Category Archives: South East

Appointments, Marketing, PR and SEO, News, South East

New hire bolsters video and web development teams on the back of business growth at digital marketing agency OnBrand

Tina Playle has joined the team at St Albans based marketing agency OnBrand bolstering its digital and web development expertise as business continues to grow.  The agency has had a busy few months as it launches a number of new websites for clients and takes on new projects.

Tina joins as a content designer with experience in all things digital and social.  She has specific expertise in short form video for social media including TikTok which is a growing requirement for clients.

Managing Director of OnBrand Daniel Graham said:

“We are delighted to welcome Tina onto the team.  We have been an agency for over 13 years now and in that time we have grown, adapted and changed with the times.  We know that on social media there has been a massive growth in short form video as platforms like Instagram start to transition away from still images and TikTok continues to grow exponentially.  We have been keen to bolster our in house expertise in that area for a while and have brought in Tina to provide that expertise for us.   With her knowledge of content creation and short form video she will be a vital part of our offering for clients going forward.”

OnBrand has recently won a range of new clients including David Charles Property Consultants and ARNO (Association of Royal Navy Officers).  The new projects will focus on website builds and marketing support.

They have additionally just launched new websites for Stanley who provide manual handling and storage solutions to businesses across the UK, The Bobath Centre, a cerebal palsy charity and Tielsi Hair, a growing St Albans based hairdresser.

OnBrand is a digital marketing agency based in St Albans, Herts.  More at www.onbrand.co.uk

Construction, News, Property, South East

Farmyard Site for Residential Development for Sale – West Kent

BTF Partnership has launched for sale The Oast Farm Development Site at Hever, near Edenbridge, Kent with planning consent to convert six new dwellings from five existing buildings in a rural setting on a plot measuring 2.13 acres with a guide price of £1,500,000.

Oast Farm is situated to the southeast of Edenbridge close to the village of Hever and within walking distance of Hever Station (with trains to London Bridge in 49 minutes). It is also close to the historic Hever Castle and its spectacular gardens and parklands.

The site has been designed to meet the demands of the modern individual with spacious contemporary design and sustainability principles in mind. The development incorporates the use of PV solar panels, solar hot water panels, sun pipes and roof lights, rainwater harvesting for the WC’s, high levels of insulation, DEFRA approved wood burning stoves, EV charging points and bicycle stores.

The new dwellings are summarised as follows:

Plot 1 – a four-bedroom detached barn with southerly views extending to 450m².

Plot 2 – a semi-detached three-bedroom dwelling extending to 347m².

Plot 3 – a semi-detached three bedroom dwelling extending to 347m².

Plot 4 – a detached single storey two-bedroom dwelling extending to 175m².

Plot 5 – a semi-detached three-bedroom dwelling extending to 360m².

Plot 6 – a semi-detached three-bedroom dwelling extending to 360m².

Richard Thomas, Director at BTF Partnership comments: “This is a well-designed and located farmyard development site in a sought after rural location. It brings together the best of both worlds – modern and comfortable rural living but a short distance from good road and rail links to central London and beyond.”

Further details can be found at www.btfpartnership.co.uk

News, Property, South East

All homes sold at two new locations in Berkshire

All the homes at two Vistry Group locations less than two miles apart in Berkshire have now been sold, following a surge in demand for properties in attractive village settings post lockdown.

Construction work is in its final stages at Blue Mountain in Binfield and Archfield in Warfield, where Vistry’s Thames Valley region is building under its Linden Homes brand.

The 112 homes at Blue Mountain, off Temple Way, and the 52 properties at Archfield, off Newell Green, are now fully occupied, including the affordable homes provided for rent and shared ownership.

Blue Mountain was built as part of the regeneration of the former Blue Mountain golf course, alongside Bloor Homes.

Alix Laflin, marketing manager for Vistry Thames Valley, said: “Demand for homes has soared ever since the end of the Covid lockdowns. House moving decisions that were perhaps put on hold during the worst of the pandemic are now going full steam ahead.

