Currently the World’s largest consented offshore wind farm, The London Array project is planned to generate up to 1,000MW of power and is being built in two phases. The London Array could eventually power up to 750,000 homes – about a quarter of Greater London – and reduce harmful CO2 emissions by 1.4 million tonnes a year. So it’ll make a big difference to the environment as well as helping provide a reliable electricity supply to south east England.

Phase One of the project which includes the Construction Management Base, 175 turbines, an onshore substation and two offshore substations and over 400km of cables, together with the Operation and Maintenance base which is currently under construction. The wind farm is located 12 miles from the Kent and Essex coasts in the Outer Thames Estuary. Phase One is expected to be commissioned by spring 2013, after which the site will be handed over to the Operations and Maintenance team who will be based at the new purpose built facility at the Port of Ramsgate.

The Facility

The design for the Operations and Maintenance base was won by BBLB architects LLP in 2008, and is now nearing completion. The project is a £4.2m steel frame structure built by Mansell Construction Services Ltd.

The building will accommodate up to 90 staff and is divided into two distinct elements – 15,000 sq ft offices for monitoring the operations of the wind farm, and a 10,000 sq ft warehouse and workshop to deliver the needs for the day to day running and maintenance of the wind farm.

These two elements will be separated by a three storey full height glazed atrium incorporating the building’s main entrance and an internal ‘street’ linking the office and warehouse areas.

The Design

This is a landmark building of the highest quality. The architectural concept has been designed around the exposed marine conditions and driven by positive sustainable measures. The building has achieved Industrial BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) ‘Excellent’ status and has been built using materials that are sustainable and recyclable.

The building’s sustainable design features include: maximising the available natural light through passive design measures; an extensive specially designed green roof seeded with planting typical to the area to provide ecological value and a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit.

Our Service

BBLB have provided a full architectural service to London Array including concept design, production information, contract administration, project management and on- site clerk of works services. BBLB appointed all necessary consultants directly in order to provide a ‘one-stop’ service to the Client.

“Utilising experiences gained on other similar projects, BBLB quickly and efficiently guided London Array through the process of finalising a suitable layout and specification for the facility. The experience of the BBLB team was again invaluable during the procurement process and during administration of the main building Contract.”
Andrew Leadbetter, Lead O&M Engineer

BBLB have always been willing and able to support London Array’s additional requirements, such as the works required for its adjacent Construction Management Base.

“We are delighted with the final appearance and finish of the O&M Facility, and look forward to enjoying the excellent operational setup during the lifetime of the London Array Offshore Wind Farm.”

It also includes articles on National Planning Policy Framework, Streetly Children’s Centre, Worcester Bosch, Heathcote Sixth Form. View PDF Version.

BBLB architects have a long, well established working relationship with the Worcester Bosch Group and we are pleased to have been involved in a number of important projects with them over the last six years.
We have assisted Bosch on key projects to help facilitate their expansion aspirations providing additional buildings, enhancing and redeveloping existing facilities, and assisting in the planning for future site developments to accommodate the company’s long term growth plan.

Worcester Bosch Group

Worcester Bosch is the market leader in domestic heating and hot water systems and it has a name that is known for its reliability, quality, efficiency and value for money. Their home heating products include condensing boilers and renewable energy products – solar panels, ground source heat pumps and air source heat pumps.

Real Life Working Examples

Bosch has their very own flagship energy home in Worcester which BBLB are pleased to have helped facilitate. We converted the 1930’s semi detached property which is now used to demonstrate a variety of Worcester Bosch real life heating systems used by their training team.

The History of Worcester Bosch

Since 1962, when Worcester pioneered domestic oil-fired boilers, the company’s commitment to excellence hasn’t changed.
They are currently working towards their 50th birthday celebrations in 2012 and as part of their commitment to excellence we have redeveloped their Reception Area which showcases the History of Worcester Bosch.
The new reception which caters for visitors and staff has an impressive entrance reinforcing the high quality associated with Worcester Bosch and their products.

It has an efficient and flexible entrance which provides a customer focus room displaying products, the history of Bosch exhibition space, small meeting rooms as well as general and discrete waiting areas served by the impressive Reception and Welcome desk.

Sustainability – Research & Development

In order to maintain its market position Worcester Bosch are continuing to focus on the research and development of new technologies. BBLB used our experience in designing sustainable buildings and implementing low to zero carbon technologies giving low carbon footprints, to design a House for the Future incorporating Worcester Bosch technology for their research and development team. These designs were realised in the form of physical detailed models and presentations.

As part of the continuing improvement plan for Worcester Bosch we redesigned their existing Research and Development building in order to provide additional working space by the introduction of a mezzanine whilst still retaining full height flue shafts in order to provide suitable testing facilities for their products. This design provided much needed additional floor space within the same building footprint and provides a top quality facility to assist Worcester Bosch in the future development of their technologies.

