Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson yesterday officially opened Walkergate Park Hospital for  neuro rehabilitation and neuro psychiatry.

The Merton Rule
 

At a recent meeting with a planner for a small housing site I was asked what renewable we were considering, as this particular authority was proposing to seek 10% on-site renewable. This follows from the London Borough of Merton’s initiative which is being taken up by other authorities and is known as the Merton Rule. I am sure everybody is aware of this but, if not, read on.
The ‘Merton Rule’ is the groundbreaking planning policy, pioneered by the London Borough of Merton, which requires the use of renewable energy onsite to reduce annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the built environment. Hundreds of local authorities look set to follow Merton’s lead, which will impact all new major development projects throughout the UK.
Following the publication of Planning Policy Statement 22 (PPS22), Planning Guidance on Renewable Energy, issued by the Office of Deputy Prime Minister in 2004, the London Borough of Merton was the first to formalise the governments renewable energy targets in its adopted UDP, setting the target for the use of onsite renewable energy to reduce annual CO 2 emissions for all new major developments* in the borough by 10%.
On the 8th of June 2006 Yvette Cooper, the Minister for Housing and Planning, announced that ‘Government expect all planning authorities to include policies in their development plans that require a percentage of the energy in new developments to come from on-site renewables’  Extract from web site www.themertonrule.org
If you follow the link http://www.themertonrule.org/list-of-boroughs you can view an informal list of local authorities adopting, or considering adopting, prescriptive Merton Rule-like policies.

The new Dalby Forest Visitor Centre. Mostly timber, with some glulam beams. Let down by inadequate detailing and workmanship, which means poor finish and lots of future maintenance.

Don’t bother with the food - it ranks as one of the worst meals ever.

Work continues on the Royston Lifelong learning centre near Barnsley. Week 10 and the steel work is progressing on site. Shown are the front two entrance bays.

A First! site visit for both Ryan Meadows and Adil Jeraal. Ryan has recently completed his year out and is now back at university three days a week studying hard to be become an Architect. Adil has joined us for a weeks work experiance from college. He is considering becoming an Architect and I don’t believe we’ve put him off yet.

I’m sad, I know…but a visit to the 1958 World Expo in Brussels is a fun few hours in spaceland. Re-opened in Feb 2006, its just had its millionth visitor…

more

Building Magazine’s Guide to the Top 50 Employers is published today. A survey of employee satisfaction across all 250 Top Consultants and 150 Top Contractors was revealed at a launch in London today, attended by Chris P and Geraldine. The survey looked at a range of criteria, including salary, pension, flexi-time and included non-objective criteria such as leadership, inspiration and feel-good factor. We’re delighted that we’ve made the Top 50 and look forward to working towards improving our staff conditions in the future. Any suggestions, just let us know…

Have a look at the Guide

Some of the Stokesley staff attended a seminar on Anhydrite screeds last week which was very interesting. We currently have a project on site that has an existing anhydrite screed. The area has been left fallow for about 6 years and we are now fitting it out as a ward. Please be aware that these screeds require a specific treatment before laying flooring, which involves scabbling or sanding of the surface and application of compatible primers prior to application of a compatible leveling screed which must be Gypsum based. It is also not advisable to traffic the areas being treated until the flooring goes down. This can have serious programme and cost implications if not planned ahead.
If anyone is carrying out a refurbishment project and is unsure of the screed type this needs to be investigated at the earliest opportunity to avoid potential delays further down the line, or use of the wrong flooring coating / adhesives resulting in defects.
If we are currently specifying this screed type in newbuild situations, we need to ensure that the maintenance regime is correctly documented in the health and safety file, as a client renewing floor coverings needs to be aware of the nature of the material.
 If anyone has experience of remedial treatment of this type of screed, I would be please to hear any useful information. We have come up with a specification form Uzin for this particular situation but it would be interesting to compare notes.

David Hunter learning how to photograph tall buildings!

The P+HS fun day out in Manchester should have inspired us all.  Thanks to the Social Committee (+ Eamon, + Phil the tourguide) for organising another successful event. I’m sure everyone will agree it was worth the early morning train journey…even Patrick, who failed to surface until lunchtime!