We are very excited to congratulate two of our CE West Midlands Awards 2024 winning projects for their wins at the Constructing Excellence National Awards 2024!

Huge Congratulations to Pulse Consult, Stratford-on-Avon District Council, Stratford Town Trust, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) (now Coventry City Council) for Stratford Riverside which won the Delivering Value Award and also to VINCI Building UK, Birmingham Airport, D5 Architects LLP, Cundall or their Next Generation Security Project, Birmingham Airport which won the Integration and Collaborative Working Award.

Three Winning Facts about the Stratford Riverside project:

1. Prioritising Stakeholders- Harnessing the opinions and support of a wide range of stakeholders and project partners was essential. Volunteers, business support, community groups, statutory bodies all came to the table, offered direct help to make it possible. Through the District Council’s central role and LEP support, something special was achieved.

2. Leveraging value- Unlike commercially driven projects, this had to drive value from every pound spent for the improvement of biodiversity, residents and visitors. This engendered genuine support and a will to achieve value.

3. Turning around 30 years of neglect- The majority of this site had unfortunately been neglected and left unmanaged for some 30 years. This project turned this around and set in motion a legacy fund created by biodiversity offset credits to fund the next 3 decades of planned maintenance.

Three Winning Facts about Next Generation Security Project – Birmingham Airport:

1. Collaborative processes fostered a one-team approach that championed client needs.

2. Coordination across disciplines bolstered successful delivery of this highly complex project, to programme and in a live operational environment.

3.Ongoing communication enabled delivery with zero impact to airport operations or customer experience.

 

Tributes continue to be paid to Lord John Prescott, a major figure in Labour politics and the former deputy prime minister, following his death at the age of 86.

Known for his blunt, no-nonsense style, and powerful left hook, Lord Prescott was Sir Tony Blair’s loyal deputy for 10 years after Labour’s 1997 general election landslide. His passing has prompted Martyn Jones to reflect on his impact on construction.

When Labour won power in 1997, he became deputy prime minister, as well as leading a vast department with responsibilities spanning the environment, transport, and the regions.

It was in these roles that he helped negotiate the landmark Kyoto climate change treaty – the Kyoto Protocol – adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 2005. It required 41 countries and the European Union to reduce their emissions of six greenhouse gases by 5.2% below 1990 levels and setting us on the path to combating climate change.

But our focus here is on his role as the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) when he set up a Construction Task Force, chaired by Sir John Egan, to report on the scope for improving the quality and efficiency of UK construction. Their report published in 1998 significantly changed the lexicon and ways of working in much of the industry.

In formulating their proposals for change the Task Force studied the experiences gained at the cutting edge of construction and in other industries that had changed themselves in response to the emerging ICT techno-economic wave in the late 1980s early 90s. In doing so, this was, at the time arguably construction’s most explicit response to the opportunities presented by the new technologies and ways of working associated with the new wave.

They argued that continuous and sustained improvement was achievable if we focussed all our efforts on delivering the value that our customers need, and if we were prepared to challenge the waste and poor quality arising from our existing structures and working practices.

Their challenging targets, based on their own experience and evidence obtained from projects in the UK and overseas, included annual reductions of 10% in construction cost and time, and that defects in projects should be reduced by 20% per year.

Recommendations included radical changes to the processes through which projects were being delivered. They called for an integrated project process to add value around the key elements of focus on the customer, product development and implementation, partnering the supply chain, and production of components.

Sustained improvement should then be delivered through use of techniques for eliminating waste in our supply chains and increasing value for the customer, but they warned that if we were to achieve our full potential, substantial changes in our culture and structure were needed.

Clearly there have been significant moves by government and private clients to procure in ways that encourage collaborative working and foster partnering. And, it is generally considered that much of construction has become more efficient and safer for construction workers following the publication of the Egan report.

The report reenergised interest in offsite manufacturing, Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), an engineering methodology aimed at optimising the efficiency of manufacturing and assembly processes.

The change agenda was driven by several organisations including the Reading Construction Forum, Design Build Foundation, Construction Best Practice Programme, Movement for Innovation (M4I), Rethinking Construction, Be, Constructing Excellence, Construction Clients’ Group, all of which united under the Constructing Excellence umbrella.

