Planning permission has been granted for the University of East Anglia’s Enterprise Centre, designed to be an exemplary low carbon building.

To be built by Morgan Sindall, it has been designed by architects Architype, BDP Engineers and Churchman Landscape Architects to become the first commercial building to achieve both the Passivhaus and BREEAM outstanding standards. The scheme also aspires to set new standards for embodied energy and the use of materials from renewable sources.

The Enterprise Centre at the University of East Anglia (UEA) will houses a mix of academic teaching and enterprise functions on the Norwich Research Park.

The timber- and glulam-framed building will have a locally-sourced Brettstapel-constructed lecture theatre with cladding panels prefabricated from Norfolk straw and reed.

Construction starts this summer. The Enterprise Centre aims to open its doors in January 2015.

Forming part of Architype and Churchman Landscape Architect’s larger masterplan for the area, the new building is described as an interface between the historic Earlham Hall, park and university campus. It is the first stage of a wider 5,700 sq m development of enterprise and academic accommodation, which has also been granted outline planning permission by Norwich City Council.

Architype associate director Ben Humphries, lead designer for the project, said: “We are delighted that Norwich City Council has granted planning permission for this exciting and innovative piece of architecture.  The building provides the campus with a fantastic new gateway building, and proudly announces the university’s intent to lead the way in low carbon innovation.”

This landmark project is part-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, in addition to funding from UEA, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBRSC), Norwich Research Park (NRP) and the Building Research Establishment (BRE).

The project is the latest in a line of Passivhaus developments in and around Norwich, including Hastoe Housing’s completed scheme in Ditchingham, Broadland Housing’s scheme on site in Fulmodeston, and Broadland’s planned 250-unit Carrow Road development.

Manchester Airports Group has selected Galliford Try, Carillion and BAM for its new capital delivery programme framework, potentially worth £500m over the next five years.

The framework runs for an initial three years with the potential for two further 12-month extensions.

The framework will cover all capital delivery needs across the airport group’s portfolio, which includes Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth airports.

Manchester Airports Group chief operating officer Andrew Cowan said: “The group has doubled in size this year with the acquisition of London Stansted and with a number of major projects due to get underway, we wanted to have a group of partners alongside us capable of delivering high-quality engineering and construction work so that we can continue to develop the business. We’ve also selected partners that are capable of covering the wide geographical footprint of our operations as we now have airports in London, the south, Midlands and the north of the country.

"They are also experienced in the aviation sector and will get to use those skills across a wide array of assets including runways, terminals, car parks and our property portfolio. We need partners that share our vision and drive so we are pleased to have secured three companies of suitable scale to our framework roster.”

Galliford Try chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said: "We are delighted to have been successful in securing a place on this substantial framework. This award demonstrates the strength that the diversity of our business operations represents and we look forward to working with Manchester Airports Group on their many exciting projects."

BAM’s framework leader, Adrian Blackie, said: “Although we take nothing for granted about winning work under this framework, we are greatly looking forward to working with the Manchester Airport Group.”

Plans have been submitted for the construction of a further 1,200 homes at the £400m Locking Parklands development in Weston-super-Mare.

Developer St. Modwen, in partnership with the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA), have lodged an outline planning application to North Somerset Council for further development of the 200 acre former RAF Locking site.

The first phase saw 100 homes built and a 6,000 sq ft office building. Construction is already underway on 150 homes in the second phase of housing.

For the third phase, St Modwen wants to develop a further 1,200 homes and 650,000 sq ft of commercial space.

The plans also include proposals for a secondary and a primary school, with 80 acres of landscaped open space and a new district centre which will include a retail high street and additional leisure and community facilities.

St Modwen regional director Rupert Joseland said: "The latest proposals for Locking Parklands will enable us to deliver a truly mixed use new community for Weston. The site was recently voted as one of the top three housing schemes in the UK and the next phase will build on that success to create employment space, jobs and affordable housing for the people of Weston."

