Richard Keys has been appointed as a Partner to Hamilton Architects LLP.  Richard, who was already a Director, joined the practice in 2006. His responsibilities will include supporting the continued expansion and growth of the business in Northern Ireland, London and the South-East in 2022/23.

Screwfix’s ambitious expansion plans are continuing at pace with the retailer set to open the doors of its 800^th store in June of this year. The omnichannel retailer will create more than 800 jobs by the end of January 2023 with the opening of 80 new stores across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, taking its store estate to over 870 stores. This follows the successful opening of 70 new stores in 2021. 

As part of the retailer’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions, the 80 new stores will be equipped with air source heat pumps to provide heating and hot water powered by electricity instead of gas. Screwfix’s entire store network is already powered exclusively by renewable electricity, with over 250 existing stores fitted with air-source heat pumps so far.  

The 800 new roles will include retail assistants, assistant managers, and branch managers, in locations across the UK and Ireland, such as Roscommon, Swanley and Brackley. Newly recruited staff will have the opportunity to participate in the retailer’s apprenticeship scheme, to join the 850 apprentices currently training across the business in areas such as Retail Management, Supervisor, HR, Finance, Data and Legal. 

John Mewett, Screwfix CEO, said: “We know how busy tradespeople are and how important it is to be able to find a Screwfix store close to site. In opening more stores across the UK and Ireland, we’re making Screwfix even more accessible to tradespeople, ensuring they can get their job done quickly, affordably and right first time. We’re also delighted to be having a positive impact on local communities, creating more than 800 jobs for local people.  

“This is a very exciting time to be part of Screwfix as we deliver on our ambitious growth plans, and I look forward to welcoming our new colleagues in the coming months.” 

Screwfix’s growth plans are supported by Kingfisher, the retailer’s parent company, whose ‘Powered by Kingfisher’ strategy aims to maximise the benefits of combining its distinct retail banners with the scale, strength and expertise of the Group.

World-class paving and walling manufacturer Tobermore, has made a generous donation to local mental health charity ‘The Olive Branch’.

These much-needed funds will help provide local mental health support for those who reach out for help. Tobermore is committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of its employees and wider community. The company has implemented several initiatives including a bespoke health and wellbeing app, flexible working, an open workplace culture and a dedicated wellbeing committee. 

Founded in 2017, The Olive Branch offers free of charge, self-referral, no-appointment necessary professional counselling service for those suffering with ill mental health. The Olive Branch has qualified counsellors on hand to work with clients suffering from depression, anxiety, grief, and/or experiencing suicidal thoughts.  

Despite the amazing work done by the NHS, there are still gaps in mental health services and waiting lists remain lengthy. The Olive Branch prides themselves on their ability to offer counselling when the client is most in need – when they reach out for help. Their clients range in age from 11-70 years old. 

Leoné Paul, Vice Chairwoman of The Olive Branch commented:

“We would like to thank Tobermore MD David Henderson for donating a massive £2,000 to our NW200 Business Sponsorship Gala. We are overwhelmed by David’s generosity. Every penny we raise goes directly into the provision of free of charge professional counselling services in Magherafelt, Coleraine and Ballymena.”

“We are committed to preserving the mental health of our communities and this can only be achieved by having the support of David and other likeminded business owners. On behalf of all at The Olive Branch we thank you David Henderson and Tobermore!”

David Henderson commented:

“Tobermore is proud to support the Olive Branch. This charity does remarkable work in our local area to support people who are struggling with their mental health.”

If you or someone you know need mental health support do not hesitate to call the Olive Branch 028 7963 3688, or visit their website www.theolivebranch.org.uk/. 

Paving and Building Products firm, AG, has reinforced its position as a market leader in sustainable construction through its latest investment in sustainable packaging at its Toome plant.

AG has invested in the new state-of-the-art T-Rex packaging as part of its overall environmental strategy and commitment to responsible and sustainable operating practice with the new system reducing carbon emissions.

The pioneering system, supplied by Kraft Curing Systems, uses 100% biodegradable pellets that are sprayed onto each product layer for added surface protection before the next layer is added on top, without compromising on the quality of the finished goods. The system replaces the customary foam layers which are traditionally set between layers to protect the product whilst in transit.

Customarily, the foam layers are disposed of by contractors on site, but the T-Rex packaging system uses granules which biodegrade naturally in-situ, removing the need for disposal.