Despite these changes and efforts, it is fair to say that the values and principles set out in the report have not been entirely embraced by the industry. Ten years after publication of the report, Sir John stated: ‘…we have to say we’ve got pretty patchy results. And certainly, nowhere near the improvement we could have achieved, or that I expected to achieve…. I guess if I were giving marks out of 10 after 10 years, I’d probably only give the industry about four out of 10’

Some quarter of a century later, how are we now doing in relation to Egan’s values, targets, and strategies for improvement? And how relevant are these in meeting today’s challenges and opportunities? One of Lord Prescott’s mantras might be helpful here: “Traditional values in a modern setting.”

Applying this mantra means taking Egan’s values and principles (maybe with some tweaking) and applying them with renewed vigour but in the context or setting of the new wave, with its shift away from fossil fuels to a green economy; new technologies including renewable energy production and storage; the deployment of AI; along with new structures and cultures and ways of conducting business such as business ecosystems. And in doing so also helping to meet the government’s aspirations to build 1.5 million homes and replace our ageing and increasingly decrepit infrastructure.

A revitalised UK economy is laying the foundations for a construction boom over the next two years—because nothing says “we’re building back better” like a few more cranes dotting the skyline. After a brief flirtation with recession in late 2023, the economy is back in growth mode in 2024, and momentum is expected to build (pun intended) through 2025 and 2026. It’s a blueprint for progress that’s got the industry dusting off its hard hats and steel-capped boots.

Economic growth is forecast at a modest 1% for 2024—think of it as the economy clearing the rubble of last year’s setbacks. This rebound is driven by higher government spending and a recovery in consumer activity. The early July election helped level the political landscape, boosting investor confidence and hammering home the message that stability is back.

Consumers, cautiously optimistic, are spending again, supported by a small rise in real household incomes. While wage growth has slowed (from a hefty 7.3% in 2023 to about 4% this year), inflation has fallen faster than a wobbly scaffold, giving households more financial stability. Lower inflation has also paved the way for interest rates to ease, helping the housing market lay its first bricks of recovery and giving businesses the confidence to dream big again.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor’s Budget rolled out a mix of tax measures—most of them aimed at wealthier households. Adjustments to inheritance tax, capital gains tax, non-dom rules, and VAT on school fees might be rattling the chandeliers in certain circles, but they’re expected to leave overall consumer spending and confidence largely intact. Plus, public sector pay rises and increased government spending are cementing near-term economic growth.

Even more exciting is the Chancellor’s decision to loosen fiscal rules, giving the green light to increased government borrowing for infrastructure and construction projects. It’s like handing the industry a shiny new toolbox and saying, “Go build us a brighter future.” This policy shift is expected to underpin growth across the built environment—just the kind of reinforcement the economy needs.

From 2025 onwards, household incomes are projected to grow even more strongly, providing a solid foundation for consumer-facing construction sectors like private housing, retail, and leisure. Easing borrowing costs, brighter economic conditions, and newfound political stability are also likely to nail down investor confidence in industrial and commercial property markets. The outlook? Rock-solid.

Publicly funded projects, temporarily delayed by the General Election and subsequent programme reviews, are finally back on the drafting table. The 2025/26 Budget commitments have cleared up the confusion, enabling government departments to press ahead with long-planned projects. The upcoming Spring Spending Review will lay out the longer-term funding framework, setting the stage for a public sector construction boom in the latter half of the forecast period.

In short, the UK economy is building momentum, and the construction industry is poised to raise the roof. With steady growth prospects, fiscal reforms, and greater stability, the next few years look set to be a cornerstone for progress. Now, who’s ready to break ground?

Stuart​​​​ Smith BEng (Hons)

Senior Business Development Manager- Morgan Sindall

We were so taken by Trevor’s presentation at our 2024 Annual Construction Summit that we have decided to adopt Mindflow as our chosen charity for 2025. The link between football and construction is very close and we feel the charity will be able to reach thousands of people with this very important message. We hope CE Midlands members will be generous throughout next year.

Mindflow, a charity dedicated to supporting the mental health crisis in the construction industry is delighted to be named as Constructing Excellence Midland’s charity partner for 2025.