Commitment to Staff and Customers

Employing more than 2,000 staff in Worcester and Clay Cross in Derbyshire Worcester Bosch is committed to their staff and customers. As part of this commitment for improvement we undertook an overhaul and refurbishment of the existing Canteen facilities on site in Worcester. This all had to be undertaken during their Christmas holiday period to avoid loss of production and BBLB designed and project managed the project providing a completely refurbished canteen area in two weeks.

Apprenticeship Schemes for the Future

The new Training Academy building provides the latest training facilities in heating, solar and hot water systems, and was designed and project managed by BBLB.

BBLB have designed and delivered a first class training facility to us, which has set the standard for any training facilities that Worcester Bosch Group develop in the future.
Phil Bunce, Training Manager Bosch Thermotechnology Ltd

Growth into the Future

We are currently working with Worcester Bosch continuing to facilitate their expansion and growth in Worcester and throughout the country.

The client, Waltham Forest Council and Heathcote School and Science College required a brand new state of the art facility in which to provide Post 16 vocational and academic education for Heathcote School which would respond to the educational, social and economic challenges of the future.

BBLB architects was initially appointed with Turner Townsend to prepare a Feasibility Report to achieve funding from the YPLA for the proposed new Post 16 Centre. Several locations on the school site were investigated and a corner plot was chosen which would locate the new building between the existing Secondary School and the adjacent Primary School and Nursery, creating a tangible connection between all levels of education provision in the locale.

“As students come to view the building for next year’s intake the words ‘Wow’ , ‘Amazing’ and ‘I want to come here’ are frequently heard”.
Zoe Cozens, Headteacher

The original concept of the scheme sought to provide a visual link, a wedge, from the building entrance through the central core to the centre of secondary school playground. This concept has been retained with the main entrance and dining areas and study area above sitting directly on this wedge with glazing at both ends affording views right through the building. The building has been designed to accommodate up to 250 learners and has the potential for future expansion into the school grounds. As well as general classroom provision the building also provides Music Teaching and Recording facilities, a Fitness Suite, a dedicated Science Room and an ICT Suite, plus vocational training facilities for Construction training and a Hair and Beauty Suite. It is intended that the Post 16 Centre will also be accessible for local community use.

The Post 16 Centre incorporates new technology to provide economy of operation and flexiblity within and be a landmark building of sustainable construction. The building has been designed to utilise a combination of both natural and mechanical ventilation all controlled by a Building Management System and also includes Combined Heat and Power boilers and heat recovery systems to significantly reduce its CO2 emissions. It will achieve a BREEAM ‘very Good’ score.

The building was procured under the SCAPE Framework with Willmott Dixon Construction with a total project value of circa £5m.
The building creates a vibrant addition to the school and community and provide a contemporary and inspirational base for the delivery of a Post 16 curriculum for learners in the Waltham Forest area.

The new and refurbished buildings accommodate the new entrance and reception, offices, medical room and a parent
advisory meeting room. Within the reception there is a dedicated internet access area allowing parents and pupils to access the schools extensive IT provision in the comfort of a relaxing waiting area.

“Our new Reception has been a vision for our school for over 4 years. Mark Cowley from BBLB Architects worked closely
with us to achieve the concept we wanted and the innovative design he produced was most impressive. It is wonderful to see the project finally come to fruition and we are delighted with the result. The refurbished area now has a really spacious and modern feel- it is hard to believe it is the same building! It will certainly make a tremendous difference to the welcoming image of our school.“
Rachel Davis, Headteacher

It also includes articles on Wimland Farm, Space Optimisation and Energy Audits, Extra Care at Bluebell, and Schools converting to Academies. View PDF Version.

Education Sector Campaign

Take your first step towards reducing bills, more effectively using available space, and having more ‘eco-effective’ facilities.

The drive to reduce costs and be more efficient is never far away from the headlines at the moment, be it around energy savings, having to stretch budgets or making your assets work harder. With additional pressures for education establishments regarding curriculum, government requirements and student performance, it must undoubtedly be a challenge to balance priorities.

Undertaking a review of how ‘eco-effective’ your facility is may not be top of the list but improving space utilisation and energy usage can make a real difference to the bottom line. In times of restricted funding enhancing existing building stock can be a solution to improving built assets at lower capital cost. Implementing sustainable practices also ‘sets the right example’ bringing the benefit of raising your profile as being environmentally conscientious.

Our teams are already working within the education sector, and other sectors, to improve Clients space utilisation and reduce their energy costs. We believe there are significant savings to be made, particularly for those that operate in older, even listed, properties. We will assist your team to work towards achieving the financial, environmental and curriculum benefits of becoming more ‘eco-effective’.

As Midlands based practices, BBLB architects, Greenwood Projects and DKS Consulting have joined together to offer local schools and colleges a comprehensive Space Utilisation & Energy Audit service.

In order to demonstrate our credentials, enable potential clients to find out more about our practice, and for us to learn more about them and their school, we are proposing – at no cost:

• an initial best practice/case study led presentation with a Q&A workshop session
• this would also incorporate a brief tour of the facilities
• and have the deliverable of a brief summary report giving an indication of our initial findings and recommendations

Following this exercise there would be the option to appoint the team, or part of the team, at minimal cost, to undertake a more detailed review of all or some elements to provide a more in depth report, including advice on any funding available.

