 homes and 250,000 sq ft of commercial space at Piccadilly Basin, are to be considered at the city council’s executive meeting. The Medieval Quarter sits at the boundary between Manchester and Salford, across the river from the Greengate development area and near to Victoria station, Exchange Square and NOMA. Manchester City Council has prepared a framework, advised by Simpson Haugh & Partners, for £10.8m of works to the public realm in the area. The council is in negotiation with Chetham’s to take a long lease on the site of the 1960s Palatine Buildings which are currently being demolished, for use as public realm. The land will be transferred to the council on a peppercorn lease, which will contain a restriction which will limit the use of the land to public open space only.

Construction of Mersey Gateway enters its third year Work has started on the main deck of the new six-lane toll bridge that will link the towns of Runcorn and Widnes, and teams will begin to connect the steel support cables to the deck and upper pylons this summer. ‘Trinity’, the project’s movable scaffolding system, has cast the first 250m of the north approach viaduct, and a new MSS is on its way to Halton to build the south approach viaduct. The local road network is undergoing significant transformation with major junction upgrades taking place right across the borough, including the redesigned M56 Junction 12 roundabout, which is due for completion in June. Newly released figures for the first two years of work on the Mersey Gateway Project show a direct contribution to the North West economy of £129m. The figures account for contracts placed by the main contractor, Merseylink Construction Joint Venture, with 351 different suppliers and sub-contractors based within a 30-mile radius of the site in Halton since work began in May 2014.

Homes get green light at Omega South Omega Warrington has secured outline planning permission for 1,100 homes, along with shops, restaurants, and a hotel, at the southern end of the 550-acre Omega development zone. Omega Warrington is a joint venture between Miller Developments and KUC Properties, in partnership with landowner the Homes & Communities Agency, supported by Warrington Council and the Cheshire & Warrington LEP. Around 20% of the homes will be for first time buyers. The project includes a care home, pub, and landscaping. Work is already underway on part of Omega South for the construction of a new primary school, Barrow Hall. The school is due to open in September 2016 and will serve existing local residents and the new community at Omega. The plans will now be referred to the Department for Communities & Local Government before final planning permission can be issued.

North West most active region outside South East for construction The North West was the strongest regional market in England for new construction activity, outside London and the South East, in the year to March 2016, according to the JLL and Glenigan UK Commercial Construction Activity Index. The research found in the 12 months to the end of the first quarter, work started on £2.2bn of non-residential construction schemes in the North West, compared with £1.8bn in the West Midlands and £1.4bn in Yorkshire. However, the figures represented a 9.6% drop in the value of new project starts recorded to the end of Q4 2015. This decrease reflected the national picture, which saw the value of new construction projects fall by 7.2% from the previous quarter, to £23bn.

Bentley Motors’ £40m expansion approved The luxury car manufacturer will add 500,000 sq ft to its Crewe base after Cheshire East Council gave consent to proposals at its planning committee. An engineering technical centre, design centre, and business building are to be constructed on an 11-acre site opposite Bentley’s office and warehouse complex on Pyms Lane. The plot is currently made up of two car parks owned by Bentley, and a Council Waste Depot, which is being relocated. Designed by AHR Architects, the three blocks will range between one and five-storeys in height. Bentley Motors is the largest employer in Crewe, with more than 4,000 staff. According to documents submitted with the application, Bentley will relocate existing facilities to the new site, allowing it additional space for future manufacturing expansion.

Alstom targets summer start for £40m maintenance base Alstom Transport has been granted planning permission for a train engineering and maintenance facility in Widnes of up to 550,000 sq ft, on a 30-acre site being acquired from Halton Council. Halton Council submitted a planning application on behalf of Alstom in November 2015, outlining a phased plan for the 80-acre HBC Fields site in Halebank, near to the West Coast railway mainline. The site is included as part of the Mersey Multi Modal Gateway strategic development plan, formulated in 2000 and known as 3MG. The facility would build on Alstom’s involvement in the UK rail market where it offers warehousing, component manufacturing, repair and modernisation services for intercity, regional and metro trains. The project majors on the construction of a new 300,000 sq ft Technology Centre, with access from rail and road, to house engineering operations, alongside a substation, service yards and HGV parking. Alstom is yet to appoint a contractor, but said that groundbreaking would take place before summer and construction would begin later this year. The facility will also include a North West Transport Training Academy, which will open in autumn 2017.