“This part of Berkshire has proved particularly attractive to buyers as picturesque village locations with good transport links are highly prized. Both sites are within easy reach of Bracknell railway station and the M4, making them convenient options for people commuting to Reading or London.

“Vistry Group’s status as a five-star housebuilder with the Home Builders Federation (HBF), which means that more than 90 per cent of customers surveyed would recommend us to a friend, has also been a factor in these two developments selling out so quickly.

“In addition to this, our Blue Mountain development earned the Quality Recognition Award from Premier Guarantee, an accolade award to sites which meet the very highest standards in site management, workmanship and various other criteria.”

Vistry Thames Valley is also building under its Linden Homes brand at Copsewood in Wokingham, where a small selection of homes are still available to purchase.

For more information about these homes, visit lindenhomes.co.uk.

 

CAPTIONS:

  • Linden Homes’ Archfield development in Warfield.

 

Construction, Construction News, News, South East

Tallest Building Tops Out In Staines-Upon-Thames

Berkeley has topped out Lily House in Eden Grove, the tallest residential building in Staines-Upon-Thames.

The occasion was marked and celebrated by the project director who laid the final brick on Lily House. The first homes will be ready for residents to move into in 2023, with the whole development set to complete in 2026.

Set around landscaped gardens, the collection of 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments start from £357,500 with many apartments benefiting from sweeping views of the Surrey countryside or overlooking the shared garden space.

The homes come with unrivalled resident facilities that include a new co-working space, a concierge, cinema, private gym and a central landscaped garden with beautiful water feature.

With Central London just 35 minutes away by train, residents will enjoy the best of both worlds and revel in the outstanding natural beauty of the surrounding scenery and River Thames.

Paul Vallone, Divisional Managing Director of Berkeley said:

“We are raising the bar for architecture in Staines-Upon-Thames and delighted to complete this first milestone. Eden Grove will bring a new calibre of living to Staines-Upon-Thames with a market-leading specification inside and out, whether the stylish interiors and first-class facilities or the biodiverse landscaped gardens. Buyers will also get all the advantages of this unique location with plentiful outdoor space and fast access into London.”

Eden Grove will provide 489 private and affordable homes and will have a wider impact on the local economy – with new jobs, training opportunities, improved infrastructure, facilities and green space for the whole community.

At its peak, Eden Grove will employ up to 250 people, sustaining hundreds of jobs during its five year construction programme and will leave behind around 20 permanent jobs as part of its legacy.

Commercial Property, Commercial Property News, Finance and Banking, News, South East, South East England News

Waste Management Firm Acquires New HQ with Support from HSBC UK

Sussex-based waste management business Sweeptech Environmental Services has acquired a new site after securing a seven-figure funding package from HSBC UK.

The funding from HSBC UK has enabled the Environmental Leadership award winning business to acquire a three-acre site in Hickstead, which will be home to Sweeptech Environmental Services’ head office and create its third vehicle depot in the South of England with additional maintenance facilities.

The acquisition of the new premises will allow the company to increase its waste recycling capability at its existing recycling centres in Henfield and Southampton, which will enable Sweeptech Environmental Services to better support its long-term exclusive waste management contracts with National Highways and Gatwick Airport in the Southeast.

As a result of the HSBC UK supported expansion, Sweeptech Environmental Services is anticipating the creation of more than 80 jobs across a range of roles, including Operations Management, Sales, Marketing, Technicians, HGV drivers and Operatives.

 

Martin Smith, CEO at Sweeptech Environmental Services, said: “Over the last 20 years, we’ve worked incredibly hard to introduce sustainable innovation across the breadth of our diverse waste management services, for which we have received national award recognition. We’re delighted to be opening our new headquarters so we can continue with our mission of expanding and diversifying our waste management services across the country for the benefit of our clients and the environment.

“Having banked with HSBC UK for over ten years, the support has been invaluable in allowing us to grow in the UK. We very much feel we are working in partnership with HSBC UK, who have worked hard to understand our business and its challenges, and we look forward to continuing working with the bank long into the future.”