Given the importance of incorporating sustainability into the school agenda our detailed review would also include a summary as to how we would assist with the integration of the works into the education curriculum as a real life case study of sustainable design and/or technology.

If you would like to discuss this opportunity further and allow our team to better explain what value this exercise and our services overall could bring to your organization, please call Simon Jones on 01384 880550 or email simon.jones@bblb-architects.co.uk.

Labour party leader, Ed Miliband, visited the headquarters of Worcester Bosch Group on the 10th October to officially open the organisation’s £1.5 million Training and Assessment Centre.

The new facility provides approx 6,500 sqft of additional flexible training and assessment rooms and external teaching areas which will be used to teach apprentices and approved installers to install the latest in heating, hot water, solar and ground source heat pump products produced by Bosch.

The building connects and enhances an existing Bosch building increasing the capability of the training and office facilities and through BBLB’s design approach has increased the energy performance of the existing building and its long term sustainability.

As well as incorporating low-carbon technologies, the proposals have been designed to maximise passive sustainability measures such as natural light and ventilation.  Offices are positioned on external walls and have relatively shallow plans to facilitate natural light and ventilation. Areas which are transient have been located in positions which don’t benefit from natural light, such as corridor space which will be lit with low energy lighting.  The deeper plan practical training spaces are double-height and will benefit as much as possible from natural lighting through roof lights.

Barratt/David Wilson are Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council’s partner for the high profile, 15 hectare, regeneration project known as Camp Hill Phase 3, whose marketing name is Bluebell.

Outline consent has been granted for approximately 814 dwellings and the first phase of 158 dwellings will be completed this year.

BDW have secured HCA grant to provide 55 affordable rent apartments on Phase IIB, and they are currently working with Extra Care provider Housing 21 to deliver these to them under a development agreement.

BBLB has recently been appointed to work on the Bluebell site, with BDW and their partner Housing 21, to design and deliver the Extra Care apartment scheme.

The scheme will enable residents to live with independence and privacy in a secure and caring environment with social and emotional support provided by residents and staff.

The accommodation will be designed to be future proofed to allow residents to remain in their home for as long as possible and balance three prime requirements namely:

• Progressive privacy
• Integration of housing and resources
• Design clarity

BBLB is working with contractor FHM on the first phase of the redevelopment of the Forches housing estate in Barnstaple, Devon for North Devon Homes.

The site is currently occupied by poor standard, post war, prefabricated, concrete paneled homes and due to the sloping nature of the site suffers from drainage and flooding issues.

This first phase of the redevelopment will see the demolition of the majority of the existing homes and the creation of 67 new family homes including a number of bungalows.

One of the challenges has been the topography of site and surface water run off. A combination of homezones and sustainable drainage techniques have been used to address these issues.

The completed units will be Lifetime Homes compliant and achieve Code for Sustainable Homes level 3, incorporating solar PV and rainwater harvesting technologies.

Works on site are due to commence in November 2011 with completion scheduled for winter 2012 and further phases to follow sequentially.

The development comprises a rich mix of homes which provides a diverse, high quality housing scheme of 100% Affordable Homes, ten of which are for Social Rent and the remaining nine properties are Shared Ownership.

The scheme, for 19 new homes, includes nine two-bed houses, six three-bed houses and four two-bed apartments on a former redundant garage and car park site.

Plots 1 – 10 (Solihull Community Housing) have been designed to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 and plots 11 – 19 (Waterloo Housing Group) to achieve Level 3.

All plots achieve enhanced energy performance delivering both a sustainable development and lower energy bills for residents. This has been done by incorporating a number of approaches including solar PV panels and water saving technologies along with increased building fabric insulation. All units have also been developed to meet the changing long term needs of residents through the inclusion of the Lifetime Homes standards.

“Waterloo Housing Group is very pleased with the design of the affordable new homes at Masons Close, Solihull. The development forms part of a very successful partnership with Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, with the 10 rented homes being managed by Solihull Community Housing, and the 9 shared ownership homes being sold through Waterloo Homes”
David Pickering, Chief Executive, Waterloo Housing Group

The height and massing of the new houses reflect the context of Masons Close and the wider residential area. The two storey semi detached dwellings are stepped and staggered to accommodate the steep gradient of the site and provide an attractive variation in height and massing. A change in roof profile also contributes to the scheme’s well articulated massing whilst giving the scheme a simple yet unique, contemporary character.

A material palette of buff brickwork, white render, red cedar timber and coloured spandrel panels between windows form a modern composition, presenting an architectural solution aimed at meeting today’s living aspirations.

The key principles were:

• Contemporary, innovative design, using good quality, traditional materials with a consistent design language.
• Building heights and scale that respond to the character and local distinctiveness of the area.
• Clear site identity that will have well integrated landscape proposals combined with retained existing trees, to create a sense of place and improved biodiversity.
• Inclusion of ‘Secured by Design’ measures to provide a safe and secure environment not only for residents of the new properties, but also for residents of existing properties surrounding the site.
• Delivery of a sustainable development which utilises renewable energy sources.

