Benenden School, Client Representative – Logic PM

Logic PM, the project management division of The Logic Group, is currently working on secondment to Benenden School. Engaged as the Client Representative, we have been engaged to support this leading independent school in matters relating to ongoing building work taking place on their premises.

Throughout the last 18 months, our business principal, Nick Baster, and members of the Logic team have been on site each week to assist with the flow of information. We closely monitor works carried out by the contractor and provide detailed reports to the School Executive Team and Governors.

As Client Representative, Logic PM is an expert point of resource for the Employer, in this case Benenden School. We address any questions the school may have about their project and advise on the best course of action at decision making points.

The additional benefit of engaging us as Client Representative is that we provide a knowledgeable single point of contact for both the main contractor and their designated trade contractors. Keeping the flow of information short and simple minimises delays and avoids any confusion – there is clear and defined direction to ensure the project stays on track and keeps the client’s objective at the forefront at all times.

The Logic Group has been working as Client Representative at Benenden School since Summer 2019. With project completion now in sight, it’s fantastic to see all the hard work coming together to create a wonderful new facility for current and future students of this prestigious Kent school.

What Impact will The Queen’s Speech have on UK Construction Industry?

As the country looks to recover following the impact of COVID-19, the Queen's Speech earlier this month had a lot for the construction industry to consider. In total, 31 bills were presented to parliament which covered infrastructure and planning as well as ongoing building reforms and how to combat the skills shortage in our industry. There were also a number of bills required following our departure from the European Union.

We are particularly interested in rumoured and proposed changes to the planning system in England and would welcome positive reform in this area.

Planning Reforms:

The White Paper Planning for the Future (first launched in August 2020) accurately argues that the planning system in England is “outdated and ineffective” so proposes major reforms to this area.

Santhosh Gowda, Chairman of Strawberry Star, commented on this, saying: “modernising the UK's time-honoured planning laws was never going to be easy, but the idea of a dynamic, flexible and digitalised system is an exciting prospect.”

He continued to say: "it will be a balancing act that seeks to boost housing supply without compromising on design, community, and ecology.”

The Bill will be a step towards a more Americanised zonal system that places greater emphasis on community engagement in the plan-making stage and provides a national and local design code that sets the parameters for what can be built in certain areas.

Chief Executive Officer of Powered Now, Ben Dyer is hoping to see a simpler approach based on pre-set rules rather than the decision of a committee for a faster decision making and appeals process. "All county councils should have a clear housing and development policy with greater transparency on what can, and can't be…this policy should focus on protecting green spaces by relaxing planning rules on brownfield land and should include simpler planning for renovations to existing buildings.” He added that “the rules should be relaxed for homeowners who simply wish to improve their own houses.”

Others are calling for the Government to make a concerted effort on the aesthetic of homebuilding in the UK. A ‘carrot and stick’ approach could be created to reward housing developers who build beautiful, outstanding and unique buildings within well thought-out communities with plenty of parking, green space and communal facilities such as schools. A penalty system could equally be created to discourage the building of generic, ugly or out of character developments.

After the collapse of the Green Homes Grant, surely all plans going forward should ensure that new buildings are developed with energy production and efficiency at the heart of the design process. If the UK is to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2050, this is crucial.

Other areas included:

• Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill to extend 5G mobile coverage

• A bill covering ground rents on future lease agreements which looks to set future ground rents to zero in the 2021-22 session

• A Subsidy Control Bill to support private companies, as the UK has now left the "state aid" regime run by the European Union

• The Procurement Bill will replace EU rules on how the British government buys services from the private sector

• New powers to build and operate the next stage of the HS2 high-speed rail line are contained in the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill

• A tenants reform bill which looks at issues such as lifetime deposits and landlord redress

UK Construction - Biggest Rise in Workload Since 2016?

According to a quarterly survey conducted by the RICS, the construction sector in Britain is currently experiencing the biggest increase in workload for five years. The survey took place between March 12th and April 11th 2021 and makes the following conclusions:

• The reported increase in workload is led by strong demand for housing alongside the resumption of projects which had been slowed or stalled by the pandemic

• RICS members surveyed expected their profit margins to increase for the first time since 2019

• Recruitment and volumes of work are expected to rise over the coming months as the vaccine rollout continues and the pandemic eases

• The most noticeable increase has been in private residential construction followed by infrastructure, social housing and public-sector works. Increases in demand for industrial and commercial projects has also been recorded

• The biggest constraints on construction now are a shortage of building materials and skilled workers rather than financing difficulties as faced in previous quarters

• Productivity in UK construction fell by around 5% due to social distancing requirements but this appears to have had a smaller impact than surveyors first expected when rules were introduced in 2020

Commenting on the findings of the survey, RICS Chief Economist Simon Rubinsohn noted that: "the UK construction industry has adjusted relatively well to COVID-19 related work practices with most respondents to the survey suggesting only a small hit to productivity."

The report also mentioned the impact of the stamp duty cut on Britain's property market, which has performed much more strongly than the wider economy in the last 12 months.

Official data for February 2021 still showed that output was 4.3% lower than the same time last year and many businesses within the construction industry are still experiencing difficulties.

The findings of the RICS survey are backed up by other private-sector surveys, including IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index for the construction sector, which points to fast growth in the UK construction industry. However, it's worth remembering that this is a time of great turbulence and change for the construction industry in Britain.

The impact of the pandemic, our exit from the EU, limited supply of materials and the many changes to stamp duty and housing demands have had a huge and wide-ranging impact on the construction sector in the UK. These changes have also created a number of exciting opportunities too. If you’re looking for a project manager or construction firm to help you capitalise on these opportunities, get in touch with The Logic Group today. Click here to contact us.