 

Nick Ades, Business Banking Relationship Manager at HSBC UK, said: “Sustainable waste management is key to protecting our planet from harmful pollutants. We’re proud to be supporting Sweeptech with the purchase of its new site, which will allow the company to continue its commitment to delivering environmental and sustainable improvement within waste management.”

 

Established in 1998, Sweeptech Environmental Services provides cleaning and recycling services for a range of sectors, including transport, utilities, construction and local government. The company operates a 100% landfill avoidance policy and circular environment economy initiative to recycle waste and reduce carbon emissions.

 

Music, News, North of England, South East

Music College WaterBear Hits the High Note with Second Campus Launch Event

The pioneering college of music WaterBear, is celebrating a highly successful launch event to mark the upcoming opening of its second college campus. WaterBear Sheffield will welcome independent artists and musician students from September 2023, following the exceptional success of its inaugural college in Brighton and with an unrivalled reputation for specialist music education.

Embracing WaterBear’s ethos of supporting independent, DIY artists to build long-term, sustainable careers in the music industry, WaterBear Sheffield will offer a rich programme of BA (Hons) Degrees and MA courses.

The anticipated launch event, presided over by WaterBear’s Chairman Terry Sweeney, was held at The Network Sheffield, a live music venue located in the heart of the city. Budding artists and prospective students, educational providers, members of the media and established industry contacts travelled from across the UK to attend.

Opening the event and highlighting the college’s passion for developing young artists was a performance from the locally-based four-piece indie rock band, BLOOM. Following an introduction from the college’s founders and music education pioneers Adam Bushell and Bruce John Dickinson, special live performances also came from local artists and bands including headline act and rapper Coco, Harri Larkin, DJ Lamour, English rock band Bang Bang Romeo and WaterBear alumni Lily Knott and Go For It Tribe.

Throughout the evening, guests gained a valuable insight into the courses and curriculum, the WaterBear student experience, student career opportunities and artist development, and accommodation and finance. Attendees also had the opportunity to visit the new Sheffield campus currently under construction, located on the site of the iconic Gatecrasher nightclub building.

WaterBear’s Chairman, Terry Sweeney, commented “It was a privilege to join Adam, Bruce and the WaterBear family on what has been a monumental evening to celebrate the launch of WaterBear Sheffield. 

“WaterBear has been on an incredible journey to date with four successful years providing first-class music education, enabling students to achieve a solid foundation for a sustainable career in the music industry. We are now immensely looking forward to the next stage of our evolution in growing the WaterBear brand.” 

Speaking of WaterBear’s journey at the event Co-founder Adam Bushell said, “We’ve seen a change in the music industry over the last twenty years, huge changes, but we felt strongly that music education just wasn’t keeping up and it wasn’t geared for the realities of how the music industry has changed. So, we got together and thought we have to do another music college, and we have to make it about how things have changed, more about the independent, self-reliant, self-motivated DIY artist so, we started WaterBear in Brighton and four years later, here we are.

“Brighton is going really well, we have around 500 students for this September so, it was the perfect time for us to branch out and look for another place, and I’m so amazingly happy that we’ve stuck a pin in Sheffield. Today marks the starting gun and the countdown to when the college opens in September 2023.”

Co-Founder Bruce John Dickinson added, “This one is a bit special. It feels to me, and I don’t know if this is because I’m from Scarborough, but it feels like music education is coming home. There’s a vibe in the city that you notice immediately when you come into the town, it feels like everything is coming together, it feels like a culture of relations – that’s already happening and we want to be a part of it. We want to do our bit to pull things together and do cool stuff – it’s about two things, new music and creating new jobs in a great sector. So, if you put that together with the talent in this city, we believe the sky is the limit so we are super excited about being here.”

 Students wishing to find out more about the courses on offer at WaterBear Sheffield or Brighton, or to enrol can visit:-

WaterBear Sheffield https://waterbear.org.uk/sheffield/

WaterBear Brighton https://waterbear.org.uk/brighton/

Food & Drink, News, South East

Kacchi London wins 2022 Great Taste Award

Leading Ayurvedic food accompaniment brand, Kacchi London, has been named among the top food and drink producers globally this year, having won a revered Great Taste Award for its curry leaf powder sachets.

