Building for the Future 22 April 2015

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SKY HIGHAMBITION

BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

for fi uk/GreaterW

In association with

How Bristol can build a sustainable future for theenvironment, people and the economy

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2 Wednesday, April 22, 2015www. .co.uk

JLL.CO.UK


SO in the year that Bristol cel-ebrates being European GreenCapital how does the city’soffice market shape up interms of sustainability?

Bristol has a pretty good track re-cord. Back in 2010, the EnvironmentAgency took 70,000 sq ft at HorizonHouse in what was then the UK‘sgreenest office building boasting,ground source heat, PV solar panelsand rainwater collection. Perhapsone might expect this given thenature of the occupier but the lettingwas a commercial deal which madesense for both developer and tenant.

The recession naturally saw a lullin property activity but now Bristolcan once again point to market lead-ing sustainable green buildings. 2Glass Wharf at Temple Quay, the98,000 sq ft office building, developedby Salmon Harvester is rated very

good in terms of sustainability.It uses the harbour water in its

cooling system and has secured itsfirst tenant in PWC who themselvesare driving the sustainability agendaamongst corporate business.

However, the most recent andstrongest message that sustainabilitypays is evidenced in the developmentof 66 Queen Square.

The site was purchased by Skanskawith the express intention of buildingBristol’s greenest building.

As a consequence, the historicQueen Anne House has not only beenretained but also integrated into thedevelopment and long-term energysaving features including photovol-taic panels, LED lighting and watersaving fittings have been incorpor-ated. The building is targetingBREEAM excellent and an EPC rat-ing of A.

The design and green credentials of66 Queen Square was a key part ofKPMG’s decision to relocate therelater this year.

It’s no coincidence that both

Skanska and KPMG are lead spon-sors of Bristol’s European Green Cap-ital.

Equally, the building has recentlysecured a market leading price andno doubt its future proofed featureswere a major consideration for theinvestor.

These new office buildings in Bris-tol are a good showcase but the realchallenge for the UK’s property in-dustry is the 98 per cent of olderbuildings which need to be refur-bished or redeveloped.

The built environment accounts for

40 per cent of all carbon emissions,success in this area is key if theindustry is going to build a moresustainable environment.

The conversion of many officebuildings into hotels and residential,is important as it retains the em-bedded energy within the originalstructure.

At JLL, we have recently launchedour own sustainability plan – Build-ing for Tomorrow – in line with cam-paigns such as M&S’s Plan A andHammerson’s Positive Places.

Our aim is to become the mostsustainable property consultancy inthe UK.

We are seeking to build a businessthat will meet tomorrow’s clientneeds, staff aspirations, the compet-itor landscape, and tomorrow’s so-cietal expectations.

Building for Tomorrow gives usthis platform and helps us all to worktogether in building a better future.Meanwhile, we are upgrading ourown workplace across the UK so wepractice what we preach!

Being green and ambitious pays dividendslead director JLL, South West & Wales “The most recent and

strongest message thatsustainability pays isevidenced in thedevelopment of 66Queen Square.

● Jeremy Richards, lead director ofJLL

● The 66 Queen Square developmentwill be the greenest in Bristol

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3Wednesday, April 22, 2015 www. .co.uk

WHAT do we mean whenwe talk about buildingfor the future? It’s anumber of things. First,building what we need

as a growing economy, the rightplaces to live,workandplay. Second isthe right infrastructure so we can getto and from those places, easily andwithout doing too much harm. Andfinally building in a way that wecherish our environment, be that interms of bold design, eliminatingwaste or energy efficiency.If you had to sum it up in one word,

it would be sustainable.In Bristol, we are already building

for the future. We are building newhomes, many in the northern fringebut other areas too. The recent des-ignation of SouthBristol as a housingzone should encourage more brownfield development for example.Wearebuildingnewplaces towork,

though not yet enough. New officeblocks in Queen Square and GlassWharf are now up, and the FilwoodGreenbusiness park isunderway, butdevelopers seem to be a little uneasyabout starting some of the other bigschemes in the planning pipeline. Atthe same time, through permitteddevelopment rights, we’ve been get-ting rid of some of the more rundownoffice stock and turning it into moreof those all-important homes. Ones inthe city centre cutting the need totravel for work.And we are soon to be building