BBLB worked closely with contractor FHM to deliver this successful scheme which is now fully occupied by tenants and owners.

“With rising fuel prices and winter approaching, the enhanced energy-saving measures achieved in the new scheme will benefit our tenants enormously. This is the sort of development we have ambitions to repeat in future.”
Steve Boyd, Chief Executive, Solihull Community Housing

This first class modern facility for Walsall Council, Learning 4 Life Centre – currently under development, will be used primarily for 14-19 education but will also serve the needs of other learners including the primary sector, learners with disabilities and adult learners. It will also be resource for public, private and voluntary sector organisations for corporate use.

The flexible learning space can be used to create real life health and social care situations that cannot otherwise be simulated, with specially constructed sets designed to replicate everyday experiences.

Facilities will include general teaching spaces, science laboratory (including forensics), mock ‘accident and emergency’ area, an ambulance, sensory room, fitness laboratory, mock pharmacy, domiciliary care environment, learning centre for independent living and Healthy Eating kitchen.

The building has been designed to be BREEAM Excellent and targets a 40% carbon reduction and 20% renewable energy on site. The design proposes a natural vented solution using the thermal mass of the structure and is heated by Air Source Heat Pumps.

The scheme, designed by BBLB, is due for occupation by the end of 2011 and is being built by Willmott Dixon

Wimland Farm, West Sussex, a highly energy efficient private house, situated on a 180 acre arable farm, utilised cost effective construction and materials throughout, achieving standards of energy reduction normally associated with a Code for Sustainable Homes Level 6 house.

The project included the upgrading of all the existing farm out-buildings to create a purpose built grain store, and to provide a new smaller, more sustainable home for the Client as the original Grade II listed farmhouse was too large for their requirements.

The site location affords a magnificent view and the house and re-planning of the farm was developed to maximise this potential for the client, together with ensuring the continued viability of the farming operation.

The house is designed as an open courtyard with a 2 storey living/guest accommodation, and single storey sleeping wing. The wing is further extended into the landscape to protect the external spaces and the southern elevation from the direction of the prevailing wind. All internal spaces are therefore focused to the view to the south, with deliberately placed large openings to this aspect, and smaller apertures to the north to assist the environmental performance of the building.

The superstructure was constructed using a SIP system further enhanced to achieve a uniform U Value of 0.1 throughout, with a simple rainscreen of Grade A+ Fibre cement tiles to walls and roof. This ensured high levels of air tightness and insulation to the fabric, together with a simple strategy to minimise thermal bridges.

Heating and hot water is provided by a ground source heat pump located within the field, integrated with a whole house ventilation system supplied by a Nilan VP18 unit. Air is collected from bathroom and kitchen spaces, as well as the double height dining space, to recycle heat within the system.

BBLB architects was appointed by Walsall Council to adapt, remodel and extend existing accommodation at Streetly Childrens Centre to provide facilities for the wider use of children under 5 and their families. The new facility has prominence in the local community and offers a high quality environment for family support activities, information sharing and learning and enjoyment. The centre is designed to operate all year round between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily with additional evening activities on offer in training and multi-use rooms on a regular basis.

Due to the multi-use nature of the facility it was important that architecture and design be interesting and engaging to both children and adults. Particular consideration was given to the community room/multi-use area to ensure the scale was appropriate to children, such as the inclusion of child orientated features at suitable heights for children to feel comfortable and at home within the environment.

The ‘zoning’ of the building was also a key design driver in order to create spaces that are welcoming and friendly while also meeting other practicalities such as security for unwanted visitors and inner security zoning where necessary, appropriate disabled access, efficient to heat and provision of car parking.

The centre has been designed to exploit the opportunities of the existing buildings relationship with the local community by the creation of more learning and leisure facilities with the addition of the parent & child/community room. The brief from the Council included the provision of a new easily accessible, welcoming entrance, a range of spaces to support different activities, a kitchenette, additional storage and toilet facilities, and that the design proposals complied with National Standards for childcare spaces as a minimum requirement. Natural daylight and ventilation measures were incorporated into the new extension to help reduce the facilities energy demand.

The official opening of the Sure Start Streetly Children’s Centre took place in the summer, pictured are Sarah and Emma from Rainbow Rhyme and inset is Barbara Butlin and Brenda Birch, Centre Managers.

At present the Government has yet to define what will constitute an Allowable Solution, however on-site, near-site and off-site carbon-saving projects are expected to be available, with developers able to make a payment to an Allowable Solutions provider who will then deliver carbon saving projects to meet the required carbon emission reduction.

The framework sets out the mechanism by which affordable, verifiable carbon savings projects might be funded and how they might be delivered in a way that encourages additional investment, limits the impact on those who are making Allowable Solutions payments, encourages innovation and fair competition, and gives the option for local choice in the projects that are funded.

This new proposed framework has been developed with stakeholders representing housebuilding, planning, financial and government interests, and is designed to be flexible, simple and transparent and help “facilitate not frustrate” housing supply.