Beijing Construction Engineering Group International starts on Airport City Manchester job Chinese contractor Beijing Construction Engineering Group International has started work on a multi- million-pound scheme at Airport City Manchester. The project is part of BCEGI’s strategy to expand further in the UK, having established its European headquarters at the site. The £15m Alpha project is a logistics facility, which forms part of the Manchester Enterprise Zone. “Alpha is a 130,000 sq ft building which has been specifically designed to meet growing demand for logistics units among small and medium-sized businesses,” BCEGI UK executive director Mr Yew Cheong Lau explained. “We’ve already got big multinational businesses either on site or set to locate to Airport City Manchester, so to be able to offer small and medium-sized firms the chance to move here to take advantage of the same economic benefits is fantastic.” BCEGI is working in joint venture with Carillion and the Pension Fund at Airport City and has tie-ups with contractors on other UK projects. Earlier this month the Chinese firm began work on Scarborough Group International’s £700m Middlewood Locks development in Greater Manchester. The firm also partnered with John Sisk & Son and Willmott Dixon in May to bid for a major works package to expand ’s Terminal 2, as revealed by Construction News. BCEGI has been involved in the wider Airport City Manchester redevelopment since 2013, when it invested £800m in the project.

Plans for £150m shed scheme in St Helens Warehouse developer Bericote Properties is preparing to submit plans for a 1.4m sq ft spec scheme in St Helens. The Florida Farm North development, next to Haydock Industrial Estate, will include two major warehouses, one of 900,000 sq ft and another of 500,000 sq ft.

Horizon confirms delivery team for Wylfa Anglesey nuclear project Construction at the Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant has edged closer after developer Horizon confirmed its delivery team for the £10bn project. Engineering giants Bechtel and Japanese energy specialists JGC and Hitachi will make up the Menter Newydd consortium charged with overseeing the construction of the Anglesey plant. The confirmation paves the way for tier two contractors to be selected on the multi-billion-pound scheme. The consortium said it would pick its subcontractors ‘very soon’, with many of the selected firms expected to be British.

GM Infrastructure Framework delayed The GM Infrastructure Framework was due to come out in April/May. After a recent review, it is now looking more like late July or early August. I will keep you updated on developments.

Merseytravel capital programme See pages 71-77 of the attached: http://moderngov.merseytravel.uk.net/documents/g1330/Public%20reports%20pack%2004th-Feb- 2016%2014.00%20Merseytravel%20Committee.pdf?T=10

£2bn TransPennine upgrade bid race starts Network Rail has started the hunt for an alliance partner to deliver the major TransPennine Route Upgrade forming a key part of the Northern Powerhouse programme. The project to upgrade the route from Leeds to Stalybridge via Huddersfield primarily involves electrification and interchange improvements to help raise capacity between Manchester and York. Network Rail is seeking innovative solutions from consortia of multi-disciplinary suppliers to deliver the programme of works, which are anticipated to cost anywhere between £800m and £2bn. Network Rail will provide certain works as an alliance partner sharing risk and reward with the integrated team. Network Rail aims to develop and design a solution and a programme of works, by the end of December 2017, with work targeted to start in 2018 for delivery by the end of 2022. Expression of interest must be emailed to Network Rail stating company name and contact details for PQQ documentation. There is no requirement at this expression of interest stage to be able to provide the full scope of works required prior to forming a bid consortium.

Liverpool pushes forward with rail improvements A meeting of the Liverpool City Combined Authority has approved projects aimed at improving travel across the city region, including the Halton Curve rail scheme and the development of proposals to gain control of Merseyrail stations. The 1.5-mile Halton Curve line aims to open up leisure and work opportunities by offering new connections between Liverpool, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Runcorn, Frodsham, Helsby, Chester and, in future, North Wales. Work is due to start on site in June 2017 and be completed by May 2018. Bringing the line back into use will see, initially, an hourly direct service between Liverpool and Chester, with the extension of services into Wales taken forward in collaboration with the Welsh Government. The intention is to include the services in the revised specification for the forthcoming Wales and Borders franchise. Approval of the business case unlocks the £10.4m allocated to the scheme through the Government’s local growth fund. The Combined Authority also approved an additional £5.67m of local growth funding for the project, reflecting the level of funding required to meet the highest estimated cost of the project, which is £18.75m. The scheme is part of the £340m infrastructure investment by Network Rail and the Liverpool City Region over the next three years.