places to play. A major expansion ofCribbs Causeway shopping mall isawaiting approval, or otherwise,from planners. The long, long-waitedarena looks finally likely to get off theground thanks to determination fromBristol City Council, mayor GeorgeFerguson and support from the Westof England Local Enterprise Part-nership.So we’re working on part one. Part

two, the infrastructure, is improvingtoo with the electrification of therailway under way and motorwayimprovements under discussion(more on those overleaf).What about part three? The con-

struction industry has certainly beenworking hard to change perceptionsand its attitudes on the environ-ment.Matthew Heaman, a partner with

Hoare Lea and committee member ofthe Great Western Forum for theBuilt Environment, admits waste is abig challenge.“Construction waste makes up ap-

proximately a third of all wastearising in the UK each year,” he said.“25 million tonnes of constructionwaste ends up in landfill without anyform of recovery or reuse.“Construction projects targeting

best practice recycling targets wouldseek to divert 90 to 95 per cent of

construction waste from landfill. Forexample, concrete from demolitionprojects can be crushed and re-usedas aggregate under, paving and roadsor in the foundations of a new build-ing.”Fellow forum member Lynne Wel-

lington, of construction firm Will-mott Dixon, says recycling waste isone good step but the next is notproducing it in the first place.

“Waste creation is reduced througha waste strategy process – an in-novative, quantifiable system ofman-aging and monitoring waste,” shesaid. “By holding design-ing-out-waste workshops and record-ingwaste volumeswe understand thesource of waste related to every pro-ject and therefore target those areasto reduce it.”It’s one element of the 10-point plan

the company, which built the newSouthmead Hospital, uses on pro-jects. Others include sharing bestpractice among different firms, cut-ting carbon emissions on site by stepssuch as avoiding diesel generators,and reducing water use.The sustainable agenda goes bey-

ond the construction phase.Derek Quinn, executive director at

Bristol-based Midas Construction –the firm building the Filwood Greeneco business park in Knowle, said:“Clients are increasingly asking us toconsider thewhole life cost of a build-ing.“Developments like Filwood Green

Business Park really highlight howthe market is demanding green, en-ergy-efficient sites that are not onlygood for the environment but arecheaper to run.“As well as a wetland ecology area,

electric vehicle charging points, cyc-ling and walking facilities and theinfrastructure for a metrobus, theFilwood project is making full use ofmodern-day construction tech-niques.“It is the first ever BREEAM Out-

standing development of its type forthe whole of the South West andincludes a range of automated ser-vices to reduce energy, the buildingwill generate 20 per cent of its energyvia solar panels which are fitted to 60per cent of the roof.“Having a thermal-insulated build-

ing means that you don’t need to coolit down so much, so there is only aneed for air conditioning units in thebathrooms, and the remainder of thebuilding employs natural ventila-tion. This also reduces CFCs enteringthe building.

“It’s becoming more common tohave systems like this in place in newbuilds, measures like this requiremore robust building materials tocreate the right level of insulation,and that comes at a higher initialcost, but the key to all this is that theenergy efficiency savings for the longterm are substantial.”Peter Harris, former FBE chair-

man and regional director of engin-eers Silcock Dawson, said buildingsneeded to consider environmental,social and economic sustainability.“A simple demonstration of social

sustainability is in thewaywe lay outbuildings,” said Peter. “On the ma-jority of our projects where prac-tically possible we organise thebuilding services with flexible solu-tions, to suit adjustable internal par-titioning layouts.“Minimising defects, routinemain-

tenance and lifetime costs is quiteeasily achieved by designing out thesystems in the first place, passivebefore active is always our philo-sophy.”It is hugely positive to see de-

velopers aspiring to higher standardsbecause customers demand it. Butpolicymakers still have a role to play.Bristol CityCouncil’s policies aims tokeep the city vibrant and that meanshaving good locations for businesseslong into the future. That means flex-ible buildings, equipped with thelatest technology and making themenergy efficient.It requires 20 per cent of energy in