HCA area manager Jay Lambe added: "Locking Parklands has been a resounding success, with stunning new homes and business space already created and proving popular. This is an exciting time for Locking Parklands, with people starting to see the benefits of our investment and partners’ work in terms of the homes and opportunities that are being created here. I look forward to seeing the development continue to succeed."

The HCA invested £6m in the first phase of development at Locking Parklands, taking the total level of investment by the HCA to more than £12.2m since 2002.

The planning application is expected to be determined later this year.

Orchard Village, which replaces the once-notorious 1960s Mardyke estate, began in 2008 and has already seen 299 new homes built and 19 properties renovated. The project will see most of the existing properties, including six tower blocks and 10low rise blocks, demolished and replaced with new low-rise homes.

A total of 555 new homes will be built to re-house existing tenants when all four phases of the project are completed in 2016.

Having built the first two phases, Willmott Dixon has now been awarded a £14.5m contract for phase three, which is for 87 new homes.

The client is Old Ford Housing Association, which is part of Circle Group. Managing director June Morton said: “We are now past the halfway stage but there is still plenty of hard work still to do – which with the help of the local residents, we can create a lasting legacy in Rainham for generations to come.”

Seddon has been chosen to build an £11m housing project in Telford, Shropshire, for social housing and care provider Sanctuary Group.

The development in Ketley, Telford, will create 86 extra care apartments for residents as young as 55 plus 12 apartments for people with learning difficulties.

The Telford scheme is set to be finished in autumn 2014. It has been partly funded by the Homes & Communities Agency and is being delivered in partnership with Telford and Wrekin Council. The new extra care scheme, set in landscaped gardens, will feature communal facilities including a restaurant, lounge, gym and hair salon.

The project, designed by Brewster Bye Architects, is taking place as part of a £60m four-year partnership between Seddon and Sanctuary, which is planning to build more than 700 homes across the Midlands.

Plans for a new £200m hospital in Dumfries & Galloway have been approved by the Scottish government, firing the starting gun on the procurement process.

The outline business case for the acute hospital has been cleared by the Scottish government’s capital investment group.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway chief Operating Officer Julie White said this meant that the search for contractors could now begin. “This is an extremely important milestone in the development of a new hospital for this region. The approval by Scottish government enables us to proceed to the open market to commence our procurement process,” she said.

“We will now engage with external companies who will work with us to complete the detailed design, build the hospital and finance the construction.

Mott MacDonald and Keppie Design have been working as technical consultants on the project since July 2012.

Ms White added: “The project has already attracted a considerable amount of interest from a range of multi-national companies. The procurement process will take a number of months and it is anticipated that work will commence on site in the spring of 2015 with the new hospital being open to patients in the first half of 2018. This project represents a significant boost to our local economy and we will work with the preferred bidder to ensure involvement of local small and medium sized businesses, and to develop local apprenticeships.”

Balfour Beatty has been selected as Herefordshire Council’s preferred bidder for its £200m 10-year public realm services contract.

The services include highways maintenance and improvement, street lighting, traffic signals, street cleaning, parks and public rights of way, fleet maintenance and professional consultancy services.

These services were previously provided by Amey under a 10-year deal that began in 2003.

A council cabinet meeting yesterday (13 June) opted for Balfour Beatty Living Places as its preferred bidder, with Amey LG as the reserve bidder and Costain as second reserve bidder.

The council will now start detailed negotiations with Balfour Beatty to sign the final contract in July. Further contract details will be disclosed then, and it will go live on 1 September 2013.

Geoff Hughes, director for places and communities said: “These are key frontline services and this procurement has sought commitments to ensure improvements and value for money, bring investment into the highways network, ensure services are responsive to the community and provide contribution to the regeneration of the economy and social capital in the county.

“We are pleased we were able to stick to a very tight procurement timetable. We had a field of extremely strong bidders and we’re genuinely thankful for the hard work they’ve put in to this process.”

“I’d like to thank the bidders for their courteous, prompt and productive way they have all participated. I am confident that the resulting contract will achieve savings and help the council balance its budgets in the coming years.”

The Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) has picked Kier Partnership Homes as its preferred developer for a £60m housing development in Northampton.