The report has been published following a call by housing minister Grant Shapps for the industry to find a workable approach to Allowable Solutions. Comments are invited on the report which is available at www.zerocarbonhub.org.

Colin Turner, Headteacher, Etone College enthused:

“The Etone College Sixth Form building is an architectural triumph. The dream of having a Sixth Form has been surpassed by the statement the new building makes. It is an inspiring venue for learning and teaching, standing in stark contrast to its surroundings. My thanks to the BBLB team for doing such a great job for the staff and students of Etone College; it will be a beacon of educational quality for years to come.”

The Orchard was developed as a partnership between Mercian Housing Association, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham YMCA and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), and designed by BBLB architects.

Right to left: Jack Dromey, Local MP and Shadow Communities & Local Government Minister, Alan Fraser, YMCA chief executive and Laurice Ponting, managing director for Mercian Housing Association

The ceremony was officially opened by local MP and Shadow Communities & Local Government Minister, Jack Dromey. Following his speech Mr Dromey planted an apple and plum tree (as pictured) together with Laurice Ponting, managing director for Mercian Housing Association, and Alan Fraser, YMCA chief executive. During the event guests were invited to have a look around The Orchard’s communal areas and to hear from residents about the difference the scheme has made to their lives.

Jack Dromey MP said: “The Orchard is remarkable initiative, the best in Britain, that will offer hope to the young and homeless of Birmingham. Mercian and the YMCA are to be congratulated for their vision and determination to rebuild the sometimes shattered lives of those without a home.”

Full press release issued by Circle can be read at
http://www.circle.org.uk/

Also including Offshore Wind, London Array Wind Farm, Local Enterprise Partnerships, Worcester Bosch projects, and BREEAM Excellent office. View PDF Version.

Progress photographs of the Solihull Community Housing and Waterloo Housing Association scheme, taken in early March, are below.

Following the recent successful completion of a number of specialist sixth form buildings, we have been working to develop an option for a prototype sixth form building with a maximum footprint of 1000sqm to understand how this could potentially support a requirement of 200 students.

The brief was to design this building taking into consideration maximum ratios of net to gross floor area, repetition of structural components to deliver efficiency in construction costs, plan arrangement to suit both natural and mechanical ventilation options according to different site considerations and very importantly, developing a model that would support both the social and educational needs of young adults. The simple arrangement generates a series of functional spaces that are linked by a central atrium space that is also continued into the reception, to ensure that the building could also function as an attractive community facility as more schools consider extended hours of operation. Whilst compact on plan, the scheme has specialist teaching spaces that can be adapted to suit individual schools requirements, together with flexibility to generate much larger spaces if and when required. The structural grid allows remodelling and re-planning to suit a variety of different teaching models and spaces, with high levels of staff passive supervision due to the integration of staff rooms at strategic locations.

We believe that this model could deliver a very attractive option to schools looking to develop their educational offer with the addition of a specialist sixth form, whilst minimising the initial investment risk. As an engineered and affordable self contained unit, this 1000 sqm prototype could also be developed further on a departmental level by integrating into existing school buildings to support secondary education.

This is an important body of our development work into education buildings as we respond to the cuts in funding as part of the ongoing BSF process and the future Academies framework. It brings together our knowledge of the end user requirements together with our experience in delivering both educational and commercial sustainable buildings. We aim to further test not only the construction and services costs of this type of building, but also continue to develop it into a model that could be used to support the design process of future education buildings by the practice.

LEPs will tackle issues including planning and housing, local transport and infrastructure, employment, enterprise and supporting business start-ups.

Other roles currently carried out by the RDAs will be led nationally, such as inward investment, sector leadership, business support, innovation and access to finance. Following the closing day for submitting LEP proposals the Government confirmed that it has received 56 proposals from across the country.

LEPs will have a key role to play in coordinating bids across areas and communities for a share in the £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund, set up to provide support for projects that offer significant potential for sustainable economic growth and can create new private sector jobs. The two-year fund will particularly help areas that have been traditionally reliant on the public sector make the transition to private sector growth and prosperity. Proposals for funding will be sought from private organisations and public-private partnerships.

In October the first 24 local enterprise partnerships were given the go-ahead by Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles and Business Secretary Vince Cable, to “drive growth and create jobs”. They are:

• Birmingham and Solihull with East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth
• Cheshire and Warrington
• Coast to Capital
• Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
• Coventry and Warwickshire
• Cumbria
• Great Cambridge and Great Peterborough
• Greater Manchester
• Hertfordshire
• Kent, Greater Essex and East Sussex
• Leeds City Region
• Leicester and Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Liverpool City Region
• Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Derbyshire
• Oxfordshire City Region
• Sheffield City Region
• Solent
• South East Midlands
• Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire
• Tees Valley
• Thames Valley Berkshire
• The Marches
• West of England

Rejected bids to set up new council and business-led local enterprise partnerships that have been revamped and resubmitted are due to be approved by ministers imminently. The Black Country LEP has already resubmitted their bid and are hopeful of a positive decision in this next round of approvals.

