Blackrock International Land and Lagan Developments have announced that work is to begin on their joint venture Navan retail park scheme, close to Dublin, with Sisk taking on contracting responsibilities.
The Navan retail park will comprise a 160,000-sq ft retail centre and park on a 28.8-acre site on the outskirts of the growing County Meath town.
The development value of the project is estimated to be in excess of €70m, and its location on the Athboy Road will take advantage of the nearby M3 motorway, which is currently under construction. The joint venture team plans to develop an additional eight acres on the site at a later date.
The development is a good sign for Irish commercial construction sector in 2008, where it is expected that recruitment activity will be healthy in the coming months as tradespeople, skilled labour and construction professionals migrate from the slowing housing sector.
The Navan retail park is the first of a number of large mixed-use and commercial developments planned for construction across Ireland over the coming months.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Manchester’s £1bn city regeneration construction jobs boost
News that Manchester City Council has approved the £1bn Holt Town Waterfront scheme should mean construction professional and contracting firms should be ramping up their construction recruitment activities over the coming 18 months. The regeneration scheme on the outskirts of Manchester City centre is the largest and most ambitious regeneration programme to be tackled by the city to date. It is also one of the UK’s largest city regeneration schemes.
Currently the 95-acre site comprises many derelict and under utilised buildings, but as the management team plans to release parcels of land to developers before the end of 2008, it is expected that there will be a considerable recruitment drive under way as the year progresses.
The company overseeing the development is Cibitas Developments, a partnership led by Stanhope and ING Real Estate with support from urban regeneration company New East Manchester.
The Holt Town Waterfront scheme is planned as a mixed-use neighbourhood designed for young families. Fifty per cent of the developments’ 4,300 homes will be ‘family friendly’, or with three beds or more, and the various open spaces and streets are designed to be safe and young children friendly.
In addition, the area will also have a river valley park, a new Metrolink tram stop linking the area both into the city centre and out to the east, studio/office accommodation and a range of shops, bars and restaurants, all of which are intended to establish a vibrant mixed neighbourhood, just five minutes from the city centre. Requirements for a new primary school are also currently under investigation.
The masterplan involves a series of land parcels ranging in size from 0.2 to 2.2 hectares structured by a hierarchy of streets and green spaces. These will be released to individual developers for construction. Green spaces are the core elements of the site including the canal and river, and connect with existing and planned green links through surrounding areas. With the release of the land banks expected to start this summer it is anticipated that development teams will be begin recruitment of construction professionals, experience tradespeople and skilled labourers in the near future.
Other members of the planning application team include EDAW, Arup, GVA Grimley, Cre8 Management, Berwin Leighton Paisner and Eversheds.
It is anticipated it will take between 10 and 15 years to complete once construction starts.
Currently the 95-acre site comprises many derelict and under utilised buildings, but as the management team plans to release parcels of land to developers before the end of 2008, it is expected that there will be a considerable recruitment drive under way as the year progresses.
The company overseeing the development is Cibitas Developments, a partnership led by Stanhope and ING Real Estate with support from urban regeneration company New East Manchester.
The Holt Town Waterfront scheme is planned as a mixed-use neighbourhood designed for young families. Fifty per cent of the developments’ 4,300 homes will be ‘family friendly’, or with three beds or more, and the various open spaces and streets are designed to be safe and young children friendly.
In addition, the area will also have a river valley park, a new Metrolink tram stop linking the area both into the city centre and out to the east, studio/office accommodation and a range of shops, bars and restaurants, all of which are intended to establish a vibrant mixed neighbourhood, just five minutes from the city centre. Requirements for a new primary school are also currently under investigation.
The masterplan involves a series of land parcels ranging in size from 0.2 to 2.2 hectares structured by a hierarchy of streets and green spaces. These will be released to individual developers for construction. Green spaces are the core elements of the site including the canal and river, and connect with existing and planned green links through surrounding areas. With the release of the land banks expected to start this summer it is anticipated that development teams will be begin recruitment of construction professionals, experience tradespeople and skilled labourers in the near future.
Other members of the planning application team include EDAW, Arup, GVA Grimley, Cre8 Management, Berwin Leighton Paisner and Eversheds.
It is anticipated it will take between 10 and 15 years to complete once construction starts.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
UK construction needs to recruit 12,000 construction professionals each year
The UK Construction Industry Council (CIC) has reported that the construction industry will have to recruit 12,000 architects, engineers and surveyors if the industry is to deliver for clients over the coming years. With the London Olympics rollout programme and a number of major urban regeneration projects picking up momentum the construction professional services sector will have to undertake an unprecedented recruitment drive if these recruitment requirements are to be met.
A recently CIC published Professional Services Survey also says that the 12,000 required construction professionals, will also have to have high levels of competence – three quarters of current job applicants are lacking in the necessary skills.
The UK Construction Professional sector currently employs 270,000 people and comprises 28,000 firms. A total of 12,000 new competent construction professional recruits will be needed every year to also counter the number of people retiring each year – The CIC says added pressure is being put on the industry because 20% of current CPS professionals could retire in the next 10 years.
Additional research by CIC concludes:
All CPS firms reported some difficulties in recruitment, with 40 to 53% reporting ‘hard to fill’ vacancies. The main cause of recruitment difficulties was a low number of applicants with required skills, resulting in the majority of firms having to increase workload for other staff.
CPS employers believe that the quality of recruits who are either graduate level, part-qualified members of professional institutions or trained to other levels has declined. The skills gap is most pronounced in Building Services Engineering firms.
A recently CIC published Professional Services Survey also says that the 12,000 required construction professionals, will also have to have high levels of competence – three quarters of current job applicants are lacking in the necessary skills.
The UK Construction Professional sector currently employs 270,000 people and comprises 28,000 firms. A total of 12,000 new competent construction professional recruits will be needed every year to also counter the number of people retiring each year – The CIC says added pressure is being put on the industry because 20% of current CPS professionals could retire in the next 10 years.
Additional research by CIC concludes:
- 74% of CPS firms have found that job applicants are likely to be lacking the necessary technical skills.
- 70% of CPS firms believe that a shortage of recruits is the biggest problem facing the £13.9 billion industry.
- In excess of 50% of all CPS firms anticipate recruitment difficulties over the next year
- And with student numbers on Built Environment courses having dropped by 28% since 2003/4, the industry is struggling to attract high caliber young professionals into the sector.
All CPS firms reported some difficulties in recruitment, with 40 to 53% reporting ‘hard to fill’ vacancies. The main cause of recruitment difficulties was a low number of applicants with required skills, resulting in the majority of firms having to increase workload for other staff.
CPS employers believe that the quality of recruits who are either graduate level, part-qualified members of professional institutions or trained to other levels has declined. The skills gap is most pronounced in Building Services Engineering firms.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)