The UK Construction Blog

PolyLight anti-slip illuminated inserts fit into standard Aluminium stair profiles, timber stairs and decking.

PolyLight, incorporating Light Tape, is the practical way of illuminating stair treads that can be seen when going both up and down the stairs.

PolyLight is available in a variety of sizes with 12mm illuminated strips for both indoor and outdoor stairs.

There are six grades of anti slip available in a variety of colours for both the anti slip insert and the Light Tape.

PolyLight’s connections are embedded in resin making the product waterproof for outdoor use.

Light Tape is less than 1mm thick and allows the PolyLight stair nosing insert to be produced with a profile the same thickness as traditional non-illuminated products.

Light Tape uses less than one tenth of the power and is one third of the price of Neon and Cold Cathode display lighting.

It is flexible, easier to install and maintain, reduces light pollution, produces no waste heat or infrared light, is fully recyclable, uses No Gas, No Glass and No Mercury.

The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) has been updated to provide extra protection to the partially sighted, putting emphasis on both the illumination of stairs and making columns and pillars in public areas more visually apparent.

Light Tape can assist in both these areas with cost effective simple solutions.

The “More Homes and Less Carbon” manifesto goes further than the current ‘Get Britain Building’ campaign and is a collaboration between the BMF, the British Precast Concrete Federation, the Home Builders Federation, the Construction Products Association, the Modern Masonry Alliance and the Federation of Master Builders.

The manifesto calls upon whoever is elected to: # Complete existing housing projects and build more homes of all tenures. # Promote public-private partnerships that share the risks and benefits of housing delivery. # Identify and release a sufficient supply of permissioned developable land to meet local needs. # Ease liquidity and foster a return to responsible lending to creditworthy borrowers. # Encourage banks in receipt of taxpayers’ money to lend to projects to improve the nation’s housing. # Encourage the refurbishment of existing homes to save more energy. # Bring empty homes back into habitation to cut waiting lists. # Build on the successful lessons learned from the Decent Homes & Warm Front initiatives. BMF managing director Chris Pateman pointed out that the coalition is not asking for direct government intervention or taxpayer handouts. “We seek a firm commitment (from those with the power to make it happen) to create favourable conditions for business to meet the aspirations and needs of voters to live in warm, green, safe and decent homes. “We firmly believe politicians of all colours are not doing enough of what’s required if we are to rescue our companies, save our jobs, retain our skills, safeguard our investments, build our way out of recession, and get carbon out of our homes.

” Mike Leonard of the Modern Masonry Alliance said: “We believe the single most important policy commitment for the new Government is to concentrate on ‘consequential improvements’ to de-carbonise existing housing. The easiest route to accomplish this would be to selectively reduce VAT on home improvements where specific actions to take carbon out of the building envelope are completed. “There is only one housing market and electors need homes -whether new or secondhand. England alone requires over three million new homes by 2020.”

The manifesto was launched in Solihull on Wednesday at one of a series of events for senior figures from construction & allied trades/professions, local authorities, regional development and the building materials’ supply chainwhihc will give them the opportunity to hear direct from candidates.

Attending the launch from the politicians were Jack Dromey (PPC Labour, Birmingham Erdington), Dhiran Vagdia (RIBA Regional Chairman), Lorely Burt MP (PPC and sitting MP for Solihull; Lib Dems) and Maggie Throup (PPC, Solihull, Cons.) Together, the members of the coalition speak for over 50,000 firms that employ approx. 860,000 people, with combined annual sales of £75 billion.

The US conglomerate General Electric (GE) announced plans for an offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant in Britain, creating up to 2,000 jobs.

The company said it had not yet decided where to build the facility, but its plans would result in about £100m being invested in Britain, creating clean energy jobs at both the new site and in the supply chain. The UK is well placed to harvest clean energy from powerful sea winds, but the closure of a Vestas plant on the Isle of Wight last August was highly embarrassing for ministers, leaving Britain without a significant turbine manufacturer. .

The construction of thousands of huge offshore turbines is a key part of government plans to meet its commitments to cut greenhouse gases, as well as ensure the continuity of energy supply over the next decade as nuclear and coal-fired stations reach the end of their life.

GE’s plans are linked to an announcement in last weeks budget of a £60m competition to help develop port facilities for the offshore wind industry. “This investment is tied to the successful deployment of the UK government’s port development fund,” a company statement said.

The company said the project will form part of a €340m (£305m) investment in Europe’s wind energy industry over 10 years. In addition to the UK manufacturing site, it plans to build development centres in Norway, Sweden and Germany.

GE’s UK managing director, Magued Eldaief, said: “We believe offshore wind has a bright future. These investments will position us to help develop Europe’s vast, untapped offshore wind resources.”

Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, said: “This is great news from GE, a vote of confidence in UK low-carbon manufacturing which should create a huge number of jobs.” The climate and energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said: “We’re creating the right conditions and incentives to maximise the potential of our wind resource.”

Greenpeace policy director, Doug Parr, said: “Clean technology is set to be the growth industry of the 21st century, and this announcement shows that, with the right incentives from government, Britain could be in pole position to benefit.”

Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, said: “GE’s announcement turns the vision of the UK as an industrial hub for the offshore wind industry into a reality … the offshore wind industry could be employing 70,000 people in the UK by 2020, creating a net economic benefit of £65bn over the next 40 years.”

A new initiative has been launched by the UK’s communities secretary to improve jobs and housing in coastal locations.

John Denham said the Strategy for Seaside Success will help to boost flagging areas in Britain and generate vacancies through the development of emerging green energy structures. These types of regeneration schemes will help local economies by providing job opportunities such as labourer jobs and other construction opportunities.

Commenting on the venture, he noted it “will help each coastal area take advantage of the new opportunities and support available - from restoring piers and creating jobs, to improving local housing”.

According to Mr Denham, places such as Hastings, Scarborough and St Ives are already flourishing once more following similar investment, without being reliant on UK weather conditions attracting tourists.

The scheme will also look at ways of extending the SeaChange Programme - a scheme that has raised £38 million for seaside infrastructures going beyond 2011.

A couple of days ago, the communities secretary also announced this year’s council tax change was the lowest on record, with a below-inflation increase of 1.8 per cent.

New stamp duty measures mentioned in chancellor Alistair Darling’s 2010 Budget will be a “huge boost” for the UK’s housebuilding industry, according to one organisation.

Mr Darling announced such charges will be scrapped on amounts up to £250,000 for first-time buyers in an effort to drive more people into the market.

And the Home Builders Federation (HBF) claimed the move will offer a “massive fillip” to individuals struggling to finance the purchase of a property.

Commenting on the speech, executive chairman of the HBF Stewart Baseley noted he is pleased the government is acknowledging the importance of allowing new buyers onto the British property ladder.

“The steps taken today can only help reduce the social and economic impacts of the housing crisis we have in this country,” he explained, adding that it will also benefit “thousands” of UK construction workers.

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London has become the seventh location in the UK to be named as a Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA) and as a result will focus on making its buildings more energy efficient.

The six other regions are the south-west, north-east, north-west, Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and south Wales.

According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, as part of the LCEA programme close to £90 million of funding will be set aside to go towards retrofitting schemes for buildings.

In addition, projects will be undertaken that cover energy supply, financing mechanisms, low carbon business growth and employment.

Commenting on the news, business minister Ian Lucas said the programme will be sure to make London a world leader for energy-efficient buildings.

“The opportunity to develop and demonstrate solutions for the refurbishment of homes and commercial buildings will help the construction sector to innovate in order to retain, as well as expand, its current market position,” he added.

Two Building Schools for the Future contracts have been awarded in Hull to full-service construction firm Morgan Ashurst.

Northeast managing director for the firm Gordon Ray says that the contracts are an opportunity to boost jobs in the area, as Morgan Ashurst is working with employment agencies in Hull to offer apprenticeships to local residents.

“I believe that by developing long-term relationships we can play an important part in delivering additional social and economic benefits,” he says.

This applies not only to the immediate provision of additional working opportunities through the contracts, but also to the legacy put in place for the region’s education system by having high-quality school premises on which to teach Hull’s next generation of students.

Mr Ray also notes the company’s attempts to extend this kind of working relationship to all the people it comes into contact with, ranging from suppliers to customers.

By keeping everybody happy, he explains that they are encouraged to “go that extra mile”, allowing Morgan Ashurst to raise its standards still further as a result.

Morgan Ashurst works for private and public sector clients on projects which can cost more than £300 million, but also ones starting at £50,000.

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The future of the construction sector can be shored up by increasing the number of apprenticeship schemes available to young people in the UK, an expert has suggested.

Building firm Kier recently revealed that it is in the process of providing employment opportunities and experience to two friends in Harrow - Rowan Streete, aged 25 and 16-year-old Dwayne Carbon.

As part of an agreement between the company - which also specialises in civil engineering, opencast mining and facilities management - and Harrow Council, the pair will undertake a three-year apprenticeship scheme in plumbing, heating and ventilation.

Kier framework manager Richard Weller commented that such prospects can have a big impact on the industry as a whole.

“Apprenticeships like these can make a vital contribution to the future of our construction industry, which urgently needs to plug a looming skills gap that has been deepened by the recession,” he said.