new buildings to come from renew-able sources and encourages de-velopers to tap into ‘heating districts’power and heat supplied to severalbuildings through undergroundpipes froma central location. It hopesthese will make Bristol more resi-lient to changes in the energy mar-ket.One man who knows something

about development fromboth sides, isBristol mayor and long-time archi-tect George Ferguson.“It’s really important to promote

sustainable development throughoutthe city, andweare consistently doingmore and more work to encouragedevelopers to see the importance and,indeed, economic be-nefits of helpingto build agreener fu-ture,” hesaid.“Building

successfulplaces, mak-ing sure allnew develop-ments acrossthe city are de-signed for the needs andaspirations of the people who livethere – remain key priorities, not justduring our year as European GreenCapital but far beyond.”It sounds like the policy-makers

and developers are, broadly at least,on the same page. Which should begoodwhen it comes to building for thefuture of Bristol.

Building a sustainablefuture for our city

Assistant Editor (Business)[email protected]

Mayor George Ferguson

“Building successfulplaces and making sureall new developmentsacross the city aredesigned for the needsand aspirations of thepeople who live thereremain key priorities.”

● How the long-awaitedBristol Arena will look

JLL.CO.UK

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FIRSTGreatWesternhasbeenawardeda new franchise to cover a very intenseperiod of change on the railway, and thehuge programme of investment cur-rently under way is poised to bring asignificant positive boost to commer-cial and social life of the region when itall goes live in 2017.It may not be bricks and mortar, but

these are key improvements beingbuilt that will bring the city andthe region significantly closer to Lon-don.There’s no doubt business travellers

will appreciate the 54 additional jour-neys each day and the shorter journeytimes that First Great Westernhas promised between Bristol and Lon-don.The extra speed and space the new

electric trains, scheduled to be intro-duced from 2017 will deliver will bewelcomed on those journeys too.We can look forward to 20 per cent

extra capacity on every train and ajourney time that is 17 minutes short-er.At Bristol Parkway, a new

multi-storey car park is already re-lieving parking capacity issues at thisbusy station, and with rail travel stillon the increase, local commuters in theSouthWest can look forward to a 52 percent rise in the number of servicesavailable to them.This is on top of a 10% increase

already introduced since 2011.At the heart of this colossal change is

the strength of the partnerships thathave been forged throughout the West-ern Route between Local Authorities;Enterprise Partnerships; The West ofEnglandpartnership;NetworkRail andFirst Great Western.The railway company’s regional de-

velopment manager, Matthew Banes,says: “These partnerships throughoutthe route have been working on a sus-tainable formula for positive change forsome years, and will result in address-ing many of the key transport infra-structure concerns that underpin thecommercial lifeblood of these com-munities.“Local authorities need to deliver

stretching goals in terms of addressingroad congestion and making environ-mental changes whichwork together toimprove the quality of life of those theyserve, and the integrated package ofpositive changes currently being in-troduced helps them deliver these as-pirations in dramatic and inspiringways.“This is a great example of organ-

isations working together with thecommon aim of delivering on theirpromises for the good of all.”It’s good news for Bristol, the com-

mercial heart of the region andEuropean Green Capital 2015.In giving the award, The European

Commission recognised Bristol’s suc-cess in creating a green citywith a highquality of life, and the city’s ability todemonstrate rapid progress; environ-mental awareness; and a green busi-ness culture.Green infrastructure is therefore

crucial to the city’s future prosperity.There can be little doubt the regen-

eration of the railway and all the be-nefits that it brings will play asignificant role in sustaining those val-ues in the years ahead.

