Plans go in for £48m Derby arena
Developer St James Securities have submitted a full planning application to Derby City Council for a new 3,500 capacity entertainment and events venue at Becketwell.
The £48m venue will be located on the site of the former Pink Coconut nightclub and Laurie House offices at the heart of the wider mixed-use Becketwell development.
The purpose-built venue will be a fully flexible, scalable space capable of staging concerts, stand-up comedy, family shows, musical theatre, conferences, and exhibitions.
The main auditorium will have a maximum capacity of 3,500 and offer a range of different event configurations including a fully seated layout for up to 2,100.
Subject to planning consent being granted at a meeting in October, construction is set to start in early 2022, with handover to the operator in 2024.
The new performance venue will be owned by Derby City Council and run by operator ASM Global.
Oliver Quarmby, managing director of St James Securities, said: “A new large-scale venue is a key component of Derby’s masterplan for the city centre which has been developed collaboratively between the public and private sectors and we are tremendously excited to be working on this ambitious scheme to bring an outstanding, modern performance venue to the city.
“We have created a great scheme which will fill a significant gap in the city’s cultural landscape. This flexible venue will cater for major music and comedy acts as well as theatre content. The conference and events capability will support the growth of the region’s business community.
“The performance venue is set to ‘turbocharge’ the entire Becketwell scheme, allowing us to bring forward a new multi-storey car park and hotel and will be key to the future reinvigoration and repositioning of Derby city centre.”
Work is already underway on the £30m phase one of the scheme, which includes the construction of 259 build to rent apartments by GMI Construction.
Future planned phases of the scheme include up to 25,000 sq. m of new grade A offices and commercial space, a hotel and a multi-storey car park.
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ConstructConnect’s Hot Projects – July 26, 2021
Listed below are ConstructConnect’s Hot Commercial Construction Projects, both public and private, for the week. Our Hot Projects showcases three currently bidding or sub-bidding projects from all 50 states and the District of Columbia pulled from our extensive database of construction leads.
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CLC calls for construction exemption from pingdemic
Industry leaders have called for the acceleration of rules relaxing requirements for Covid-19 self-isolation for double-vaccinated construction workers.
The Construction Leadership Council is warning that sites will “grind to a halt” amid the pingdemic.
On August 16 regulations on self-isolation will be relaxed across the economy when anyone who has been double-jabbed will be able to continue to work if they are notified that they have been a contact of someone that has Covid-19.
But ahead of the change, construction businesses from merchants to manufacturers and consultants to contractors are being severely hampered as staff are having to stay home after being identified as a contact of a Covid-19 case, even if they are fully vaccinated.
The issue is further exacerbating existing difficult trading due to materials and staff shortages.
The CLC proposes that the 16 August relaxation be brought forward as soon as is possible.
CLC co-chair Andy Mitchell said: “We have reports from across the industry of plants, sites and offices having to wind down activities as staff have been asked to isolate.
“This is putting very significant pressure on the sector, risking project delivery and even the viability of some firms.
“Where staff are already fully vaccinated, and recognising that such people will be free to work from 16 August anyway, we are asking the Government to bring forward this
date for essential industries like construction, ensuring that the industry doesn’t grind to a halt.”
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1,500-homes Gravesend riverside scheme approved
Developer Joseph Homes has got the planning thumbs up for a landmark regeneration scheme of 1,500 flats around the canal basin in Gravesend, Kent.
The 5.5ha brownfield site, situated on the south bank of the River Thames, will need £16m of enabling and infrastructure works.
Joseph Homes is proposing to spend over £3m upgrading flood defences, £6m on contaminated land remediation and £7m on transferring electricity from Ebbsfleet.
The first phase of the scheme, which received detailed planning in the hybrid planning application, consists of six blocks with one rising to 23-storeys tall.
The development will include a mix of affordable housing as well as Later Living and build-to-rent homes as well as 4,500sq m of space for local businesses including shops, restaurants and workspaces.
Site remediation and clearance will get underway in the autumn with first construction scheduled to start in 2023
Craig Carson, Development Director at Joseph Homes said: “We are thrilled that Gravesham Borough Council unanimously voted in favour to grant planning permission for Albion Waterside.
“Our masterplan regeneration for this site is one we’ve worked on with our brilliant project team – JTP, Barton Willmore, Ramboll, Caneparo Associates, Montagu Evans, Patrick Parsons and BDP Landscape – to ensure that we will deliver a vibrant and truly sustainable neighbourhood for Gravesend.”
Ian Fenn, Partner at JTP said: “This site offers huge potential to transform an underused industrial area into a thriving new riverside neighbourhood, which will re-establish old links and connections and create new ones, whilst also marking this important location on the River Thames.”
McLaughlin & Harvey profits halve to £5.9m
Private contractor McLaughlin & Harvey saw pre-tax profits slide to £5.9m from £11.5m last year as extra costs from Covid safe working took their toll on the business.
But despite these challenges, the Cheevers family-owned group held revenue at a near-record level of £480m, down 6% from the year before, with operating margins at 1.1%.
Both the construction and civil engineering division, which contributed £417m of total revenue, continued to trade profitably despite the additional challenges and extra costs that Covid brought.
Over the year the group, which employs 800 staff out of offices in offices in Belfast, Glasgow, London, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol, received £2.2m in furlough support cash from Government.
Finance director David O’Neill said that other smaller group businesses – distribution and the environmental landfill business – also both performed strongly last year, building a platform for the year group ahead.
“The current order book, tender opportunities and performance for 2021 are very healthy and we anticipate a strong performance,” said O’Neill.
“The fundamentals of each of the businesses with McLaughlin & Harvey Group are strong. The balance sheet for the group shows net assets of £57.6m supported by net cash of £69.9m.”
In June, McLaughlin & Harvey launched a new dedicated fit-out business called WorkSpace to offer clients a range of services spanning build, fit out, facilities management, bespoke joinery, and commercial furniture.
Richard Cheevers, McLaughlin & Harvey Director, said: “The company has built a strong reputation for delivering large scale construction and civil engineering schemes over many years, and recently the directors felt there was a need to create a dedicated division for projects outside the scope and scale of those traditionally associated with McLaughlin & Harvey.
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