GOVERNMENT COMMITS £45M OF FUNDING TO KICK-START UK HOUSEBUILDING

Housing and Planning Minister, Dominic Raab has announced a £45 million cash injection into key community projects across the country, helping to facilitate the building of thousands of new homes.

The funding – allocated by the central government to help boost Britain’s housebuilding industry, will be distributed to 79 projects from Newcastle to Plymouth. The aim is to support local councils in completing the necessary infrastructure work to unlock viable council-owned land and the building of 7,280 new homes.

The investment into the Land Release Fund is designed to help local councils open up enough council-owned land to build 160,000 homes by the end of the decade and support the Government’s pledge of building on average 300,000 homes every year by the mid-2020s. Projects already set to benefit from the funding include a site in Paignton, Devon where 200 homes are set to be built, in addition to a strategic council-owned site in Lancashire which will unlock over 300 homes.

“This is fantastic news not just for housebuilders, but for stretched local councils who now have the funding in place to complete any necessary works to re-purpose dormant land for housing,” comments Jade Greenhow, General Manager at Insight Data. “With the funding now earmarked and councils already preparing sites for development, it’s important that businesses within the fenestration and building products industries ramp up their marketing to avoid missing out on this incredible demand.”

“By creating a high-impact, professional campaign through email marketing or direct mail, product manufacturers, fabricators and installers can get in contact with housebuilders, developers and even architects and effectively promote their products and services before specification or any work takes place.”

Insight Data is the leading provider of prospect data and market intelligence for the fenestration and wider construction industries. Using pioneering real-time data, Insight provides up-to-date business information, contact details and even credit ratings for over 60,000 potential customers. Through their five key databases, the firm provides information on housebuilders, local builders, main contractors, architects and businesses within the glazing industry.

Accessed through Salestracker, Insight Data’s ground-breaking online prospect database, CRM system and integrated email marketing platform, their unrivalled data can be segmented into respective regions, allowing users to target prospective customers and partners within their region, the area of an upcoming project or nationally.

For more information contact Insight Data on 01934 808293 or via email at hello@insightdata.co.uk.

Cumbernauld-based Dessian Scotland, a trading division of Dessian Products, is a fabricator, distributor, glazer and installer of Rehau windows, working with a cross-section of customers from local authorities and trade installers to home builders and DIY customers. Last year, the company went into partnership with local training organisation RT Resource, to deliver SVQ certified study programmes to upskill its glazier and fitting teams.

All the training was carried out on site, and fully funded too, so there was no expense to the workers.

As well as training for the glaziers, Dessian Scotland also arranged for its fitting teams to study towards an SVQ level 3 in Fenestration Installation and Surveying. With so many changes happening in the industry, keeping up to date with the latest regulations and best practice is imperative thereby ensuring that the company continues to deliver a faultless service to customers.

Training programmes were also introduced last year for Dessian Scotland’s new recruits, taken on as part of a North Lanarkshire Council initiative to get young people into work. Through the Routes to Work programme, they have been able to learn on the job and work towards a Modern Apprenticeship in Business and Administration.

The post Putting training first appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Located in a West London conservation area, the existing property required updating by remodelling the kitchen and dining room that suffered poor connection to the rear garden. North facing, these rooms received little daylight from the modest sized windows. It was a dark and dingy space.

Architect Simon Feneley’s response at Feneley Studio, was to reconfigure the ground floor providing a utility and cloakroom off the entrance hall with a formal sitting room at the front of the property. A full height sliding pocket door reveals a newly extended family room with a panoramic view of the garden.

The roof of the extension is asymmetrical about the axis from the front door, providing increased floor to ceiling height and avoiding a long continuous corridor. Custom made East and West facing rooflights by Lonsdale provide generous amounts of natural light and are a focal point of the extension with dramatic results as the sun moves from early morning until dusk.

Ever changing forms of sunlight fall upon the polished concrete flooring which runs throughout the ground floor, with daylight washing down the full height herringbone wall tiling in the contemporary kitchen.

Established in 1946, Lonsdale are the UK’s leading manufacturer of patent glazing, roof lanterns and bespoke glass rooflights. A range of rooflights is available including fixed, multipane, electric or manual opening and walk-on glass. Prestigious buildings featuring Lonsdale systems include The British Museum, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, The V&A Museum, St Pancras and Kings Cross Stations and homes of Sir James Dyson, Richard & Judie Madeley, The Cartier Family and HRH Prince Edward and Sophie Countess of Wessex.

Readers wishing to learn more can visit www.lonsdalemetal.co.uk

Image Above: Clearview (Warrington) and Pennine (Durham) Showrooms.

The Conservatory Outlet Group has experienced a hugely positive start to 2018, with both its retail businesses hitting record sales orders throughout January.

Clearview Home Improvements, situated in the North West, and North East-based Pennine Home Improvements have for the first time achieved gross orders exceeding £2m and £1.5m respectively within a single month’s trading.

The Group was formed in April 2017, also incorporating fabricator Conservatory Outlet Ltd alongside the two home improvement retailers.  The Group’s formation has allowed all three businesses to pick up valuable insight from each other to support a smoother end-to-end customer journey for the home owner. 