The Great Taste Awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the acknowledged benchmark for fine food and drink and has been described as the ‘Oscars’ of the food world.

The unmistakable black and gold Great Taste logo is a sign people can trust when buying local food and drink and is a stamp of excellence that is recognised by retailers and consumers alike.

With more than 14,000 products put through the competition’s rigorous blind judging process, the easy-to-use Kacchi London curry leaf sachet was a hit with the esteemed Great Taste judges and dubbed a “vibrantly coloured spice blend” that “was very well-balanced and more-ish”.

Made with curry leaves, split Bengal lentils, sesame seeds, cumin, dried mango powder, black pepper, red chilli powder and salt, the curry leaf sachets are the ideal addition to any dish.

Founded in 2020, Kacchi London is an innovative food brand providing a range of Ayurvedic spices and seasonings. When first faced with gut health and digestion issues, the founder, Aradhana Bhandari, turned to her Indian heritage to discover a holistic approach to health that had been utilised by her family for generations.

 

Bhandari, founder of Kacchi London, said: “I’m so proud to have won a Great Taste Award for my curry leaf sachets. I created all my products using ancient Ayurvedic ingredients that have been enjoyed by my family for centuries, so to have successfully brought these to market and for them to be recognised by such an influential body is a huge moment for my brand.

“After launching Kacchi London during the Coronavirus pandemic, we decided to pivot our offering to make the products more accessible, sustainable and cost-effective, and the launch of the sachets represents this.

“I’m continuing to explore new foods and flavours within Ayurveda that I can bring to the Kacchi London brand, and seal of approval from the Great Taste judging panel on our already established products is fantastic support for our work so far.”

The curry leaf sachet [as well as the larger Kacchi London product jars] are available from the Kacchi London website, RRP: £1.90 [1 tbsp].

For more information, visit kacchi.co.uk.

Awards, Construction, News, South East

Beckton site manager wins prestigious homebuilding award

A senior project manager who is leading the construction of new homes in Beckton has won a highly regarded industry accolade.

Bellway London’s Richard Brittain, 34, is among just 443 site managers from across the country to receive the National House Building Council’s (NHBC) Pride in the Job Quality Award for 2022.

The prize, which was awarded in recognition of his work at the Beckton Parkside development off Viking Gardens, places him in an elite group of site managers within the industry.

Pride in the Job was first held over 40 years ago, and it has since become one of the most prestigious competitions in the homebuilding sector. Richard and his fellow Quality Award winners will now be considered for the Seal of Excellence and Regional Awards later this year.

Richard, who lives in Essex, has now won the Quality Award three times in the past four years and brought his overall tally of awards up to four.

He said: “Bellway has always given me the opportunity to prove myself and advance my career within the company.

“I joined Bellway as a site manager at our development in Stepney all the way back in 2014, and I have been kept occupied with new challenges and responsibilities throughout my time here.

“I have a terrific team of hardworking individuals who have supported me every day for the last four years at Beckton Parkside, and it is our collective effort that has won us this award.

“We are constantly looking to improve everything we do at the site so that we can continue to create the best homes in the housing market for our customers.”

John Haggerstone, Construction Director for Bellway London, said: “For our site managers, winning an NHBC award in any year is rewarding, but this year has been a special achievement in such challenging circumstances, ensuring our building sites are kept to the highest standards we set ourselves at Bellway, and keeping our customers and local residents happy with the work we are doing across those sites.

“Richard and his team have consistently demonstrated their excellence in delivering new homes to our customers over the past 12 months and Bellway is extremely proud of and grateful for their efforts, resulting in the Quality Award they have been deservingly given by the NHBC. We would wish Richard all the very best for the next stage of the NHBC awards this year, as he progresses to the Seal of Excellence phase of judging.”

Bellway London is building 391 new apartments at Beckton Parkside. A selection of one, two and three-bedroom apartments are currently available, with prices starting from £265,000.