The investment in the packaging system allows AG to deliver on product requirements through a more efficient and sustainable method further reducing carbon emissions through drastically reducing the amount of packaging in their products.

The system highlights AG’s commitment to responsible operating practice and is the latest in a series of sustainability initiatives created by the firm which include switching to 100% renewable energy as well as utilising bio-LPG instead of the industry-standard LPG resulting in a carbon saving of 70% – equal to a person driving around the world three times. The business has also introduced electric and hybrid cars into their fleet with a goal of having a full hybrid/electric fleet by 2025

This latest investment was led by CEO Stephen Acheson with support from the firm’s net zero carbon team which was set up with the aim of reducing the company’s carbon footprint, as part of an energy strategy developed with a commitment to producing low carbon products. 

The firm, which has manufacturing locations in Fivemiletown, Dungannon, Toome, Ballygawley and Carryduff, already has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry and is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its operations to an absolute minimum.  

Last year, the business also reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 10%, despite a 30% increase in production volumes as the company faced unprecedented demand for its products reinforcing its commitment to a greener future in construction.

Rodney Davidson, Commercial Director at AG said: “We are delighted to introduce this new packaging system into our Toome plant. At AG we are constantly working to reduce our carbon footprint and are committed to sustainable construction.”

CEO, Stephen Acheson added: “AG has a corporate social responsibility to be sustainable. We have adopted a long-term corporate philosophy that focuses on the wider message of lasting sustainable strategies and this new switch enables us to further reduce our carbon saving, lowering our carbon footprint even more.”

“Each of our sites bring our corporate environmental philosophy to life and we are delighted to be making very positive steps in our journey of carbon reduction”.

Leading building and civil engineering contractor Farrans Construction has opened a new office in Leeds city centre as its presence in the midlands and the north of England continues to grow.

Farrans, a CRH company, has over 80 years’ experience of delivering world-class projects across the UK and Ireland. The company, which employs more than 550 people, already has offices in London, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Belfast, with further site offices connecting its regional network.

The new office in Leeds will be used to manage an existing portfolio of high profile building and civil engineering projects, including roads infrastructure improvement project A1(M) junction 47 in Nottingham for National Highways and North Yorkshire County Council, and Live Oasis: Strato in Leeds for Infinity Construction Enterprises.

It will also serve as a base to grow FADO, its interiors and refurbishment arm. Working with landlords, tenants, service providers and professional teams FADO deliver complex and creative projects across all sectors, offering complete design, construct and aftercare services.

Dominic Lavery, managing director of Farrans Construction, said:

“We are pleased to be announcing our investment in a new Leeds office today, establishing our commitment to building long term partnerships with clients, consultants and supply chain in the midlands and the north of England. We recognise the opportunities in the pipeline of building, civil engineering and fit out projects in this area and we are keen to establish new relationships.

“We are already on site on a number of projects in and around Leeds, including most prominently in the city centre Live Oasis: Strato, which is a 20-storey student residential accommodation block of 210 studio apartments.

He added: “Leeds is one of the most ambitious and energetic cities in the UK. Through our social value delivery and corporate social responsibility activity we always aim to leave a long-lasting, positive impact in the areas that we work.  We are looking forward to becoming part of the fabric of the midlands and the north of England, working with local suppliers and providing educational and apprenticeship opportunities for young people to experience the construction industry.”

Farrans Construction has been appointed by Bath & North East Somerset Council as the main contractor for the £39m Keynsham Recycling Hub.

This significant project will see the development of a new, modern facility offering a range of services which will make it easier for residents to recycle and help reduce general waste and operational costs. Works have commenced on site and, when complete, the four-hectare site will include a modern recycling centre, a reuse shop for people to donate items for reuse and resale, an MOT centre and an education centre.

Glenn Gilmore, Regional Director at Farrans said; ‘We are delighted to have been awarded the contract to deliver this state-of-the-art project. In line with the council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency declarations and policy aims, the Keynsham Recycling Hub project will integrate many sustainability measures including on-site renewable energy generation. We are pleased to be growing our logistics and waste management portfolio in England.

“Farrans bring a strong organisational approach to responsibly managing our environmental footprint across site operations and value chain. This project will see the delivery of new innovative methods providing a high quality environmentally friendly solution to the Council’s asset.”