Recently launched as the charity arm of Causeway Technologies, Mindflow – spearheaded by former England International, Trevor Steven is championing mental health in construction by joining the dots between mental health, construction and football.

Research shows that male construction site workers are three times more likely to die from suicide than the average male in the UK. In fact, suicide kills 20 times more construction workers than accidents in the workplace. With these alarming statistics, Trevor Steven decided to personally visit construction sites across the UK to speak directly to the workforce to understand first-hand what the main factors were that are contributing to this crisis.

Construction, being known for its predominantly male and macho image, Trevor was able to cut through and engage with this audience, with his time in football being a similar environment to work within. This valuable insight led to the findings being published and Mindflow being created to support the industry in instigating positive change.

Trevor Steven, Mindflow CEO comments: “CE Midlands are a great fit for Mindflow, sharing our commitment to the construction industry and I’ve really enjoyed being attending some great events this year and meeting people across their network. We are so pleased to be named charity partner for 2025 – the inaugural year for Mindflow as we align with CE Midlands’ vision and it gives us a great platform to support the industry in partnership with you. I am looking forward to working more closely with the team and forging a strong collaboration through events and engaging initiatives to champion positive mental health within the industry and work together to make mental health as fundamental as physical health in construction.”

A Meet the Buyer event which attracted more than 100 delegates wanting to learn more about winning work on Shropshire’s flagship construction projects has been hailed a resounding success.

The Shropshire Constructing Excellence event showcased projects in the pipeline for Shropshire, including the regeneration of Shrewsbury’s Riverside and the Station Quarter development in Telford, and the opportunities available for sub-contractors to get involved.

It also included support for subcontractors and supply-chain businesses on the process for procurement and offered key networking opportunities for the sector.

Mark Barrow, chair of Constructing Excellence Midlands Shropshire Club (SCE), said the event at Telford College had given the sector a huge boost.

“This event was a resounding success, and it was clear from the sheer volume of attendees that local businesses have a real interest in wanting to help deliver on the multi-billion-pound pipeline of projects planned for Shropshire. They clearly want to play their role in helping to shape the future landscape of the region.

“Bringing together sub-contractors and supply chain businesses with leading contractors and public sector procurement teams in this way is a fantastic way to ensure we continue to strengthen the sector, the local economy and forge new relationships which bring jobs and training opportunities for local people.

“The expo-style Meet the Buyer event gave attendees the chance to talk to contractors and gain a better understanding of timescales for projects, scale of opportunity and the

process for bidding for work and it is clear from early feedback from the sector found this hugely beneficial.” Shropshire Council, Telford & Wrekin Council, Lovell, McPhillips, Pave Aways, SWG Group, IHP, JN Bentley and Shropshire Homes were among the list of contractors in attendance.

As well as meeting buyers, those attending also learned from Lovell Partnerships how they can increase their chances of winning work by improving the social value they contribute to construction schemes.

Delegates also received an update on the Building Safety Act from Shropshire-based Safety For.

Telford is the fastest-growing town in the West Midlands, and the Station Quarter is just one of the major infrastructure projects planned for the next decade. Made up of commercial, residential and education space – including a new sixth form for Telford College.

Shropshire Council has a range of projects in the pipeline or already being delivered – these include the transformation of the Riverside area of Shrewsbury, a new roundabout and railway bridge on the A49 at Craven Arms, and town centre improvements and the Oswestry Innovation Park.

For more information on the Constructing Excellence Midlands – Shropshire Club and to keep up to date with future events visit https://www.cemidlands.org/clubs/shropshire

The last time we had a new Labour government back in 1997 they set up an industry task group, led by Sir John Egan, charged with identifying ways to improve the quality and efficiency of the UK construction industry, and deliver “best value” in infrastructure projects.

Their report influenced our thinking for a generation, encouraging us to adopt best practices from other industries, particularly automotive. It advocated radical change, to think beyond the boundaries of our projects to unlock the potential in our supply chains, and to embrace the new discipline of supply chain management.