The mixed tenure regeneration project, on Ransome Road in the town, will comprise approximately 400 new houses and apartments for both affordable rent and open market sale. The scheme forms part of the wider Northampton Brownfield Initiative, and will be brought together by the creation three groups of public spaces and two bridges.

Kier was selected from the HCA developer partner panel framework

HCA regional head Charles Amies said: “We are pleased to have Kier on board so we can move forward and get on site at Ransome Road. We know through working closely with Northampton Borough Council that the site is a local priority – it will deliver much-needed new homes for the Borough as well as being a key part of the town’s growth, which will create further homes and jobs for local people.”

Kier Partnership Homes’ managing director Chris King added: “We are delighted to have been chosen once again by the HCA to work with them to deliver this much anticipated and prestigious scheme in Northampton. This opportunity reinforces our commitment to providing high quality affordable homes within a mixed tenure context.

“The commitment of the HCA and Northampton Borough Council has enabled us to propose a modern design to maximise the currently derelict site, creating a vibrant new community.”

Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) has appointed four construction firms to its new prime contractor framework to deliver the majority of its building projects across the region.

The selected contractors are: Kier; Morrison Construction; Mansell; and Robertson Construction. They are now pre-selected to work on projects estimated to be worth around £6m per year for the next four years.

HIE is now discussing a number of pipeline projects with the businesses and hopes to award the first projects under the framework later in 2013.

HIE director of regional development Carroll Buxton said: “We are delighted to have agreed a contract with these four highly skilled and respected companies, all of which have strong links to the area. This partnership framework approach provides flexibility for the businesses and healthy competition for us which will ensure best value for the public purse.”

Kier Construction regional managing director Brian McQuade said: “The appointment to HIE’s framework will provide Kier with an excellent opportunity to continue its relationship with local communities delivering employment and training opportunities in various disciplines and professions in the construction industry.

“Kier looks forward to supporting HIE in its role as the economic and community development agency for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Our knowledge and relationship with the local supply chain combined with our national buying power will deliver best value construction solutions that will support community benefits and development throughout the highlands.”

Wates Construction has been cleared to start construction of the £16m Quest Academy " Coloma Trust in Selsdon now that planning permission has been granted by Croydon Council.

Wates will use its Adapt school building mode to put up the school in just 59 weeks. The main school building will have capacity for 900 students aged 11 to 16 years plus a further 215 sixth formers. There will also be new facilities for the Monks Hill Sports centre and space for a new community facility.

The existing school building will be demolished upon completion of the work, with the areas landscaped.

Wates says that its Adapt school building, developed with architect CPMG, model can generate a 21% reduction in build programme and cost savings on average of 23% against a typical contemporary school building.

Business unit director Richard Shroll said that using Adapt would “ensure the individual needs of the school are met with efficiency, without a compromise on quality”.

The Quest Academy – Coloma Trust, opened as an Academy on 1st September 2010 and is overseen by Academy Sponsors, Coloma Convent Girls’ School and The Coloma Trust.  Completion of the building works is scheduled for the new academic year in September 2014.

The project, which formed part of the government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, was procured via the Education Funding Agency (EFA) Contractors’ Framework. The new building has been jointly funded by the EFA (£14.5m) and Croydon Council (£1.7m).

Specialist housing contractor and developer United House has booked two new refurbishment framework contracts with London & Quadrant (L&Q) and Harlow Council.

The frameworks are together expected to bring United House £60m over four years. Work on both programmes is due to start within the next month.

L&Q has appointed United House as one of four framework contractors to carry out upgrade works as part of a four-year internal refurbishment programme.  This programme is worth up to £35m to United House and will involve kitchen and bathroom replacements, rewiring, heating upgrades and asbestos removal in the Cray ‘hub’ which, with nearly 25,000 homes in south east London, is the largest of the housing provider’s four hub areas.