For more information about the development, call 020 3993 6183 or visit https://www.bellwaylondon.co.uk/new-homes/thames-gateway/beckton-parkside.

CAPTION:

  • Senior Project Manager Richard Brittain (centre) flanked by Site Manager Daryl Owusu (left) and Assistant Site Manager Joe Pugh (right) at Bellway’s Beckton Parkside development.

 

 

 

About Bellway Homes

Bellway Homes is a FTSE 250 Index listed residential housebuilder based in Newcastle upon Tyne, employing almost 3,000 staff across 22 Divisions across England, Scotland and Wales.

Bellway began as a small family business in the North East in 1946 – with a passion for building exceptional quality homes in carefully selected locations, inspired by the needs of real families. We are proud of our heritage in the North East, and remain one of the region’s largest employers, with our Head Office still being located in Newcastle upon Tyne.

To this day, we maintain these same core values, combining our decades of expertise with the level of personalised care that Bellway is known for.

We are delighted to have been awarded 5 star builder status by the Home Builders Federation for the sixth year running, with 9 out of 10 customers saying they would recommend us to a friend.

News, Property, South East

Suffolk-based mortgage expert highlights success of Help to Buy scheme

A Suffolk-based mortgage expert has praised Help to Buy for helping hundreds of people to afford their own home as the initiative reaches its final stages.

Jason Blunden, managing director of Ipswich-based Evolve Financial Solutions, has been working with buyers at Vistry Group’s developments across the East of England, and said the Government scheme, which is due to end on 31 March next year, had also provided a much-needed boost to the housing market and the wider economy as a whole.

Vistry Eastern has sold hundreds of new homes under the Bovis Homes and Linden Homes brands via Help to Buy across the region and still has properties available which qualify for the scheme.

Help to Buy was set up to enable purchasers to secure a new-build home with just a five per cent deposit and a 75 per cent mortgage – the remaining 20 per cent being provided in the form of an equity loan from the Government, which is interest free for the first five years of homeownership. The current version of the scheme is only open to first-time buyers, with a regional price cap in the East of England set at £407,400.

Jason Blunden said: “What Help to Buy has meant is that mortgage lenders have been able to lend to people who would not normally have been able to afford to buy their own home. This has allowed hundreds of first-time buyers, many of them young people and growing families, to take the precious first steps onto the property ladder. This represents the dream for many families, a dream that has been realised by the availability of Help to Buy.

“The 20 per cent equity loan from the Government means that first-time buyers only have to find a five per cent deposit to effectively secure a 75 per cent mortgage. This deal lowers the deposit that has to be found and reduces the monthly mortgage payments customers have to meet, thereby bringing homeownership within the reach of more and more buyers.

“I have personally worked with many first-time buyers who have secured a home with Vistry Eastern and were delighted after fearing they would be stuck paying rent all their lives because they could not raise a big enough deposit or be able to afford the monthly mortgage payments. We know that the Help to Buy scheme is coming to an end in 2023 and are now seeing lenders coming to market with 95 per cent mortgages for new-build houses instead.

“Help to Buy has been the best thing to happen to the construction industry and mortgage lenders for a long time. The continuation of the scheme gave the industry a real shot in the arm when it most needed it as the country struggled to get started again following the coronavirus lockdowns.

“We hope that the momentum in the housing market that has been generated by the Help to Buy scheme does not slow down. The bigger picture is that a buoyant housing market does not just benefit the mortgage lenders and the housebuilders as all these new homes need to be decorated, carpeted and furnished which in turn provides jobs for people in a host of ancillary industries.”

Jason Colmer, sales and marketing director at Vistry Eastern, said: “Help to Buy still represents an incredible opportunity for first-time buyers to secure a new-build home and to get themselves into the property market.

“We have many properties, built under the Linden Homes and Bovis Homes brands, which are available to reserve and are below the Help to Buy regional price cap of £407,400 in the East of England. Our trained sales teams are waiting to take calls to explain how people can still take advantage of the initiative.”