With sales orders totalling 50% higher than last January for Clearview and 28% YOY for Pennine, the performance of both retail partners has been attributed to the hard work and dedication of their staff in adapting to, and embracing positive change. 

Both companies have also worked hard to boost their regional presence and reputation, resulting in an influx of enquiries from home owners choosing to make improvements to their current home rather than moving.

Pennine’s growth has been further supported by the successful launch of its fifth state-of-the-art showroom, situated in Durham, with further new showrooms planned for both retailers in the near future.

Commenting on the Group’s January performance, Greg Kane, CEO, said “It’s fantastic to see both of our retailers achieve so much in the opening month of 2018.  I’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to the staff at both Pennine and Clearview for their commitment to ‘live and breathe’ their brand promises, resulting in such a great start to the year.  

“We have further ambitious plans for both businesses in the coming months which will see plenty of further investment for the Group. We’re looking forward to a very successful trading period ahead.”

The Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) has responded to the recent consultation into Green Deal reform, calling for greater flexibility for consumers and installers to help simplify and improve the scheme for the future.  The GGF emphasised that the disappointing number of glazing installers involved in Green Deal was a consequence of a costly and resource intensive accreditation process. Further, the response stressed that the level of finance available to consumers under the scheme was often not enough to purchase glazing products in tandem with other measures. The GGF pointed out that for some energy efficiency measures, the Golden Rule in its current form is not a workable framework for promoting a ‘Whole House Approach’ to energy efficiency.

With the new Each Home Counts (EHC) framework also expected next year, the GGF recommended that installers should be exempt from the need for formal Green Deal status, if they can prove membership of a recognised certification scheme, which may include approved status under EHC or a UKAS accredited certification scheme.  The GGF underlined that the introduction of these reforms would allow installers to avoid additional red tape, reduce confusion amongst consumers and support the Government’s objective to simplify the Green Deal, whilst continuing to support the take up of more energy efficient home improvements.

In addition, the GGF also called for better consumer access to the latest and most effective energy efficient measures, which will require regular reviews of accredited measures under the Green Deal. This would include higher standards of glazing (including triple glazing), and introducing greater transparency between the roles of Green Deal assessors and providers; to ensure greater consumer confidence about the impartiality of the advice they are given.

GGF Director of Home Improvement Russell Day commented:  “The plans to simplify the framework are a welcome first step to improving Green Deal. Like many, the GGF was disappointed the Green Deal did not materialise into the scheme that was first hoped. Feedback from our members has shown that the complexity in gaining Green Deal accreditation dissuaded many installers from registering with the scheme and flaws within the Golden Rule discouraged many consumers from installing replacement windows or glazing using Green Deal Finance. Following the consultation, we urge the Government to ensure that Each Home Counts creates a joint framework where Green Deal accreditation leads to Each Home Counts accreditation and vice-versa to lessen the burden on firms wishing to work under Green Deal. To support the consumer, the Government should look to increase the amount they can borrow.”

The post GGF responds to Green Deal reform appeared first on Windows Active Magazine.

Home security specialist ERA, has unveiled a brand new corporate identity.

The new mark, which incorporates the ‘Total Security’ strapline, is said to encompass ERA’s strength in design and innovation, as well as helping to elevate the brand.

Head of marketing at ERA, Tania Tams said, ‘The new logo reflects our commitment to ERA’s ‘Total Security’ concept, which covers our traditional product range as well as our exciting smart home products.

‘We have a confident approach to the market and a desire to work more collaboratively with our customers. As such, we will be adopting a more fluid approach to logo usage, giving customers the freedom to use our resources, including the logo and imagery.’

The post New corporate identity for ERA appeared first on Glass & Glazing Products Magazine (GGP).

Despite the imminent launch of the outward opening System 76, KÖMMERLING continue to invest in the 70mm platform and now their C70 and O70 Gold^â window and door system has been re-engineered to achieve a U_w-value of just 1.2 W/(m²k).

With many other 70mm systems only achieving a U_w-value of 1.4 W/(m²k) at best, this development by KÖMMERLING will be a major plus for their network of trade manufacturers and installers, particularly those in Scotland. Building specifiers can also issue the requirements for better U-values with increased confidence in proven, technically-led 70mm window and door systems.

The accomplishment of a U_w-value of 1.2 W/(m²k) with the 5-chambered C70 and O70 Gold^â systems, was achieved on windows that were fully reinforced in the frame, sash and mullion. The glass specification was for a 28mm IGU, 90% argon filled comprising of Planiclear, Planitherm One and Swisspacer Ultimate spacer bar. The same window configuration also successfully achieved PAS 24 certification.

Brian McDonald, commercial manager for KÖMMERLING commented: ‘While much of our focus is on the launch of the revolutionary System 76, we continue to fully invest and support the 70mm platforms of C70 and O70 Gold^â. For the commercial and new build sectors, the attainment of a U-value of just 1.2 with a relatively standard glass specification is a major breakthrough, helping our customers to stand out with better window performance as is the KÖMMERLING way.’

For KÖMMERLING information, including the new System 76 and for becoming a manufacturing partner, approved installer or as a building specifier, call 01543 444900, e-mail enquiries@profine-group.com or visit www.kommerling.co.uk. You can also follow them on Twitter @kommerling_uk.