The change of government set Martyn Jones thinking about the transformation we need today if we are to meet their aspirations for productivity-raising infrastructure projects – such as replacing dilapidated schools and hospitals – initiating new green energy projects, and building more council housing.

Alongside this, the government is also committed to regional development to deliver economic growth to all the countries and regions of the UK, and address longstanding challenges, such as our flatlining productivity, lack of skills, and poor transport.

Construction will play a hugely important role in integrating and fulfilling these parallel missions. But there are significant challenges meaning that we probably need to once again rethink our boundaries, and this time beyond projects, frameworks, and supply chains, and even community-based development.

Perhaps we need to see construction as a wider ecosystem. Alex Vaughan, CEO at Costain, could be nudging us in in this direction. Commenting after the recent Budget he argues, “Shaping, creating, and delivering complex, transformative infrastructure demands effective planning, clear decision-making, and collaboration between the industry, government, and regulators. The UK needs to reset its relationship with infrastructure by committing to a 10- or 20-year plan …. enabling essential infrastructure to be delivered more productively, whilst providing consistency and continuity of demand for investors and the supply chain.”

Seeing construction as a business ecosystem along these lines requires working much more in concert with key players nationally and in our regions to gain the maximum value from investments by – yes of course – pulling levers in construction but also in the wider economic, environmental, political, and social environments.

But what is a business ecosystem? It’s where a cluster of organisations coordinate with other, largely independent economic players, to create a different coherent offering. A network of organisations working together to create value for customers beyond what is possible within the boundaries of individual organisations, projects, or supply chains. The goal is to create more value collectively than the members could create on their own.

It works by the ecosystem producing goods and services of value to customers, who are themselves members of the ecosystem. The member ‘organisms’ include suppliers, customers, lead producers, competitors, and other key stakeholders such as local and regional governments.

Over time, they coevolve (in biology, coevolution occurs when two or more species reciprocally affect each other’s evolution through the process of natural selection) their capabilities and roles, and tend to align themselves with the directions and leadership set by one or more companies at the centre of the ecosystem.

Those companies holding leadership roles may change over time, but the function of a business ecosystem leader is valued by the community because it enables members to move toward shared visions and purpose, to align and maximise their investments, and to find mutually supportive roles

The key characteristics of a business ecosystem include engagement with customers, value sharing based on a win-win approach, organisational entrepreneurship alignment, and continuous smart and focused learning.

Here are some potential interventions that could support business ecosystems, each of which applies to the economy overall but may be more effectively pursued by targeting a cluster of firms within our regions with their uniquely shared challenges and prospects.

First, business ecosystems require information – both internally and externally – to identify opportunities and unlock expertise and potential. This information and research can be used to inform organisations and other stakeholders about their strengths, areas for growth and the priorities for shared action.

And there’s access to capital of course. Firms critical to driving both innovation and job creation, need capital to grow.

Next are cluster-based talent development strategies and intra- and inter-organisational learning to refresh and develop the specific skills and competencies needed in that ecosystem.

Engagement with research and development activities within universities, other research institutions, and private sector firms can yield more value and impact if coordinated and applied by an ecosystem.

Then there’s the specific role construction can play in a business ecosystem. The provision of tailored infrastructure and placemaking is seen as critical precondition for growth of a business ecosystem, such as logistics facilities or high-speed broadband connections. And interventions related to research commercialisation or talent development may also require physical investments, such as applied research labs, data centres, or training facilities.

After an excellent Construction Summit in October at Aston Villa, Birmingham, we are happy to be able to share the presentation slides for the day

Please CLICK HERE to view.

The speakers were as follows:

Welcome – Uma Shanker, Chair CE Midlands

Keynote Address – Richard Parker, Mayor West Midlands

The economy 100 days on from the election –  Max Wilkes, AtkinsRéalis, Construction & Cost Intelligence Lead

Carbon Accounting – Nigel Tonks, Sustainable Development Manager at Arup

Carbon Accounting – Rebecca Clayton, Valuations Partner at PwC

Building Safety Advice Notes – Julie Bell-Barker, City of Wolverhampton Council (presentation on advice notes prepared by the CE Midlands Building Safety Theme Group)

A word from our sponsor, Acivico Group Kevin Blunden

Panel Session:

• Contractor – