Construction News
This forecast focuses on the next three years, indicating the construction industry will face challenging economic conditions. However, whilst growth was stifled in 2022 (-2%), 2023 is predicted to see a modest 8% increase and a smaller 2% lift in 2024, representing an average rise of 2.6% over the Forecast period.
To download your copy of the full 46-page UK Construction Industry Forecast 2022-2024, click here.
Key projects across the UK
Civil Engineering
A465 Howlais to Dowlais Top Sections 5 & 6
Converting the A465 from Dowlais Top to Hirwaun to 2 lanes in each direction. The objectives of the project are to improve traffic flow and make it safer to overtake, make the road safer, especially around junctions and areas with poor visibility and to improve access to key services, jobs and markets supporting inward investment to areas like the Ebbw Vale Enterprise Zone.
The £590 million project consists of earthworks at key locations along the entire route, created new habitats for Great Crested Newts, dormice, lapwing and bats, moving utilities including: water, gas, electricity, telecoms, drainage at locations along the route, installed water management measures along the scheme.
Picture & Text Reference: https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/23111920.birtley-a1-upgrade-partially-close-kingsway-roundabout/
The scheme is 6.5 km in length and will consist of online widening of the A1 south of Gateshead to four lanes between junction 65 and 67 on the southbound carriageway and three lanes with lane gain/drop between junctions on northbound carriageway to provide additional capacity.
The scheme will also include the off-line replacement of Allerdene Railway Bridge immediately south of the existing structure to tie into the existing structure at Junction 67 Coal House.
M25 Junction 10 to A3 Wisley Interchange,
M25 junction 10 to A3 Wisley Interchange in Surrey is located on one of the busiest sections of the Strategic Road Network. The scheme aims to reduce congestion, increase road capacity, improve journey time reliability and road safety at the same time supporting local development.
It also includes conversion of the hard shoulders on the M25 through junction 10 provide an additional lane in each direction.
A38 Derby junctions
The A38 is an important route from Birmingham to Derby and through to the M1 at junction 28.
The key features of our junctions improvement scheme are to: Lower the A38 to pass underneath the modified Kingsway and Markeaton junctions Widen the A38 to 3 lanes in each direction between the Kingsway and Kedleston Road junctions„ Build 2 new bridges to carry the A38 traffic over the modified roundabout at Little Eaton junction.
Groundworks
The new town centre is being brought forward in three main phases. The first phase has already completed at Elephant Central.
The second phase commenced with the demolition of the existing shopping centre site in October 2020 and construction on site is now underway, targeted to complete in 2026.
The Barkby Estate, William Davies Homes, David Wilson Homes and Davidsons Homes
A consortium of builders has started work on the first part of 4,500 homes planned on land on the outskirts of Leicester. Leicestershire housebuilders Davidsons Homes, William Davis Homes and David Wilson Homes have broken ground on the first phase of 574 homes, open space and infrastructure at the Thorpebury development.
Commercial Build
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood and Shepperton Studios, owned by Pinewood Group Limited, have large expansion projects underway to increase studio capacity and production spaces.
They are currently working on a series of extension and retrofit projects for both Studios which represents more than £500 million of private investment, including the creation of new film studio campuses.
They will be delivering civil and structural engineering design, bridge engineering design, flood risk analysis and drainage design for the major expansion of Shepperton Studios.
The Salisbury Square Development Court & Police Headquarters (Justice Quarter),
The Salisbury Square Development will deliver a new, purpose-built 18-courtroom legal facility called the City of London Law Courts and an industry leading City of London police headquarters equipped to combat amongst other things, fraud and economic crime across the UK.
The building will consist of a 38-storey East tower and a 23-storey West tower connected by a 13-storey podium structure offering approximately 650,000 sq ft of new office space and approximately 6,500 square feet of new retail space across the development.
Rail
The two contracts have been awarded to Balfour Beatty’s 50:50 joint venture with VINCI. Balfour Beatty VINCI will deliver Lot N1, valued at c. £1.32 billion, and Lot N2, valued at c. £1.15 billion, between the Long Itchington Wood Green tunnel to the Delta Junction / Birmingham Spur and from the Delta Junction to the West Coast Main Line tie-in respectively, in a two-part design and build contract.
HS2 Brackley to South Portal,
The new high speed rail network in Northamptonshire will travel underground in two new eco-friendly ‘green tunnels’ while three viaducts will be designed to blend into the landscape.
Within Northamptonshire will feature 2.6km of the Greatworth Green Tunnel and 2.4km of Chipping Warden Green Tunnels.
There will be three viaducts constructed at Edgcote, Lower Thorpe and Highfurlong Brook, and a main works compound at Chipping Warden.
The 188 km Crossrail project is being undertaken in order to make it possible for an extra 1.5 million people to commute to London’s main business districts within 45 minutes. Due to open in 2018, the development will boost the capital’s rail capacity by ten per cent.Crossrail will run from Reading in the west and through London to Essex in the east. The project is expected to deliver economic benefits of around £42 billion.
Picture & Text Reference: https://www.hs2.org.uk/in-your-area/local-community-webpages/hs2-in-northamptonshire/
East West Rail is a nationally significant railway project which aims to deliver much-needed transport connections for communities between Oxford and Cambridge by upgrading an existing section of railway between Oxford and Bicester Bringing back a section of railway between Bicester and Bletchley, refurbishing existing railway between Bletchley and Bedford and Building brand new railway infrastructure between Bedford and Cambridge.
Residential Build
West Cromwell Road Development
Proposals for 100 West Cromwell Road were granted planning permission in June 2020, and will include a range of benefits for the community, including 462 high-quality homes, including 186 affordable homes, A new community sports hub with a 20m swimming pool and gym studios.
Kodak Site Harrow View Phase A
In Harrow, North London, a new neighbourhood is being developed on the former Kodak Site which for 150 years was the home to the iconic former Kodak factory. Now, as the land is redeveloped, it will become a new home to many through the regeneration programme led by Harrow Council to provide over 2,000 new homes.
Picture & Text Reference: https://www.piercyandco.com/projects/view/harrow-view-east
https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/ht-companies/landq/harrow-view-east-kodak-phase-1-and-phase-2-to-5/5119327.supplierarticle
https://www.basystems.co.uk/projects/harrow-view-east-kodak-site/Located
Citroen Site
A new residential-led development from L&Q on the Citroën site in Brentford, London TW8.
The site is set for the redevelopment to provide a mixed-use scheme of 441 residential units with ancillary facilities, flexible retail, employment and community uses, and a nursery in buildings of 12, 13, 15, 16 and 18 storeys in height. The scheme will include 50% of affordable housing.
Utilities
Gateway Energy Centre
InterGen is proposing to develop, construct and world leading battery storage project within the London Gateway Logistics Park, next to the DP World London Gateway Port on the north bank of the River Thames in Essex.
The Gateway project will consist of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) with a rated electrical output of up to 900MWh (up to 450MW).
The proposed 595,000-tonnes-a-year waste-to-energy facility will form part of the larger Integrated Waste Management Facility in Rivenhall, Essex. The plant has planning permission for a 35m stack, and the Environment Agency issued a revised environmental permit also for a 35m stack in June 2020.
This will be enough to supply the power needs of approximately 60,000 households, equivalent to a town the size of Braintree in Essex or Cork city and will generate approximately 49MW of electricity for export to the national grid.