OVER the next few yearsyour railway will changeout of all recognition.Much-loved High SpeedTrainswill disappear to be

replaced by brand-new electrictrains that will bringmore seats andfaster journeys.It’s an exciting time to be man-

aging director of First Great West-ern and I’m really looking forwardto getting to grips with the changesthat will bring Bristol an extra 45London services a day and a wholehost of great improvements aroundour region.Our HSTs have been around for as

long as I can remember, being in-troduced after that long, hot sum-mer in 1976.Since then they’ve travelled many

millions of miles but it’s now timefor them to bow out.Far from being more of the same,

their replacements are the latest intrain design and Hitachi will bebuilding most of them in Britain.Once they start running in 2017,

they’ll be maintained at depotsacross FGW’s network, including atStokeGiffordwhereHitachi is build-ing new facilities.We call these fantastic new trains

Super Express Trains.They can run on electric power

using the overhead wires that myNetwork Rail colleagues are nowerecting. They can also run withon-board diesel engines which al-lows them to serve passengers atstations beyond the wires.But they’re not the only fresh

trains. I’m bringing air-conditionedtrains to work services out to Avon-mouth, Bath, Taunton, Cardiff andPortsmouth in place of today’sfour-wheel Pacers – which havenever been popular – and Sprintersthat date from the mid-1980s.Their replacement Turbo trains

are not brand-new but I’m confidentthey’ll be a step change forward forcommuters and local passengers.They’ll bring more seats at peak

times to make that journey to workmore bearable – a 52 per cent in-crease for Bristol.With partners, we’re investing £50

million to make stations better andthere’s a £2.2 million fund aimed atputting ideas from local communit-ies into action. I can’t wait to seewhat ideas come forward.I’m looking to help local councils

push forward with their MetroWestplans to return passenger trains toPortishead and the Henbury Loop.We’ll continue our support for theTransWilts rail project which hasproved so incredibly successful inits first year.More trains running towards

Gloucester and Cheltenham fromSwindon will provide more seatsand more travel opportunities.All these great improvements will

help our economy.We’re helping local people reach

jobs and services. We’re helpinglocal businesses reach customers –every extra passenger on our trainscould mean a car taken off the road,

providing space to travel and trade.We’re already rolling out wifi to

help you keep in touch with friendsand family.We’ll be bringing 100 extra

staff to help you with yourjourneys.I want to see more

trains running on timeand have committed inthis new deal to deliv-ering that pledge.It will not be an easy

task with so much workto do with Network Rail’s£7.5 billion improvementplans and our new trains tointroduce.But I have great confidence in my

great team of railwaymen and

women. They are the people whowork hard day and night to bringyou the service you want.The changes coming to your rail-

way are so big that I think ourrailway’s creator, Isam-bard Kingdom Brunel,would be proud of theway we’re modern-ising the railway hebuilt.After all, his rail-

way transformed ourpart of the world into avibrant and prosperous

area. That’s why I’m de-liberately looking back at

our great heritage as we move for-ward to become oncemore the GreatWestern Railway.Mark Hopwood

“We’re helping localpeople reach jobsand services. We’rehelping localbusinesses reachcustomers – everyextra passenger onour trains couldmean a car taken offthe road, providingspace to travel andtrade.

● One of the new Super ExpressTrains, coming to Bristol in 2017

Managing directorFirst Great Western

HUGE IMPROVEMENTS WILL PUTBringing uscloser tothe capital

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BRISTOL is an attractive propos-ition for investors. The over-heating of both property andtalent prices in London is for-cing companies to locate further

afield. Meanwhile property investors areseeing the potential of good returns andon small investments than they wouldhave to make in the capital.

Crucial to Bristol’s appeal is its loc-ation and infrastructure.

A direct rail link to London, at thecross roads of the M4 and M5 linkingSouth Wales, the South West, West Mid-lands and, again, London.

There’s also land available, albeit out oftown, with Avonmouth/Severnside saidto be the largest brown field developmentsite in Western Europe.

And there’s plenty of development onthe cards in the northern fringes of thecity, around Filton, Emersons Green andCribbs Causeway.

But while infrastructure has servedthe area well, it can’t assume the job isdone. Current and future investment ininfrastructure is vital to unlocking fur-ther development.

Matt Cross, head of inward investmentagency Invest Bristol and Bath, said theelectrification of the Great Western Rail-way to Paddington was already having animpact, and it won’t even be ready foranother two years.

“That story is a really important one tous,” he said.