NW councils save £20 million on waste management Councils in the North West have delivered combined savings worth around £20m per year through their waste management services, according to a new review. The study by Local Partnerships, the body jointly owned by the Treasury and the Local Government Association, looked at 22 of the region's 43 local authorities. http://www.localgovernmentexecutive.co.uk/greennews/nw-councils-deliver-%C2%A320m-year- waste-savings

£250m Lancashire Growth Deal initiatives on track for 2021 completion One year after the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) officially signed up to the government’s £250m Lancashire Growth Deal, the organisation has reported that all the scheme’s major projects are on track for completion by 2021. Starting out at £234m, the Growth Deal – one of the largest ever negotiated with central government – was first announced in July 2014 and received a £17m boost last January. The funds, kick starting more than 30 initiatives across Lancashire, are expected to create 8,000 jobs and 3,000 new homes, in addition to generating a further £280m of public and private investment for the county. Now, the LEP has said that around 20 of the projects are either live or imminent, with more set to launch in due course. Infrastructure developments driven by the nine- figure boost include the Blackburn - Bolton Rail Corridor; Broughton Bypass, which forms part of the LEP’s City Deal initiative; the Hyndburn Burnley Pendle Growth Corridor; and improvements to Centenary Way Viaduct in Burnley.

Final four firms listed for £500m Sellafield decom programme Sellafield has named the last four firms to complete its line-up of framework partners for a £500m decommissioning programme over the next decade. Amec Foster Wheeler, AREVA, Doosan Babcock and Atkins join the dozen firms announced last month on the Decommissioning Delivery Partnership composed of six alliances and joint ventures. Amec Foster Wheeler’s inclusion is through an alliance with Hertel (UK) and Shepley Engineers, both of whom were already in the DDP framework through other partnerships. The other firms form a three-way joint venture of AREVA-Doosan-Atkins. New deals have been framed to bring big benefits to the community with all partners committed to training and spending at least 20% of their subcontracting budget with small to medium-sized firms. Fifteen are either based in or have a significant presence in Cumbria. Sellafield’s drive is to ensure that the predicted £95 a minute it will spend with the DDP supply chain over the next decade delivers the maximum benefits both on and off the site. All companies bidding to be involved in the partnership had to outline how they would deliver new skills, community benefits and encourage economic growth by committing to subcontracts with small-to-medium sized enterprises. All pledged to a local first recruitment policy, with one consortium aiming for 95 % of work with Cumbrian workers. The firms are also signed up to employ 150 ‘under-represented or disadvantaged’ people and create 240 new apprenticeships over the 10-year agreement.

Liverpool names team to progress cruise liner terminal plans Liverpool City Council has commissioned early design work on a permanent cruise liner building, by a team led by Arup and including KKA Architects, Royal Haskoning DHV Engineering and cost consultants Turner & Townsend. The team will produce a concept design, and will come up with a robust, fully-costed plan for a terminal capable of handling 3,600 embarking and disembarking passengers with baggage, three times as many as the existing facility. The site would include passport control, passenger lounge, café, toilets, taxi rank, vehicle pick up point, coach layover area and a car park. The former Princes Jetty at Princes Parade, close to the landing stage, is preferred location and a potentially suitable site. The jetty is owned by Peel Land & Property.

Planning granted for £1bn Manchester airport plan Planning consent has been granted for Manchester Airport’s £1bn transformation programme over 10 years. The Manchester Airport Transformation Programme includes demolition of Terminal 1 and the major Terminal 2 upgrade, forming the core of a modernisation plan that involves new baggage handling facilities, alterations and extension of the existing terminal, new piers and multi-storey car parks.

The future for transport policy in the North Wednesday, 13th July 2016, Central Manchester Guest of Honour: David Brown, Chief Executive, Transport for the North http://www.westminsterforumprojects.co.uk/forums/event.php?eid=1253

Work to start on ‘world first’ household waste bio plant DONG Energy is going ahead with plans to build the world’s first bioliquid plant for handling unsorted household waste in Cheshire. It will be the first plant to deploy enzymes to digest unsorted household waste to produce biogas for electricity generation. The project has just gained full planning, allowing the world’s first commercial full-scale plant to be built in Northwich, meaning a much larger proportion of household waste can be recycled and converted into biogas energy. Construction work is set to begin later this month, with the plant being commissioned in early 2017. Around 150 people will be involved during the peak phase of construction. The ground-breaking new technology, called REnescience, has been developed by DONG Energy and tested at a demonstration plant in Copenhagen over seven years. The plant will have an annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes of waste, which is equivalent to the waste from almost 110,000 UK households. The waste will be supplied by the UK waste management company FCC Environment, which already collects household waste in the Northwich area.