Map of the first LEP areas

Amidst the positive messages that the government are pushing out through their media channels around the formation of Local Entreprise Partnerships there are concerns as to whether they will just be talking shops.
There are fears that the LEPs lack the ambition to make significant economic impact; will not have credible business representation; that initial negotiations have been dominated by local politics; and there is not a clear focus on economic growth.

With a very limited budget it is vital that the LEPs form strong relationships with their local business community – gaining and maintaining the trust of and commitment from the private sector will be the making or breaking of these Partnerships.

The contribution successful facilitation can make to creating, nurturing and delivering on opportunities should not be undersold, and it is activities such as encouraging creative thinking, knowledge sharing, lobbying, bringing parties to the table, smoothing processes and genuinely assisting with the delivery of projects where the LEPs can show their worth. But without strong leadership and good organisation to “connect, communicate and collaborate”, the Working Groups and Boards of these new LEPs could very easily fall in to the trap of all talk and no action.

The flagship redevelopment of the The Orchard, Birmingham YMCA’s existing premises on Reservoir Road, Erdington is being undertaken by Zenith, development subsidiary of Mercian Housing Association, in conjunction with Wates Living Space and will be managed by the Birmingham YMCA. It is delivering both new living accommodation and enhanced community facilities, with the aim of providing a facility to promote social support systems and commercial enterprise projects.

The first phase of 83 self contained flats has recently been handed over to allow residents of the old hostel to move into more suitable, modern accommodation. Phase 2 will be owned and managed by Birmingham YMCA. The new accommodation replaces the 47 single rooms with shared facilities, helping to get more people back on their feet at a time when the city is battling a homelessness crisis.

Alan Fraser, chief executive of Birmingham YMCA said: “This project has been five years in the planning so the completion of phase one is a momentous occasion.” Phase 1 of the scheme is being managed by Birmingham YMCA on behalf of Mercian Housing Association.

The Orchard has been included in Birmingham City Council’s Places of Change programme, which is a national initiative to create places of change for formerly homeless people and help integrate them back into the community. The fundraising committee has been working alongside the Birmingham YMCA and local businesses to organise a program of fundraising events. The community centre at the heart of the Birmingham YMCA fundraising campaign will provide a nursery, youth centre, multi-use community hall, meeting rooms and resources to support local social enterprises.

The community facilities will be in addition to the 83 self-contained flats, part of which has already being completed. The site is being developed in two phases which has enabled the Birmingham YMCA to retain hostel accommodation on site throughout the building works. The scheme comprises innovative ‘Second Tier’ or ‘Move-on’ supported residential accommodation set around the Orangery. The ‘Orangery Meeting Place’ is a covered communal courtyard for residents surrounded by residential units, with balconies overlooking the space. This area has been designed as a central meeting place available for a variety of activities. The Orangery links the residential units to associated communal and staff management facilities in addition to a variety of external amenity areas including external gardens, allotments and the orchard where residents are encouraged to grow and tend to fruit and vegetables, providing a sense of responsibility, achievement and promoting the Birmingham YMCA’s Healthy Living Agenda.

Michael Bolger, Development Manager at Zenith said, “the residential aspect of the scheme is Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 with passive design measures, which offer the most efficient sustainability features, being inherent”.
The striking, dynamic form of the building is complemented by a simple palette of high quality materials and will be instantly recognizable, thereby providing a strong identity for Birmingham YMCA as an inspirational presence in the city, delivering high quality services to residents and the wider community.

Steve Johnson, Dudley College; Philip Beale, fbe; Peter Suddock, Dudley Zoo; and Bill Kirk, New Heritage Regeneration

Plans to regenerate Dudley were outlined to an audience of local property and construction professionals at the Black Country and Telford branch of the Forum for the Built Environment’s (fbe) recent breakfast meeting, held at Dudley Zoo.

Braving the snow, almost 50 members and guests were the first to hear Steve Johnson – director of estates and capital projects at Dudley College, outline their plans to invest over £30 million into Dudley town centre to create a new learning quarter and Bill Kirk – chief executive of New Heritage Regeneration Limited, share plans for more than 20 projects that will give the public realm in Dudley a facelift and support and encourage further investment and regeneration.

Steve Johnson said: “The new learning quarter will support the relocation of an additional 250 staff and 1,500 college students from the town centre bringing a £1.5M annual spend to Dudley town centre.  The scheme will reinforce Dudley as the education capital of the Black Country and also release 14 acres of residential land aiding the borough’s plans for housing development.”

Bill Kirk said: “We have 350,000 sq ft of development within our master plan for Dudley Town Centre, including a new anchor food retail operator.  Castle Hill is also a key site because it is a very successful tourist attraction.  The zoo, museum and canal trust all bring in 600,000 visitors a year.”

John Bradshaw, Partner and Debbie Ward, Business Development Manager, at BBLB are on the Black Country and Telford Branch Committee. The Black Country & Telford Branch’s mission is to help generate business growth by Building Local Networks, focusing on local people, local issues and local venues.