“It really helps. A lot of the companieswe are dealing with are coming out ofLondon.

“They need somewhere to continue togrow where they can hire the right levelof talent but also can get back into Lon-don quickly.

“So the electrification of the line mak-ing journeys shorter and linking intoCrossRail so you can get across London ishugely important.”

It’s not just about rail. Matt believestwo new motorway junctions would haveclear benefits too, a new junction on theM49 – which was awarded funding in theAutumn Statement last year – and an-other on the M4 close to the Bristoland Bath Science Park in EmersonsGreen.

“Motorway junctions unlock poten-tial,” said Matt.

“There is no doubt that Avonmouthand Severnside is constricted because ofits access.

“While it is an such an amazing loc-ation between three motorways, there isonly one point of entry to the motorwayand that’s through the more congestedsouthern end of the site.

“All the huge acreage at the north endof the site has got so much potential formajor manufacturers and distributionand the junction would enable us tounlock that.

“Similarly at Emersons Green, busi-nesses want to be up and down the M4quickly and a junction there would see itbecome a fundamental part of the M4corridor.”

So while Bristol’s road, rail and airlinks make it a good bet, there’splenty more untapped potential to come.

Potentialready to beunlocked

Assistant Editor (Business)[email protected]

● Mark Hopwood of First Great Western

PUT REGION IN FAST LANE

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The demand for new homescontinues to grow but supplyis falling further behind.Rupert Janisch reports

IT’S widely agreed that a short-age of affordable housing is oneof the biggest issues facing oursociety today. Even though a gen-eration of homeowners have be-

nefited hugely from rising houseprices, the point has surely come atwhich the problems of affordabilityhave outgrown the benefits of priceescalation.The housing market in London is

still strong, driven partly by foreignbuyers driving up prices. But acrossthe rest of the UK, the market isstuttering, as prices fall in some re-gions and rise slightly in some oth-ers.An exception is Bristol, where

property agents will tell you thatdemand is exceptionally high andsome have even predicted 24 per centrises over the next five years.A result is that the housebuilding

industry in the city region is beingproductive, as new developmentscome to fruition across the area.Gordon Isgrove, senior director at

Bilfinger GVA in Bristol, said: “Thehousingmarket in the greater Bristolregion is performing well; houseprices have been rising, developmentactivity increasing – all underpinnedby strong demand generated from thestrength of our diverse economy inBristol and decades of under-provi-sion of new housing.“There are a number of large new

housing developments across thearea that will provide a supply of newhomes over the next decade, theseinclude Emerson’s Green and CribbsPatchway New Neighbourhood andNorth Yate extension in SouthGloucestershire, the former Cad-burys factory in Keynsham, theformer Bath MoD sites in BANES,Hengrove Park, Central apartmentmarket in Bristol and Locking Park-lands, Haywood Village and Park-lands in North Somerset.”Despite the new developments,

Gordon sounded a note of caution,warning that activity is still short ofwhere it needs to be.He said: “The pace and provision of

delivering newhomes is still howeverwell below that which is required –suggested figures indicate we need tobuild around 240,000 new homes inthe UK per annum, but in fact we areonly building around 120,000 eachyear.“This is the fundamental problem

with our housing market in key eco-nomic areas such asBristol. All of thegovernment initiatives, such as helpto buy, have helped improve the hous-ing market to date, but very few ofthese are addressing the supply ofnew housing.”It begs the question why this is the

case and why political parties havefailed to address this over the dec-ades. According to Gordon, it is be-cause building in someone’sneighbourhood is unpopular and nota vote winner.He said: “Planning policy has been

changed by different governments

but has failed to allow the market todeliver what is in demand. Until sup-ply of new housing is addressed andincreased, which will take years,house priceswill remainhigh and theyoung will grow up as a generation ofrenters.”“What is required is a more robust

approach by local authorities in al-locating more housing sites, as wellas being quicker in turning aroundplanning applications – maybe afast-track system to deliver planningpermission for major sites. Local au-thorities need more resources to dealwith major applications to ensurethey are dealt with efficiently andexpediently.“Government initiatives need to