GMSF development map unveiled An online map showing potential development sites across Greater Manchester has been published as part of the ongoing GM Spatial Framework consultation. See map and consultation details so far: http://www.mappinggm.org.uk/call-for-sites/development-sites.htm www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/gmsf

Replacement bus station passed for Wigan Plans for a new bus station in Wigan town centre have been approved by the local authority but construction work is not due to begin until next year. The council approved proposals submitted by Transport for Greater Manchester for the bus station, which will include a single, covered concourse building, waiting areas, cycle parking and improved links with the town centre. The new facility will be built on the same site as the existing bus station and will provide an attractive and welcoming gateway to the town. Construction is planned to start in 2017 with an anticipated 18-month construction period.

Six connected tidal gateways across the six main estuaries of the NW coast? A plan to create 20,000 jobs, improve transport links, produce 20 terrawatt hours per annum for 5 million homes, and provide coastal flood defences: www.nwe2.co.uk

Five and seven year extensions for Heysham EDF plans to extend the life of four nuclear power plants in the UK and has said it is close to announcing a decision on its investment in two new reactors at Hinkley Point. The French energy company said the lives of the Heysham 1 and Hartlepool plants would be extended by five years until 2024, and the closure dates of Heysham 2 and Torness will be delayed by seven years to 2030. The decision will preserve 2,000 jobs and help with tight energy supplies as Britain manoeuvres to keep power flowing during future winters. The plants provide electricity for about a quarter of British homes.

Sectors

North Yorkshire fracking approval – the verdict The council's planning committee voted seven to four in favour of the plans following two days of hearings. Third Energy has proposed to 'frack' for shale gas at an existing well outside the village of Kirby Misperton; a process which involves pumping water at high pressure into rock to create narrow fractures through which trapped natural gas can flow out and be captured. Third Energy's planning application is the first to be approved since 2011, and comes after the government amended the relevant planning guidance in August last year. In a statement, the council said that it had come to its decision "within the national policy framework that indigenous oil and gas remain key to energy security while facilitating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions".

Hochtief Murphy wins tunnel for £2.4bn York potash mine A joint venture between Murphy and Hochtief has been named preferred bidder for the main tunnelling contract for the planned £2.4bn potash mine in North Yorkshire. Sirius Minerals, a fertilizer producer, hopes to start preparatory building work at the site near Whitby shortly, with the mine opening in 2021. A 23-mile tunnel will be built, so minerals can be transported to a processing plant on Teesside. The Murphy Hochtief joint venture will design and build the underground mineral transport system to link the mine with the materials handling facility. This will involve a 6m diameter TBM-bored tunnel between the mine head site at Dove’s Nest Farm near Whitby, and a portal near the town of Redcar. Designed by Arup, the plan is to use five hard rock TBMs, which will be lowered in at four intermediate staging shafts. The starting depth will be around 360m below the surface at the mine head. The 12-month first phase of work will comprise front end engineering design and a detailed geotech programme along the route. From this work a refined estimate based on a full design will be compiled, prior to agreement of the contract sum.

BAM Nuttall to build world’s first wind farm gravity bases BAM Nuttall has won the job to build and install the world’s first five full-size gravity base foundations for wind turbines. The contract to design, build and install the demonstration project off the Northumberland Coast is understood to be worth around £40m. Five 13,000t gravity base structures will anchor wind turbines to the sea bed off the coast of Blyth to test the technology for wider use in the North Sea. Shepherd Engineering is preparing to start building the 30m diameter concrete bases at the Neptune dry dock on the Tyne. Offshore work preparing the seabed and installing the ‘float and sink’ wind turbine bases will start in 2017. The contract awarded by EDF Energy Renewables brings to a culmination more than five years of intensive design work to prove the viability of installing gravity base foundations in the offshore environment for future wind farms.

Office of Rail and Road raises Network Rail CP6 funding concerns The UK’s rail regulator has raised concerns over the lack of funding available to improve the network beyond 2019. The Office of Rail and Road said Network Rail had “tough choices” to make over which projects it would carry out in Control Period 6, which runs from 2019 to 2024. It said a “constrained fiscal environment” would limit the amount of public funds made available for the rail network. There are more than £9.5bn of enhancements planned for CP6 and £2.5bn for renewals, according to the ORR. However, the watchdog said more public funding might be difficult to obtain and warned that alternative funding streams would shrink. Network Rail is selling some of its property assets to raise £1.8bn to cover the budget overuns incurred throughout CP5, which the ORR said would cut off future revenue streams such as property rents. The asset sale is part of wider move by Network Rail to become less reliant on government funding.

….and finally

China’s mega straddle bus: https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2016/may/26/transit-explore-bus-above-road-traffic-china- video