03/08/2012 - Buildstore calls for lenders to allocate £1 billion for self-build projects

We were delighted to see this report this week from our friends at Buildstore...

Renovation specialist Buildstore has called on lenders to allocate £1 billion for self-build projects following the announcement of the Bank of England's Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS).

Under the FLS, the Bank of England will lend money to financial institutions at below-market rates to stimulate lending to homeowners and businesses.

Buildstore claims that lending to self-builders - the fastest growing sector in UK housing - fits the bill, creating a positive ripple effect through the home economy, helping not only homeowners but employment at a local level as construction workers would be called upon to meet the demand for bespoke homes.

Buildstore claims that for every £1 million lent, six new homes could be built, and, with the average self-build project taking a team of five construction workers a year to complete, the number of jobs created could stack up to 6,000 for each £ billion lent.

BuildStore is urging Housing minister Grant Shapps, who has tirelessly campaigned for community building, to get behind the scheme. 

Raymond Connor, chief executive of BuildStore Financial Services says: “The benefits of allocating £1 billion to the self build sector would be money wisely spent; there is no down-side.

"I am directly appealing to Mr Shapps to join forces with self build groups while he has the government’s attention on this issue, and to encourage lending institutions to allocate funds in this way.  The demand is clearly there for self build so let’s get the money aimed where it can do most good.”

ADM Systems have two permanent displays at Buildstore's National Home Building and Renovating Centre in Swindon. If you would like to see heat recovery ventilation systems, ground to air heat exchangers or central vacuum systems in action, come and visit us at our showroom there or in Skipton.

Contact our experts if you would like more information about any of our products or how Buildstore can inspire you to start your self build project.

26/07/2012 - Government backs self build with dedicated land and £30million fund

Aiming to buck the trend of doom and gloom in the construction industry, the self-build sector has been given a boost by the Government. Seven large sites have been earmarked specifically for self builders providing plots for more than 100 innovative custom built homes. The first to be released is in Tevenson Park, Pool, Cornwall, with 60 plots being available for self-builders, making it the largest self build community in the country. The other six sites are located in Bristol, Hemel Hempstead, Bolsover,  Stoke on Trent, Milton Keynes and Milford in Surrey.

In addition, the Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, has revealed plans for the £30million Custom Build Investment Fund. This fund offers short-term loans to community groups, builders and other small organisations looking to start self-build projects. The additional land and the new fund are part of the government’s wider efforts to help double the size of the self-build sector.

The Custom Build Investment fund is designed to offer people the money they need to lay the foundations for their self-build projects – the first time this has been done in the UK. The money could be used to pay up to 75 per cent of a project’s land and early construction costs, but will only be available to organisations planning to build five or more homes on a given site. And with Datamonitor predicting that the numbers of mortgages available to self builders will increase by 141% over coming years, Shapps revealed that he has written to major lenders urging them to consider how they can make the most of the business opportunity that a growing self build sector can offer.

The National Self Build Association’s Self Build Champion, TV presenter Kevin McCloud, said:  “Across the UK there are scores of communities keen to work alongside each other to build their homes collectively. By pooling their talents on group self build projects, they can construct great custom-designed homes at a fraction of the normal cost.

“Until now, it has been difficult for groups of people to secure funding from conventional lenders to buy larger chunks of land to split up into individual plots. Similarly, it’s difficult for collectives to obtain finance to cover the initial infrastructure costs on group self build sites. This fund will be widely welcomed, and should lead to many pioneering group self build projects taking off. It should also be applauded by small builders and specialist self build ‘enablers’ as they too can apply for finance to help kickstart multi-plot self build projects.”

The Self Build Portal has a simple explanation of the Custom Build Investment Fund, and a prospectus that gives you all the details you need to prepare a formal submission.

We at ADM Systems feel these are positive steps forward. We see them as a way to allow aspiring self builders greater opportunities to overcome key barriers, such as land and finance shortages, to get their schemes off the ground. We work with many talented and creative self builders, and applaud any measures that make their lives easier.

Read more about our self builder’s success story.

20/07/2012 - Plan to develop UK’s largest geothermal heating project in Manchester

According to Green energy news, GT Energy will unveil plans today to establish the UK’s largest geothermal heat plant in Manchester.

The Anglo-Irish company is looking to build the 10 megawatt thermal plant in the Ardwick district of Manchester, located in the Cheshire Basin, where it would tap into one of UK’s largest geothermal resources. Geothermal power is an energy source with a minimal carbon footprint and is captured by drilling down to depths of 1,000 to 10,000 metres, pumping water down to be heated by the hot rocks to temperatures of 200 degrees centigrade. It is estimated the energy reservoir beneath the Cheshire Basin contains enough renewable heat to supply around seven million homes.

The project is being made possible by the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which aims to incentive renewable heat projects in the UK. The scheme has budget of £70 million to spend during 2012/13.

In its recent heat strategy report, the Government highlighted heat networks as providing a potentially important means of slashing heating emissions from UK buildings and factories. About half of the UK’s carbon emissions derive from the energy used to produce heat, far more than from generating electricity. A recent report by engineering consultants Sinclair Knight Merz estimated the UK has enough deep geothermal resource to match 20 per cent of the UK's electricity demand and to provide 100 gigawatts of heat.

Commenting on the Manchester project, Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: "This is exactly the sort of innovative green project we want to see sprouting up across the country. This builds on the Coalition’s ambitious heat strategy published in March, and I wish the project every success."

ADM Systems have a range of ground to air heat exchangers that, on a domestic scale, make use of the thermal properties of the earth. Used with a heat recovery ventilation system they make huge impacts on energy bills and your carbon footprint. Contact one of our experts for more information.

20/07/2012 - Deliveries during the Olympics

We are all gearing up for the Olympics and Paralympics this summer. We are delighted that these exciting events will bring much needed trade, tourism and attention from across the world, however there are some practical matters that we need to tell you about that could affect your deliveries during this time.

As you can imagine there will be greater congestion and disruptions to traffic flow in some areas of London. East London areas will suffer the most, but with road events taking place across the city, starting with the men's cycle race on 28th July until the Paralympic Marathon on 9th September, we will need to be prepared to be flexible.

If you are in a position to order materials for delivery before this time, we recommend you do so. We will work with our couriers to provide you with a good service during this time, but we have been advised that timed deliveries may not always be achievable.

 At least, according to London 2012, 70% of the capital's roads will be unaffected. We will keep you informed of the progress of your deliveries as soon as we have updated information.  

 If you require any further assistance then please, do give us a call on 01756 701051 where our team of qualified sales engineers are ready to help you.