More than half of respondents agree conditions are consistent with an upturn, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, RICS’ latest commercial property market survey. In the second quarter, 56 per cent of survey participants predicted a recovery compared with 38 per cent of respondents from January to March. Chief economist Simon Rubinsohn said: “Demand trends appear much more stable in the office sector relative to recent quarters, while the industrial sector continues to see sharp growth in interest [...]

Construction output is forecast to rise by 14 per cent in 2021 and 6.3 per cent next year, according to the Construction Products Association, CPA, summer forecast published this week. Private housebuilding and infrastructure are expected to be key drivers of construction growth in this year and next, although the outlook for the commercial sector remains subdued. CPA economics director Noble Francis said: “The key constraint to our forecasts remains the cost and availability of imported products and skilled labour. [...]

Computer scientists have created an artificial intelligence system that can forecast building emission rates of non-domestic buildings. Loughborough University’s Dr Georgina Cosma and postgraduate student Kareem Ahmed have designed and trained an AI model to predict emission rate values with 27 inputs. Dr Cosma said: “It’s an important first step towards the use of machine learning tools for energy prediction in the UK and it shows how data can ‘improve current processes’ in the construction industry.” Current methods can take hours to [...]

High-quality zero carbon ready homes using sustainable building methods are among the goals of an industry-wide delivery plan for the next 30 years. Housebuilders, suppliers, regulators, environmental groups and planners as part of the Future Homes task force have produced a roadmap for being net-zero by 2050. Home Builders Federation, HBF, executive chairman Stewart Baseley said: “Today’s major environmental challenges will be with us for the future and cannot be ignored. It’s imperative we show leadership and commitment to play [...]

£690m brownfield development in Northwest London to deliver 1,500 homes Harrow council’s ambitious plans for over 1,500 homes to be built on three underused sites moved a step closer with the news of a joint development venture with Wates Residential. At least 40 per cent of the new homes are to be shared ownership or affordable housing and will be built on council-owned land in Wealdstone. Harrow council leader Cllr Graham Henson said: “Our work with Wates will benefit countless [...]

Building firms are being urged to carry on asking their workforce to wear masks while working in enclosed spaces or on busy sites by the Construction Leadership Council, CLC. The CLC is calling for a consistent approach in line with government guidance as rules on social distancing and face masks relax from the 19th of July. “It is recommended the good practices the industry had adopted over the last 18 months are retained,” said the CLC in their public statement [...]

Birmingham is to make the most of the £700m investment in Perry Barry for the 2022 games, which includes a revamp of Alexander stadium, with ambitious plans to regenerate the district. The masterplan covers the next two decades and includes building 5,000 new homes, enhancing the suburb’s parks and improving transport connections. City council leader Cllr Ian Ward said: “For many years there has been a clear need and ambition to unlock the obvious untapped potential of Perry Barr, but [...]

Up to 46,000 new homes in the capital could be delivered by Transport for London’s new property development company over the next 25 years. The proposals for Transport Trading Limited Properties, TTLP, were outlined at TfL’s finance committee meeting last month and form part of its bailout settlement with the government. TfL director of commercial property Graeme Craig said: “As part of our long-term strategy, and building on the successful work that has already taken place in recent years, we [...]

UK property developers may have to adjust schedules and pricing to adapt to the lack of supplies to complete projects, advises Construction Leadership Council, CLC, co-chair Andy Mitchell. In an open letter to the industry, he points out that most contracts such as JCT and NEC 4 Secondary X1 have provisions to deal with fluctuations of provisions. “We have been fortunate enough to operate in a stable environment for a long time and these clauses have been seldom used. “However, [...]

A new inquiry studying housing demand will include looking at the part smaller builders can play in innovation and developing difficult sites. The house of lords’ built environment committee will see how smaller builders can be encouraged back to the supply point. Cross-party committee chair Baroness Neville-Rolfe told Housing Today: “You get some innovation and vibrancy and they do things that perhaps a bigger builder would not do. Historically there’s quite a lot of smaller builders who have fallen by [...]

Office demand in the South East is picking up thanks to large corporates signing up for significant amounts of space, reports property agent Savills. It said offices showed a strong end to the year up to the first quarter thanks to companies such as Amazon and InterContinental Hotels signing up for significant workspace in Reading and Windsor. Commercial research director Steven Lang said: “Despite the pandemic impacting negatively on the sentiment towards the office market, it is fascinating to see [...]

University towns like Oxford, Cambridge and Canterbury are predicted to see their best house sale volumes in the coming months despite the demise of the stamp duty tax holiday. Knight Frank research, from 1995 to 2019, shows Oxford experiencing the largest volume of its sales from July to September with nearly 31 per cent occurring over this period. Cambridge has a similarly high level of completions with 30 per cent occurring with Canterbury also experiencing strong figures at 29 per [...]