target increasing the supply of hous-ing in the right areas, which couldinclude increasing funding for major

urban extensions for the provision ofinfrastructure.“We also need house builders, de-

velopers and the construction in-dustry to step up and increase theiroutput.“The last recession had a devast-

ating impact upon the small-to-me-dium-size developers, and as aconsequence we have lost a signi-ficant and important proportion ofthis market.“The next Government needs to

consider how it can help new andsmall developers grow in order toincrease output. There is a great op-portunity for housing associations tobecomemore actively involved in dir-ect development – some of themalready are – butwe need thewhole ofthis sector to be more aggressive inthis approach.”

LONG-TERM PLANNING NEEDED TO

Gordon Isgrove, seniordirector at Bilfinger GVA in

Bristol

“The pace and provisionof delivering new homesis still well below thatwhich is required –suggested figuresindicate we need to buildaround 240,000 newhomes in the UK perannum, but in fact we areonly building around120,000 each year.

● One of the major schemes planned, onFilton airfield, includes 2,675 newhomes, part of the wider CribbsPatchway New Neighbourhood, whichwill deliver around 5,700 new homes.

● Demand for houses in Bristol isexceptionally high

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senior sustainabilityadvisorColliers InternationalSouth West

Expert eye

2014 was a bumper yearfor the Bristol officemarket. Transactionvolumes reached levelsnot seen since before

the 2008 financial crisis, andwith many firms now looking toexpand their floor-space in thecity, it looks likely that a num-ber of newcomers will also beestablishing themselves overthe coming year.

Alongside this renewed senseof buoyancy, Bristol is celebrat-ing its year as European GreenCapital, resulting in an addi-tional focus on buildings whichmeet sound environmental cre-dentials. This can includeproviding healthy working en-vironments for staff, reducingenergy costs and carbon emis-sions, and demonstrating com-mitment to the sustainabilityagenda.

Sustainability assessmentsare the most straightforwardway of obtaining robust indic-ations of the holistic perform-ance of a potential asset. ABREEAM ‘Excellent’ or ‘Out-standing’ rating will be of par-ticular interest to those firmslooking to take on an environ-mentally sound asset.

Refurbishment and re-fitswithin a building can alsoprovide significant opportunit-ies to improve on sustainabilityperformance. Again, sustainab-ility assessment methods can beused to inform the planning,and the SKA rating system canprovide a sound and practicalbasis to incorporate sustainablefeatures into the fabric andM&E systems.

Though sustainability assess-ments certainly have their uses,arguably the most important –yet often overlooked – issue toconsider is operational per-formance; even the most energyefficient building will performpoorly if operated in an inef-ficient way.

In this context, occupationalperformance data is crucial.

Recent research by the De-partment of Energy & ClimateChange (DECC) indicated thatnearly 30 per cent of energy-costsavings which are availablethrough improved efficiency,could be achieved with zero cap-ital expenditure. These findingsillustrate clearly that the incor-poration of detailed meteringand controls can help buildingoperators identify ‘quick wins’ –easy modifications where costand carbon savings can easilybe made.

Essentially, the message isthis: to look for buildings withhigh BREEAM or LEED ratingsis a solid strategy for finding themost environmentally soundproperties.

However, occupiers need to beaware that in order to truly be-nefit from a sustainably de-signed building, there must be acommitment to ongoing meas-urement, monitoring and thor-ough management of energyand resource use in order tofully reap the benefits.

Housebuilders such as TaylorWimpey describe the market in theBristol area as “vibrant”, and citeother factors as holding the industryback.

Managing director of the Bristoloffice, Keith Simmons, said: “Westrongly believe that new talent needsto be brought through to address theshortage of skills as developmentrises to a higher level with a greaternumber of homes being built year onyear.”

Such arguments also raise many ofthe other issues facing the housingmarket, such as the debate over theuse of brownfield sites, which somefigures suggest could provide roomfor up to a million homes around theUK.

And it could be that popular opin-ion is sufficiently swinging to tip the

healthy numbers of sales, even ifother areas such as Wiltshire andrural Gloucestershire are strug-gling.

