National Apprenticeship Week
Last week was National Apprenticeship Week when HS2 and Andrew Stephenson Skills Minster paid tribute to the amazing work being done by apprentices all over the country, celebrated with a range of national virtual events and measured by survey. 66% of Construction companies in the UK are SMEs – apprentices are a vital ingredient to the success of the sector. CITB has launched a new website of opportunities for bricklaying apprentices, opportunities are available here. Employers can receive a £2,000 grant from the Government for every new apprentice they hire until March 2021 and can apply for a £1,000 cash boost to take on new trainees, info available here.
Connectivity for Road & Rail
For Road & Rail Connectivity, why not consider EMS i-MO OptiBond solution? Delivers fast / resilient aggregated 4G and / or fixed line services to site in days. The system is widely used on difficult to serve, mobile Road & Rail projects. See www.ems-imo.com
Find out moreHuge TfL West London Development to Start
TfL has been given the go-ahead for Acton’s largest residential development including 852 new 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom homes spread across 9 blocks including a massive 25-story tower and 2,300 sqm of commercial space. The development is to include pedestrian & cycling facilities and green space too and the houses are a mix of around 50/50 private to affordable homes. 6,650 more new homes have been approved by committee and there are an additional 1,250 waiting on approval. The project team includes Gleeds, Mott McDonald, JLL, Alan Baxter, RPS and GL Hearn.
Southwark Council Rolls Out Free COVID Testing for Construction Workers
Southwark Council is one of the first Local Authorities to name builders as priority for testing and asks via its website for those in the Construction industry to take tests which give a result in 30 minutes. Appointments can be booked here 9am-7pm 7 days / week.
Colas, Wates and Network Rail have implemented free testing at their sites through Build UK which is distributing the tests.
beable Saves Construction from COVID
Luckily, technology exists so Construction sites can stay open and take care of their workers with beable® Wearable which has been deployed at pilot stage at a large north London site to keep workers safe and productive; it facilitates physical distancing as well as interaction tracking. Co-developed by Electronic Media Services and COMIT Projects and funded by Innovate UK, the new technology has been well received and plans to rollout to further sites in Q2 this year are underway.
Click here to find out moreKeepmoat to invest £24m in Burton New Homes
Keepmoat has bought 9 acres of land from Homes England to build 125 houses in Burton for new buyers. The £24m investment will start in Spring 2021.
HS2 gets green light
HS2 has been approved to extend the line between Birmingham and Crewe scheduled to open at the same time as the line between London & Birmingham due in 2029-33, to start in April. The decision coincided with an announcement for £5bn investment into local transport networks such as buses and cycling routes including 4,000 new zero-emission buses and 250 miles of cycling routes & town amendments for safer cycling. The new approval comes in the wake of the Oaktree Review after accusations of inefficiencies of the project so far.
Redefined arrangements with HS2 Limited and reformed project practices to avoid inefficiencies include appointing a dedicated minister to have full oversight of HS2, reformed contracts for Euston Station and better transparency for parliament.
Connectivity for Road & Rail
For Road & Rail Connectivity, why not consider EMS i-MO OptiBond solution? Delivers fast / resilient aggregated 4G and / or fixed line services to site in days. The system is widely used on difficult to serve, mobile Road & Rail projects. See www.ems-imo.com
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