L&Q head of programme management Matthew Drake said: “We have worked in partnership with our residents to make sure we appoint the most suitable supplier to carry out the refurbishment programme.  We have chosen four suppliers which were selected on the basis of quality, price and providing opportunities for the local community.  Our number one goal is resident satisfaction and we are confident that the new programme will deliver high quality products for our residents over the next four years and provide value for money.”

In the second framework award, Harlow Council has selected United House as one of two contractors to lot one of its internal capital investment programme.  This work covers kitchen and bathroom upgrades, heating and electrical improvements and asbestos removal to homes in Harlow and the surrounding area.

The value of the framework is worth £25m to United House over four years, with the potential to extend to a fifth year.

Councillor Rod Truan, Harlow Council’s deputy leader and cabinet portfolio holder for housing, said: “This contract is part of our £100m Council housing investment programme which will provide better housing in Harlow and improve our tenants’ quality of life. We are delighted to be working with United House.”

United House group chief executive Jeffrey Adams said: “It is a testament to our excellent track record in delivering high quality, cost effective refurbishment programmes that we have been appointed on these new frameworks.  It demonstrates United House’s reputation for excellence and we look forward to delivering these programmes to our usual high standards.  United House has a relationship with L&Q that goes back many years and it is good to be back working together.”

Barnwood Construction has won a contract to build two 27,500 sq ft office buildings at the Milton Park business and science estate in Oxfordshire for MEPC.

Simon Carey, managing director of the Gloucester based building company, said: “We were very pleased to win this contract against some very stiff competition . It really gives us a chance to show just what we can do when given the challenge. These buildings have a very complex design embracing the latest technology. It is a very environmentally friendly project, and has been designed to achieve an ‘excellent’ BREEAM environmental accreditation."

He continued: “These buildings are absolutely state of the art and represent the only new speculatively built Grade A office property of this size in Oxfordshire over the last five recent years.

“Some of the key features include an impressive three storey reception atrium, underfloor air conditioning, sensor controlled lighting with automatic dimmer, 13-people lift and showers with changing/locker rooms.”

Developer Dundas Estates has begun construction of a 500-home development in Coatrbridge, between Glasgow and Airdrie.

The £15m first phase will see the development of 114 new homes and a ‘community hub’ for neighbours to meet. There will be approximately 80 construction workers on site for this first phase.

Calderwood Village is being built on the site of a former Sheffield Forgemasters foundry.

Dundas is the property development arm of the James Walker (Leith) group of companies.

Dundas Estates group managing director John Campbell said: “Calderwood Village is a significant new development that will offer homebuyers the opportunity to embrace a new way of living and our objective will be to create a thriving development of high-quality homes with energy saving features, environmental attributes, and 21st Century communications technology.

“Built around the needs of the home-buyer, Calderwood Village has been designed to let residents take ownership and responsibility for their local area and encourage groups to come together and positively work towards integration.”

The project is backed by Morston Assets, set up by Kwik-Fit tycoon Sir Tom Farmer, who said: “We believe the development will set a model of best practice for future regeneration projects across Scotland and are excited to be working with Dundas Estates, which shares our values for sustainability. Calderwood Village is not just about creating houses, it is about developing a community where people can live and work.”

Galliford Try Partnerships has finalised a £38m contract to regenerate the Brook House site in north London.

Registered social housing provider Newlon Housing Trust has chosen Galliford Try Partnerships to redevelop the former Cannon Rubber factory in Tottenham.

The project will see the creation of 222 new homes as one, two and three-bed apartments, new commercial space and a new two-form entry primary school capable of accommodating 420 pupils.

The construction phase of the project starts this month, June, with completion expected in mid 2015.

Galliford Try Chief Executive Greg Fitzgerald commented: "Our record in regeneration projects means we are recognised as a contractor of choice, and we are delighted that Newlon have chosen us to go ahead with this significant project. We look forward to working with Newlon to build these community facilities that will bring considerable benefit to the area."

Crossrail’s tunnelling boring machine Victoria has joined her sister TBM Elizabeth in the Canary Wharf station box.

The second TBM broke through on Tuesday 6 June.

As previously report, Elizabeth arrived  the previous week.