The Energy Act 2008 gives the Government powers to introduce Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) for small-scale generators with capacities under 5MWe. After a consultation period, FITs formally started on 1 April 2010 and apply to a wide range of green electricity generation technologies; from domestic-scale PV arrays through to megawatt scale wind turbines and anaerobic digestion electricity plants.

Feed-in Tariffs are widely used to promote renewable electricity in continental Europe, and have led to widespread deployment of higher cost technologies such as photovoltaics that have not been delivered in large numbers under the UK’s Renewable Obligation Certificate scheme (ROCs). The FITs structure is aimed to provide the right level of simplicity and certainty to encourage non-energy professionals to invest in small-scale generation. It is also aims to provide the incentive to encourage those generators to become more energy efficient.

FIT Payment Structure

Although the name ‘feed-in tariff’ suggests payment for electricity fed into the national grid for use in the broader energy market, FITs payments will in fact be made to all electricity generated and not just that which is exported (this means that remote generators, not connected to a national grid will still be eligible).

The generation tariff will be a fixed price per kilowatt hour and will remain at the fixed priced (although will rise with inflation) throughout the entire support period (25 years for PV, 10 years for micro CHP and 20 years for the other eligible technologies). Whilst the fixed price remains the same for most of the eligible technologies, no matter what year the installation takes place, PV arrays and small scale wind turbines will have reduced fixed price tariffs for new projects over the years. The government also reserves the right to change the tariff level if there is a sudden change in technology costs, but an installation which has already started to receive a tariff at a certain level, will continue to receive the same generation tariff level throughout the entire support period. FITs awards for domestic installations are also exempt from income tax. FITs follow this basic structure:

• A fixed payment from the electricity supplier for every kilowatt hour generated i.e. FIT.
• Another payment additional to the generation tariff for every kWh exported to the wider energy market. Generators will be guaranteed a market for their exports at a long-term guaranteed price (the minimum price has been guaranteed at 3 pence per kWh). The generator may choose whether to sell exported electricity to the supplier at this guaranteed export tariff, or negotiate a price for exported electricity in the open market.
• In addition, generators will benefit because they will have the opportunity to use that electricity on-site to offset some or all of the electricity they would otherwise have had to buy.

In the above diagram, the roof mounted PV panels generate 2,500 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year. The occupants use 1,500kWh of the electricity generated but 1,000kWh is exported to the grid, because it is generated at times when the household does not use it. The household uses a total of 4,500kWh per annum. Therefore, they need to import 3,000kWh from their electricity supplier.

For an existing house with a PV array installed after April 2012 and before April 2013, the FIT for a small PV array is 37.8pence per kWh. This means that the household would receive a total FITs payment of £945 per year (2500kWh x 37.8p) for the electricity generated. They will also receive a payment for the electricity they export; assuming the minimum guaranteed price of 3p/kWh this would be £30 (1000kWh x 3p). They also derive a benefit from the 1,500kWh they generate and use on-site as that will offset 1,500kWh they would otherwise have had to buy from their electricity supplier. Assuming an import price of 12p per KWh this would be a saving of £180 (1500kWh x 12p). This means that:

• A house without the PV array would have an annual electricity bill of £540 (4,500kwh x 12p).
• A house with the PV array would have an annual electricity bill of -£615. Yes, the household would make an annual profit of £615.

FITs & Payback Periods

In the example above, the PV array would yield an annual profit for the household of £615. FITs therefore significantly impact and reduce the likely payback period of a renewable installation. As a minimum, any payback calculation should include the following:

• Capital cost of installation
• Annual maintenance cost
• Annual FIT payment
• Annual export energy payment
• Annual offset energy cost

Out of all of the renewable energy technologies, PV installations have often been chastised for having a very long payback period (in excess of 100 years). Working through the example above, the following payback period can be calculated:

Of course, this calculation assumes that electricity prices will remain constant – perhaps a very optimistic view in today’s energy market. This means that the likely payback period of a typical PV installation would be less than 19 years and nearer 14 years (a similar calculation suggests a payback period of around 8years for a well sited small 6kW wind turbine).  However, payback periods are not the only consideration; there is also a capital cost increase in the value of the house as well as the added marketability and sellability.

The article above has been kindly provided by Halcrow Yolles. For more information visit http://www.halcrow.com or call Antony Bursey on 01793 815603.

BBLB was part of the Miller Construction team that Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council commissioned for the design and construction of a number of Hybrid Units at Greenfields Business Park in Hinckley, Leicestershire. The park offers businesses a range of environmentally responsible units for light industrial usage with excellent road network links and fantastic facilities.

The scheme is now complete and comprises ground floor warehouse space and first floor office space and 16 industrial units – total GIFA approximately 40,000 square feet.