There are new homes that qualify for the scheme and are available to reserve at All Angels Park in Highfields Caldecote, near Cambridge, and Finches Park in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, as well as at Suffolk developments Cavendish View and Grange Park in Thurston and Oak Farm Meadow in Stowupland.

For more information, visit bovishomes.co.uk or lindenhomes.co.uk.

 

Awards, Construction, News, South East

Former labourer wins fourth site management award for work on new homes in Leighton Buzzard 

A construction site manager who joined the industry as a 16-year-old labourer has won his fourth building award.

Sean Pitkin has been given a Pride in the Job Quality Award from the National House Building Council (NHBC) in recognition of his excellent work at Bellway’s Lestone Mews development in Leighton Buzzard.

The 34-year-old has been site manager at the development since its launch in May 2019 and in February 2022 was promoted to contracts manager, overseeing five Bellway Northern Home Counties sites.

This is the second year in a row that Sean has won a Quality Award for his work at Lestone Mews, where work is due to be completed in August. He previously won two Quality Awards for his work as a site manager at Bellway’s Estone Grange in Aston Clinton, near Aylesbury.

The national awards recognise those who achieve the highest standards in construction, with only 443 out of 8,000 site managers across the country being selected to receive the prize this year. The winners will now be considered for the Seal of Excellence and Regional Awards in the autumn.

Sean, who joined Bellway in 2016, said: “It is brilliant to get this recognition for all the hard work I have put in at Lestone Mews but it is really an award for the whole team not just me. The secret to success is to have a great set of colleagues in place who buy into what you are trying to achieve.

“My philosophy is that I treat all of the homes on my site as if they were my own house. I want those new houses to be perfect so that I can stand there proudly as the keys are handed over to each and every customer of ours.”

Sean started his career in the construction industry as a teenage labourer.

“I was given a job as a labourer by a local builder in Olney and went into it straight from school, not really knowing what I wanted to do,” he said. “I was offered an apprenticeship and then became a qualified carpenter.

“A few years down the line, my bosses offered me the chance to become an assistant site manager and I haven’t really looked back.

“I have now been promoted to contracts manager which means I am overseeing five sites, including Lestone Mews, where my former assistant manager James Ratcliffe has been made site manager. Bellway is the best company to work for and my ambition is to carry on hitting the highest of standards.

“The target now is to maybe see all five site managers at the developments I am overseeing win Quality Awards. That would be really something.”

Iain Hunter, Construction Director at Bellway Northern Home Counties, said: “For our site managers, winning an NHBC award in any year is rewarding, but this year has been a special achievement in such challenging circumstances, ensuring our building sites are kept to the highest standards we set ourselves at Bellway, and keeping our customers and residents happy with the work we are doing across those sites.

“Sean has consistently demonstrated his excellence in delivering new homes to our customers over the past 12 months and Bellway is extremely proud of and grateful for his efforts, resulting in the Quality Award he has been deservingly given by the NHBC. We would like to wish Sean all the very best for the next stage of the NHBC awards this year, as he progresses to the Seal of Excellence phase of judging.”

There is currently only one home remaining for sale at Lestone Mews – the Radcliffe showhome priced at £510,000.

For more information on the final homes available at Lestone Mews, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/northern-home-counties/lestone-mews or call the sales office on 01525 351317.

Caption:

  • Sean Pitkin, Bellway Northern Home Counties construction site manager, who has won his fourth prestigious industry award

 

 

About Bellway Homes

Bellway Homes is a FTSE 250 Index listed residential housebuilder based in Newcastle upon Tyne, employing almost 3,000 staff across 22 Divisions across England, Scotland and Wales.

Bellway began as a small family business in the North East in 1946 – with a passion for building exceptional quality homes in carefully selected locations, inspired by the needs of real families. We are proud of our heritage in the North East, and remain one of the region’s largest employers, with our Head Office still being located in Newcastle upon Tyne.

To this day, we maintain these same core values, combining our decades of expertise with the level of personalised care that Bellway is known for.

We are delighted to have been awarded 5 star builder status by the Home Builders Federation for the sixth year running, with 9 out of 10 customers saying they would recommend us to a friend.