Crossrail’s eastern tunnelling machines were launched from the Limmo site near Canning Town towards the end of last year to create 8.3km of tunnels from east London to Farringdon – Crossrail’s longest tunnel section. A total of 42km of tunnels will be built in total for Crossrail.

Both machines will now undergo maintenance inside the Canary Wharf station box before moving through the station box to resume tunnelling towards central London.

In the video below, Crossrail’s eastern tunnels project manager Peter Main gives an update on tunnelling operations in Docklands.

Graham Construction has been named preferred bidder for the £8.5m Lews Castle Museum and Archive project in Stornaway.

The contract includes a new museum and archive extension on the site of the former glasshouses as well as extensive works to repair and restore the historic interior of the castle.

It is anticipated that construction work will start in August with completion and opening by summer 2015.

Lews Castle is a Category-A Listed building set in 600 acres of woodlands overlooking Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis.  Built by James Matheson around 1850, it was owned by Lord Leverhulme in the 1920’s and became the first home for Lews Castle College in 1953.  The building has been unused since the early 1990s and is now owned by the local council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, which is overseeing a £13.5m regeneration project to restore the castle as a tourist attraction for the Outer Hebrides.  A new museum and archive, extension, designed by Malcolm Fraser Architects, will showcase the heritage of the islands.  Through a partnership with the British Museum the displays will include six of the world famous Lewis Chessmen.

Graham is taking on phase two of the works.

The first phase of construction works, involving repairs and conservation work to the external fabric of the castle, is already on site and is due to be completed next month.  This work is now being led by Neil Mackay & Co , which took over after original contractor Patton went into administration.

Council leader Angus Campbell said: “The construction phase will provide a boost for the local economy over the next two years and the project will be a catalyst for further investment in and around the Castle and across the islands.

“‘We will be working closely with the main contractor on delivering community benefits which are an integral part of the contract.  This will include maximising opportunities for local sub-contractors and suppliers, training, apprenticeship and other opportunities.  We want to ensure that this project creates a legacy in terms of the specialist skills required for conserving and maintaining our historic buildings.

Graham regional director Gary Holmes said: “Lews Castle is a cultural asset to the Western Isles and we are tremendously proud to be playing such a pivotal role in bringing it back into productive use.”

Vinci won more UK construction work than any other contractor during May, according to the latest Builders’ Conference Contracts League.

The full table can be seen in the June issue of The Construction Index magazine, now online and with printed copies set to land on subscribers’ doormats this week.

The month of May saw the total value of construction contracts awarded pass £3bn for the first time this year. The overall total value of 3.23bn was an increase of some £750m over April. It was also 70% higher than the £1.91bn awarded during May 2012.

May 2013 also saw the greatest number of contract awards at 570.

An analysis of where the work is coming from shows that education and housing were by far the busiest sectors for contract awards in May, accounting for two-thirds of the new business. Education accounted for 31% of all new contract awards in May (or 33% by value) while housing accounted for 29% of the total (or another 33% by value).

However, Builders Conference chief executive Neil Edwards says that the number of tenders is starting to level off in these sectors, which will have an impact on the market towards the end of the year. “This may be a short term blip especially as this is not an election vote winning strategy,” he suggests.

In most months, Carillion’s £400m contract for phase one of the Battersea Power Station redevelopment would be enough to put it top of the league. However, Vinci bagged an even bigger deal down in south Wales – a £450m contract for St Modwen Properties to build the University of Swansea’s new Science & Innovation Campus. This was one of five contracts won by Vinci Construction UK last month.

The most number of contracts won during May is an honour shared by Morgan Sindall and Miller, who each gathered 18 awards. Morgan Sindall’s haul was marginally the more valuable, totalling nearly £193m, giving it the third spot in the league. The biggest of its May awards is a £32m contract for Network Rail at Manchester Victoria railway station.

Miller’s biggest contract of the month is a £23m school building job for Leicester City Council.

McLaren Construction is in sixth place, with a total of £118.1m. The biggest of its six awards last month is a £57m mixed-use development in Bromley for Cathedral Group (Eltham).