“We used to see people coming outof Reading and the South East whowere working in Swindon, and maybeBristol or Bath,” he said.

“So the Junction 17/18 of the M4area, places like Malmesbury for ex-ample, were quite often occupied bycouples working in both.

“Of late we don’t have a transientpopulation moving into Swindon butit seems that Wiltshire andGloucestershire are now the Bristoldormitory, with buyers coming froma BS postcode and pushing them-selves out within a half hour’s trav-elling distance of the city.

“Anecdotally, I’ve heard from anagent I know in Bristol that

everything is getting sold on sealedbids and often about £20,000 over theasking price. Agents are getting sev-eral buyers for every property inBristol, which seems to be a bit of ahot spot.

“So Bristol’s bucking the nationaltrend, whereas the marketplace fur-ther out in the more rural areas is alittle bit patchy. Given that it’s anelection year I wouldn’t expect any-thing different. Until the election isout of the way then I can’t envisage areturn to normality, because peopletend to hold their breath before theelection happens.”

But whatever the short-term polit-ics, it’s clear that we need long-termstrategic planning, bold policymakers and a focus on skills andtraining if we are to build the homeswe need for the future.

SOLVE THE HOMES CRISIS

James Pyle, James Pyle &Co, Wiltshire

“ It seems that Wiltshireand Gloucestershire arenow the Bristoldormitory, with buyerscoming from a BSpostcode and pushingthemselves out within ahalf hour’s travellingdistance of the city.”

Gordon Isgrove, seniordirector at Bilfinger GVA

in Bristol

“There is a fundamentalproblem with our housingmarket in key economicareas such as Bristol. Allof the governmentinitiatives, such as help tobuy, have helped improvethe housing market todate, but very few ofthese are addressing thesupply of new housing.”

argument in favour of prime green-field sites to.

A notable example is land by Junc-tion 13 of the M5, west of Stonehouse,where residents are gamely battlingagainst development but which,given its prime location close to thesettlements of Cheltenham,Gloucester, Stroud and also Bristol,you suspect that market forces maywin the day before too long.

Indeed the rise of house prices inBristol is having a knock-on effect forthe surrounding areas, too.

James Pyle is the owner of in-dependent estate agency James Pyle& Co, based in Malmesbury in Wilt-shire but selling property all over theCotswolds and down into Stroud andthe Five Valleys.

He said that areas within com-muter distance of Bristol are seeing

Keith Simmons, Taylor Wimpey

“We strongly believe thatnew talent needs to bebrought through toaddress the shortage ofskills as developmentrises to a higher level witha greater number ofhomes being built yearon year.”

Quick wins ingreen drive

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#GreaterWest

Find out what this means for you at firstgreatwestern.co.uk/GreaterWest and on Twitter @FGW

We’re proud to have been appointed as custodians of the GreatWestern Railway for another 3½ years. It allows the hard work ofupgrading the network and our services to continue.Together with Network Rail we are in the middle of a £7.5 billionimprovement programme. It represents the greatest investmentsince Isambard ingdom Brunel rst built our railway. ike the greatman, our vision is to pump lifeblood into the region once more.How By conducting the biggest eet upgrade in a generation. Withbigger, faster, more frequent trains with free on-board Wi-Fi, and anextra 3 million seats per year across the network, by 2018.New Super Express Trains will be introduced from 2017, with 15%more standard class seats. We’re adding 45 services from Bristol toondon per day, and cutting the ourney time by up to 17 minutes.

We will be bringing in bigger, more modern trains from 2016 andadding 52% extra seats to our services in and around Bristol. We’realso investing £50 million in stations with our partners.But our commitment to the region extends beyond the tracks. We’vecreated a £2.2 million fund to help lower-income communities. We’redeveloping a Get Into Railways mentoring programme with thePrince’s Trust. And introducing free travel to interviews for thelong-term unemployed. Helping people, supporting communitiesand improving services. We’ll be working tirelessly for the next3½ years to build a greater west.

The ourneycontinues.

B I ING A GREATER WEST

Documents

Building for the Future 22 April 2015