He added: ”Alongside the construction works Farrans is committed to the delivery of an impactful programme of Social Value and Community Engagement in partnership with the local community in Keynsham and the wider Bath & North East Somerset area. We believe it is important to develop and support a skilled workforce on site and build the skills capacity of the construction sector of the future leaving a lasting legacy in the heart of the communities that we work in.”

Councillor David Wood, cabinet member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “I’ve been along to meet the teams working on this project and I am very pleased to see the progress made on site. Keynsham Recycling Hub is an ambitious project which includes a raft of innovative measures that will help us to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies.

“It will be transformational, expanding public recycling provision while future-proofing our service and meeting the need for household waste and recycling and kerbside collections now and in the future. I’m looking forward to coming back and seeing the construction progress.”

Choice Housing, one of Northern Irelands largest housing associations, has announced an investment of £14m to deliver affordable housing and private rental units at the current King’s Hall site which is part of a wider health and wellbeing regeneration plan for the area.

The wider £100m regeneration project is being developed by Benmore Octopus and alongside the investment of this mixed residential development from Choice, will also include medical and life sciences accommodation, a multi-storey car park, a central plaza, a creche and retail/ café/restaurant and leisure facilities.

Choice alongside their subsidiary Maple and May plan to develop 81 new apartments on Plot 3 of the development. The project will deliver a total of 45 new 1- and 2-bedroom apartments for over 55s. A further 36 apartments will be leased via Maple and May as private rental units and will include a mix of 1- and 2- bedroom apartments.

Choice Group Chief Executive, Michael McDonnell said,

“The transformation of this historic site into an innovative health and wellbeing hub will not only enhance the area but will place Northern Ireland amongst the very best in global innovation.

“The investment in mixed tenure residential living is a long-term commitment for Choice and being part of this regeneration project allows us to further demonstrate the benefits of this as a long-term sustainable housing option.

Michael McDonnell added,

“There has been significant investment in the Belfast City Council area with 15 developments completed in the last three years, an investment of over £66m which further demonstrates our commitment to addressing the growing need for quality affordable housing in the Belfast area”.

H&J Martin Construction will lead in the development of the Choice led part of this project, which is located just off Balmoral Avenue in Belfast with an estimated completion of May 2024.

Gareth Moore, Director at H&J Martin said,

“This project will realise the potential of this iconic site and incorporate much needed quality housing. H&J Martin has a long history of working with and developing some of the most iconic sites across Northern Ireland and this project will prove to be a world class development when complete”.

Kevin McKay, Chairman of Benmore Octopus, added,

“We are delighted to welcome Choice Housing to the Kings Hall Health and Wellbeing Park. The development will enrich the mix of occupiers on the site and help deliver on our vision to create an offering which delivers the future of healthcare.

“Our precision medicine hub Dataworks will soon be welcoming new occupiers alongside anchor tenant Diaceutics, while we are also in the process of building the next phase of our age-appropriate living accommodation and other aspects of the wider development plan.”

The social housing apartments will be constructed to Lifetime Homes standards with all apartments benefitting from Secured by Design ‘Gold’ accreditation.  The development will also be served by private parking, communal amenity space and a part-time concierge service.

Keystone and IG Lintels is delighted to announce the appointment of Leah Coleman as its new Marketing Manager in support of the company’s ongoing growth strategy and increasing brand awareness.

Following Keystone’s success in 2021, where it received ‘Supplier of the Year’ by Buildbase in 2021, in recognition of its outstanding customer service, the brand continues to grow. Previously, Keystone’s marketing has been chiefly by delivered via its Head Office in  Cookstown, Northern Ireland. The development  of the marketing practice in Derbyshire presents a great growth opportunity for Keystone Lintels, with Leah Coleman at the helm of Keystone’s marketing campaigns.

Leah takes on the Marketing Manager position following eighteen years of experience in marketing within the construction and engineering sectors, where she discovered her passion for marketing. Leah brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked across marketing and advertising, websites, social media, branding, and sales.

In her previous role, Leah worked at Ischebeck Titan, where she was the Group Marketing Manager at its base in Burton. Here, Leah transformed a fledgling marketing practice into a fully-developed discipline within the company.

Leah is delighted to bring her wealth of marketing experience and ambition to the Keystone Group in Swadlincote, where she aims to grow and develop the team. Leah comments: “I’m really excited to have the autonomy to build new marketing plans into the business, develop strong relationships with key clients,  and support the team in bringing out the Keystone message.”