With a total of £117.2m for the month, Graham Construction is close behind in sixth, thanks to an £83m contract to build a new ward block at the Ulster Hospital in Belfast.

For the rolling year to date, shown below, Morgan Sindall remains top of the pile but Vinci has climbed three places since last month to take second position, pushing Laing O’Rourke and Balfour Beatty down to third and fourth respectively.

The rolling total value of all contracts awarded in the year to 31 May 2013 has gone up to £25.49bn, up from £24.19bn the previous month and up from £20.16bn this time last year.

Amey has been awarded a contract to combine the facilities management services of Westminster City Council, the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.

The tri-borough contract runs for 10 years and is valued at more than £150m. It is expected to save each of the three councils more than £2m a year, equivalent to more than 34% saving over current costs.

Amey will deliver facilities management services across a combined estate of nearly 2,000 buildings comprising 1.3 million square feet. It will include building security and maintenance as well as catering, landscaping, environmental management, cleaning and reception services.

Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations will apply for facilities management staff across the three boroughs.

All other London boroughs and schools will have the opportunity to buy into the service as partnering authorities.

Cllr Nicholas Paget-Brown, leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, said: "By sharing facilities management across the three councils we will be able to save money, protect front line services and keep taxes low during a time of unprecedented pressure on local government finances.

"Through our tri-borough working we are proving to residents and other local authorities that this approach works and provides even better services."

Amey chief executive Mel Ewell said: "Working collaboratively with the councils will bring together service delivery expertise from the public and private sector, helping us to achieve their vision of enhanced services and greater efficiencies.”

Service mobilisation begins this month (June) and the contract is expected to start from October this year.

Cllr Philipa Roe, leader of Westminster City Council, said: "Combining back-office services and management costs in this manner is also helping us to reduce council tax and it is no surprise that our three councils are in Britain's top four for having low tax."

The councils are also sharing children's services, adult social care and library services to cut overheads. The tri-borough approach is on course to save the three councils £40m a year by 2015/16.

A sovereignty guarantee signed by the three councils ensures local accountability and decision making, with each individual council responsible for its own budgets, policies and service specification.

Liverpool City Council is advertising for five contractors to build 1,500 new homes over the next five years.

It is also seeking bidders to refurbish 1,000 properties to bring them back into use by 2018.

The estimated contract value of the house-building framework is between £187m and £250m.

The refurbishment lot is estimated at between £11m and £25m.

For further details, see our Contract Leads section.

The Highways Agency has awarded the third of its new a new asset support contracts to EnterpriseMouchel.

EnterpriseMouchel will maintain and improve motorways and major A roads in central southern England (area 3) for five years, with an option to extend for a further two years. It will go live from 1 November 2013 and is valued at up to £140m a year.

The contract covers more than 750 miles of carriageway across Hampshire, Berkshire, parts of Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and parts of Dorset.

Nationally, asset support contracts (ASCs) are replacing managing agent contractor (MAC) contracts, and will form the basis of the delivery of maintenance and improvement services for most parts of England’s motorway and trunk road network.

The new deal represents a vote of confidence in EnterpiseMouchel by the Highways Agency as it is currently the managing agent contractor for the area. It also looks after ares 1 and 13 as MAC.

Managing director Dave Wright said: "I am delighted that EM has been awarded the area 3 asset support contract. Having successfully delivered our current portfolio of MAC contracts to a high standard, consistently featuring in the upper quartile of the Highways Agency's performance metrics, I am confident we can make this latest ASC contract an exemplar."

Highways Agency acting network development and delivery director Mike Wilson said: “I am delighted that we have awarded the third of our new ASC contracts which represents a major step forward in the way that maintenance and improvement activities are carried out on England’s motorways and major 'A' roads.

“ASCs are more outcome based and less prescriptive, enabling our suppliers to be more innovative about the way their services are delivered. The key point is that the roads they manage on our behalf continue to be maintained to high standards and that we are able to achieve substantial savings – making an important contribution to the national budget deficit.”