Bricklayer it like Beckham

How the construction industry helped inspire Sir Alex Ferguson's young Manchester United team in 1992, including David Beckham, to become the greatest footballers of their day. Ironically, given its apparent reluctance to inspire young people, it was to the construction industry that sports psychologist Bill Beswick turned when working with Sir Alex Ferguson’s young Manchester United team in 1992, among them David Beckham. Beswick asked the players to imagine three bricklayers, each with a different attitude. When asked what they were doing, the first said: 'Laying bricks'; The second replied: 'Earning £10 per hour', while the third said: 'I’m building a cathedral and one day I will bring my kids here and tell them that their dad contributed to this magnificent building.' He then asked them to think about which attitude they would apply to the training session they were about to start. Would they be 'just practising', 'earning £1,000 an hour' or 'helping to build the best team ever so that they would be proud to tell their grandchildren that they had been part of it'. When Beckham scored during the session, he celebrated with outstretched arms, shouting 'Cathedral 1 – Bricklayers 0'. Just think what the analogy could do if applied to the industry it was borrowed from. Robert Mallett Editor, Construction Journal and Building



Conservation Journal

Bedsit on market at £810 a month

A bedsit in Notting Hill, which features a living area directly under a bed just 1m from the “kitchen” – there is a microwave under the sink and two electric hobs – and shared shower and toilet facilities has been placed on the market for £810 a month. Single people looking to rent their own place in London for less than £1,000 a month can start to expect a lot less for their hard earned cash, if this property listing is anything to go by. The room is for single renters only as the ad specifies 'no couples' The pictures on the ad show a shabby room with a microwave placed underneath the sink and next to a small fridge, while the old-looking, elevated bed frame houses some form of living area underneath it, where an arm-chair is sat. The landlord boasts that the “very well located bedsit” is “in the heart of Notting Hill, less than five minutes walking distance to Bayswater station and Notting Hill station” and is “surrounded by lots of shops and amenities”.

Construction sees fall in apprenticeships

The latest figures reveal that there has been a sharp fall in the number of apprenticeships in the construction sector over the past five years. There were 16,890 construction, planning and built environment apprentices in 2009-10, but this had more than halved to 8,000 by 2014.

What homes men and women want

A survey by OnePoll for Strutt & Parker's Housing Futures, reveals that there is a marked split between the genders when asked to rate their motivations for moving house. Women looked for better schools, access to public transport or amenities, being close to work, a larger home and a property that suited their personal finances and brought them closer to family and friends. Men were more likely to be influenced by tax changes, impending retirement, pension support and moving to a smaller home. When it came to dream home items, the survey revealed that 14% of men wanted a cinema/screening room and 12% wanted a wine cellar.

Green Belt builders get more green lights

The number of new homes approved in the green belt has more than doubled in a year, and is up 430% since 2010, according to Glenigan, which provides data on the construction industry. Planning permission was granted for 11,977 homes in England’s 14 green belts in the year to the end of March, up from 5,607 in the previous 12 months. Paul Miner, planning campaign manager at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, called the figures: “Very worrying.” Leonie Oliva, at Deloitte Real Estate, said developers were working harder to unlock undeveloped sites: "It's always going to be a somewhat subjective judgment as to whether there are 'very special circumstances that outweigh harm to the greenbelt' as the law dictates," she said. "The 2012 planning reform may have shifted perceptions somewhat."

Construction confidence at 9 year high

The Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index rebounded in May from a near two-year low in April. The Index rose to 55.9, from 54.2 a month earlier, as confidence levels hit a nine-year high. Markit's Tim Moore said that result meant a "period of policy uncertainty was no longer on the horizon." He also noted that: "Additionally, construction firms experienced an upturn in new business growth from April's near two-year low and job creation was the fastest recorded so far in 2015."

Barratt aiming to bee better

Responding to the fact that bees are threatened in many parts of the UK, Barratt Homes, working with the British Beekeepers' Association, says it will plant bee-friendly shrubs in the gardens of its sales centres and show homes across Lincolnshire

Henry Boot expects election boost

Henry Boot says the outright win for the Conservatives at the election will see a return to normal activity after a slowdown as the election approached. The construction and property firm’s chairman John Brown told shareholders at the annual general meeting that trading had been encouraging in 2015 and that the pace of transactions is expected to pick up now uncertainty over the government had been resolved.

The end of rogue tradesmen

A new government approved scheme has been made available to home owners which could see an end to cowboy builders and rogue tradesmen. Under The Home Improvements Guarantee a builder is unable to lay hands on any money until the customer is completely happy. Instead of upfront fees, the customer will put enough money to cover the work in a secure "holding" account. Once the work is complete, the homeowner must sign off payment to the builder. In case of a dispute an independent surveyor will give a final verdict on whether the contract has been fulfilled satisfactorily.

Avocado bathroom suites the biggest turn-off

According to a new poll, avocado coloured bathroom suites are the feature most likely to put people off buying a home. The Barclays Mortgages poll, also found that woodchip wallpaper and stone cladding, were big turn-offs. The poll also found that two out of five feel a designer kitchen is the most desirable home improvement.

Knotweed problem

The Mail on Sunday notes that many lenders will baulk at providing loans for houses that have gardens infested with Japanese knotweed. Barclays, for example, demands buyers call in an expert who is a member of the Property Care Association - and who offers a ten-year insurance-backed guarantee against its return if the plant has been discovered within seven metres of the home. Leeds Building Society goes further; it will not lend money when knotweed is present in the garden and a valuer concludes it offers a significant risk either to the property or the chances of selling it in the future. Other lenders make decisions on a case by case basis but most have some associated restrictions and conditions.

Factory planning applications increase

Planned investments in land and property from manufacturing companies are continuing to grow, providing a clear sign of longer term optimism, according to Barbour ABI. Its latest report showed that planning applications for floor space for factory construction increased by 50% in 2014, and the figure is on track to increase by a further 40% growth in 2015. Total planned floorspace in the manufacturing sector was 2.2m sq metres in 2014, with a growth of 50% from the previous year.

Election uncertainty impacts construction activity

Britain’s construction industry experienced a sharp slowdown in activity last month, with output and new orders growing at their slowest rates since June 2013. The Markit CIPS UK Construction PMI dropped to 54.2 in April, down on March’s 57.8 and below analysts’ projected 57.4. The sector’s rate of hiring also slowed, falling below the long-term average witnessed through 2014. "A number of survey respondents suggested that uncertainty related to the forthcoming general election had contributed to delays in clients’ spending decisions,” said Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit. The survey’s data, however, painted a “brighter picture” than official data which showed that construction had declined 1.6% in the final quarter of 2014, noted Markit’s chief economist Chris Williamson, who added that many construction firms remain optimistic about the outlook for the year ahead, citing data from surveys by RICS and Markit/Savills. Think tank the National Institute of Economic and Social Research predicts growth will rebound through the remainder of this year.

Election caution weighs on homes

Demand for homes has slumped to the lowest level in a year, say agents. The National Association of Estate Agents blamed uncertainty over next week's general election for the drop in would-be buyers. Just 343 house hunters registered with the average estate agency branch in March, down from 366 in February and a peak of 406 recorded last September. Nearly two thirds of estate agents reckon buyers are holding off to see what happens on May 7. Mark Hayward, NAEA managing director, said: "The outcome will impact first, second, third and last time buyers." Elsewhere, the Times’ Bricks and Mortar lays out what the outcome of the election could mean for your home. Savills’ Lucien Cook says the worst outcome would be if a long time is taken to form a coalition as it would lead to further uncertainty in the market.

Historic pub bulldozed by developers must be rebuilt brick by brick

Council orders developers to rebuild the Carlton Tavern in west London after it was leveled just days before it was due to become a listed building The Carlton Tavern was the only building in its street not destroyed during the blitz and was considered an important historical building. But without warning developers brought in bulldozers earlier this month and had it razed to the ground. For more on this story follow this link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/11571257/Historic-pub-bulldozed-by-developers-must-be-rebuilt-brick-by-brick.html

UK economic growth slows to 0.3%

The rate of economic growth halved in the three months to the end of March, according to official figures from the ONS. The UK economy grew by 0.3% in the quarter, which compared to 0.6% in the last three months of 2014. The ONS said the economy was 2.4% larger than the same period a year earlier. Growth of 0.5% in the services industry was offset by a 1.6% fall in the pace of economic output in construction. Vicky Redwood, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said the slowdown in the economy "should just be temporary" and that quarterly economic growth should return to between 0.7% and 0.8% later in the year.

Homebuilding targets ‘unachievable’

A survey by Knight Frank reveals that 67% of housebuilders think that the maximum sustainable annual delivery of new homes is 180,000 or less, below the figures that all the main parties have promised. More than half of all respondents added that a rise in the delivery of affordable homes over the next year was unlikely.Justin Gaze, joint head of residential development at Knight Frank, said: “The inability to create the necessary number of new homes is being driven primarily by a skills shortage in the development sector, limited development funding and the lengthy mortgage approval process, which is delaying purchasers.” Another issue weighing on housebuilders, is that of the new community infrastructure levy, implemented by the government this month. More than half of the builders surveyed said that they were concerned by the new levy. The reservations of housebuilders come at the same time as Ed Miliband pledged to start construction on 1m new homes by 2020. The Financial Times asks economists and academics for their views on the political parties’ plans for dealing with the housing crisis. The experts regard many of the proposals as counterproductive, arguing that they show a lack of understanding of the industry. They also wonder where the funding is going to come from to fulfil all the plans.

Across China by wheelchair

A globetrotting wheelchair user on the frustrations - and surprises - of travelling across China in a wheelchair. James Ballardie is a wheelchair user who has been travelling the world without planning an accessible path through it. And it was all going pretty well until he reached China. For more information on this story follow this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-ouch-31923342

Impact on value warning

Lauren Thompson in the Times looks at things that can devalue a property following reports of a house in Kensington which has been painted in red and white stripes, a move Ed Mead of Douglas & Gordon says could knock up to 10% of its value. Things to be aware of include: derelict homes nearby, Japanese knotweed in the garden, subsidence, flight paths overhead, flood potential and nightmare neighbours.

Savills buys Smiths Gore

Savills has announced a £40m deal to buy Smiths Gore, the rural specialists, which operates as a partnership with 532 staff across 45 offices. All of the offices will transfer into Savills rural energy and projects division or its country residential agency business. Savills said the acquisition complements its existing rural business.