The scheme has achieved BREEAM ratings of “excellent” for the Hybrid Units and “very good” for the Industrial Units. The industrial units within the scheme make use of the following sustainable technologies:

• Timber cladding – providing a lower ‘carbon footprint’ by utilising re-usable and sustainable materials
• Living ‘green’ roofs planted with sedum – providing a high level of insulation, reducing energy costs and cutting rainfall run-off by up to 90%
• Wind turbines on some of the buildings – providing a sustainable source of energy
• Permeable paving – reducing rainwater run-off and passive ventilation

A five-year ecological management plan has also been drawn-up to benefit the ecology of the site. Contact details for further information about the Business Park are:

Contact: Shaun Curtis
Telephone: 01455 247070
Email: shaun.curtis@hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk
Website: www.greenfields.org.uk

Successful renovation of existing buildings is about understanding the ethos of the original idea and design, and then through the introduction of appropriate materials and technologies, generating a solution that environmentally improves the performance of the building, and also importantly delivers a financially viable option.

Rushey Mead school required extensive remodelling

The ‘recycling’ of buildings is hardly a new concept but as we strive to reduce energy and life cycle costs in the future it is becoming a bigger challenge to undertake successfully. In recent times the adaptive reuse of accommodation has also taken a more creative turn, particularly in the education sector. There are many examples of pre-schools, independent schools, FE colleges and universities turning office buildings, factories, churches, retail units and even hospital into schools. In the United States for example, charter schools – which have been an inspiration for the UK’s ‘free schools’ – have often been opened in converted commercial premises.

The renovation of existing buildings can be broken down in to several components incorporating both refurbishment and remodelling. Refurbishment involves the maintenance, repair and improvement of the building fabric and can range from a ‘light touch’ redecoration with new internal finishes and replacement of fixtures and fittings to a more substantial upgrade of facilities and services including ICT. This can be a relatively quick and economic solution, and the valuable contribution of even a simple change of colour scheme should not be underestimated.

Commonly however with the lack of maintenance that has often been a feature of our attitude to the UK’s building stock, the scope of work necessary to return our buildings to an acceptable state is more comprehensive than a simple refresh. It will require the rectification of years of neglect to repair and improve the fabric, not least to upgrade insulation standards and M&E to meet current and future predicted requirements.

Remodelling requires a more extensive overhaul and comprises the appraisal, analysis and adaptation of internal spatial arrangements to address changing needs and regulations, different uses and modern requirements. Careful cost modelling is required to assess the economic viability of proposals, and should remodelling be an option, provide guidance towards the most suitable solution.

Residential conversion at Leicester Street, Walsall

Often to make a commercial or residential scheme viable the focus needs to be on generating additional lettable space and income rather than just carrying out straight forward repairs. Examples include creating new contemporary accommodation fitted between existing roof ridges, thereby generating an additional square footage to the foot print of the building. This not only reduced the area of roof that was required for repair but also boosted additional income generated from the building, offsetting the cost of new construction. Or alternatively developing a three storey copper clad extension to the rear above an existing flat roof section of a building that required repair, which opened up the office space on each floor and increased both the value and the flexibility of the building whilst also dealing sympathetically and sensitively with an important historic element of the city fabric.

The refurbishment and remodelling of our existing buildings can more often than not be a sustainable and cost effective solution, and should – and will undoubtedly – become the first consideration when buildings of suitable inherent quality are available.

The Old Park Centre sits at the heart of the community in Malinslee, Telford. A major objective in regenerating the Centre was to act as a catalyst to lift a deprived area of Telford and provide enhanced community facilities, this has already in part been achieved with the successful completion of the school and development centre. The main construction elements of the Centre regeneration comprise:

• 450 Pupil Primary School (complete)
• Child Development Centre (complete)
• Primary Care Doctors Surgery and Health Centre (underway)
• Community Retail Units (underway)

Old Park Primary School accommodates 450 pupils and has a circular central hall and dining facilities and four wings. Three of the wings accommodate teaching spaces and administration and the final wing has a nursery and community facilities which includes a small sports hall. External space provision was a very important part of the brief, part of the external space is protected by a membrane canopy for all year round use.

The new Child Development Centre for the local PCT provides a variety of specialist facilities for the assessment, diagnosis and management of local children that experience difficulties with their development. With it’s single aim to serve the local community, the facility is over two floors and is located between the Old Park Primary School and the proposed relocated Malinslee Primary Care Centre. BBLB worked closely with Telford & Wrekin Council to deliver the Development Centre and School which were designed by their inhouse team, BTW.

The Malinslee Primary Care Facility comprises a six Doctor surgery, a two Partner dental practice and a community pharmacy ensuring the continued and improved provision of healthcare. The existing practice wished to increase the level of healthcare provision, with the new facility being tailored to the specific needs of the community including a dedicated nurse treatment facility, minor surgery suite and physiotherapy room.

Updated access provision – both for vehicular and pedestrian traffic – will ensure improved access for all whilst the increased, spacious public areas will benefit patients and staff, ensuring light and modern surroundings.

Forming a key part within the overall master-plan for the Malinslee area, the proposed Community Retail Development is the final construction phase of the upgrading of services within the local community of Telford. Comprising of three independent units (5000 sqft in total), the proposed development sits on a prominent site off Brunel Road. Acting as a gateway building into the development the scheme is sympathetic to it’s surrounding residential area whilst ensuring it reflects the forward thinking and progressing nature of the community as a whole.