“As a marketer, my passion comes from understanding the wants and needs of the customers and aligning the brand message with that. I was excited to make a move to a progressive company that understands how to harness the power of the brand and uses it to their success. The Keystone Group values that, and I believe my expertise in strategic marketing is well-placed here.”

“I have had a wonderful start to my position at Keystone Lintels. The support from the team has been incredible and I’ve formed great working relationships already. I’m looking forward to continue working with the team and building relationships with key clients as well.”

Leah  will be responsible for the management of the brand campaigns, e-commerce platforms, events, and marketing assets. Leah will be managing the Hi-therm+ campaign which concerns how product helps deliver on Part L regulations, and the ‘Movies from Home’ campaign which incentivises merchants to send their leads to Keystone Lintels, to increase sales.

Leading building materials manufacturer, Glidevale Protect, has provided a full range of roofing, ventilation and construction products as part of a major new social housing development in Belfast, which is taking a fabric first approach to building healthy, sustainable homes.

One of the largest mixed tenure developments to be constructed in Northern Ireland to date, the new scheme for a leading social housing provider includes 244 homes, which are a mix of social and affordable housing, a community facility, a linear park and a children’s play park.

Working with main contractor Kevin Watson Group, established Belfast-based roofing subcontractor Prentice Roofing and offsite manufacturers and installers of the timber frame panels Leadon Timber Frame, Glidevale Protect delivered a complete solution of products to improve thermal efficiency and airtightness as well as minimizing  condensation risk by introducing natural ventilation into each building to help create healthy homes.

Products supplied and installed on this development included the Protect VP300 vapour permeable pitched roofing underlay which was teamed with Protect Fulmetal RediRoll, a universal dry fix ventilated ridge and hip system, alongside tile vents for the roof. Glidevale Protect also supplied Protect TF200 Thermo for the external timber frame walls – a low emissivity, insulating reflective membrane and the non-reflective external breather membrane, Protect TF200, was used on spandrel panels. These provided weather protection during the construction as well as helping to avoid interstitial condensation risk within the wall construction. Cavity trays, airbricks and loft access hatches from Glidevale Protect completed the project.

Cornelius Ward, director at Kevin Watson Group said: “In order to deliver the highest quality standards to meet client’s expectations, we like to collaborate with supply chain partners who can ensure our sub-contractors are provided with top performing building

materials using a fabric first approach. Glidevale Protect’s wide breadth of solutions used on this development meant full peace of mind during the construction process, helping to create energy efficient and healthy homes.”

For more information on Glidevale Protect, please visit www.glidevaleprotect.com, email info@glidevaleprotect.com or call +44 (0)161 905 5700. Keep up to date with our latest news by following us on LinkedIn.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has announced the 2022 regional award winners 

The winners of the RICS Awards 2022 in Northern Ireland have been revealed and some of the most impressive recent building projects from the local area are on the list. 

The winning projects, which include a school, a community hub and residential housing were judged across six categories, community benefit, commercial development, public sector, refurbishment/revitalisation, residential, and heritage. 

Winners in Northern Ireland 

·        Commercial Development: Merchant Square, Belfast  

·        Community Benefit: An Chroi Community Hub, Derry/Londonderry 

·        Public Sector Project: Erne Campus, South West College, Fermanagh 

·        Refurbishment/Revitalisation Project: Merchant Square, Belfast 

·        Residential Project: The Banks, Bangor 

·        Heritage: The School House, Methodist College, Belfast 

The RICS Awards showcase the most inspirational initiatives and developments in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. They recognise outstanding achievement, teamwork and companies. 

The regional winners have now been shortlisted in the national awards, taking place in October, and will compete at the national RICS Awards Grand Final. 

Michael Hannaway FRICS, Chair of the judging panel, said: “These winning projects are a true testament to the hard work of property professionals in Northern Ireland. The pandemic has led to the industry facing much uncertainty and challenging conditions, but we were delighted, and very proud, to see such innovative building projects appearing across our cities and towns.  

“The teams behind them have worked tirelessly and with incredible vision to create projects which provide tremendous benefit across a diverse range of areas. Through collaborating with other professionals, local surveyors have shown that they have the talent to deliver exemplary and, in many cases, world-class built projects.” 

“The RICS is elated to recognise skills and dedication that the teams behind these projects had in ensuring successful delivery and making a positive impact across Northern Ireland.” 

Further information is available at: RICS Awards UK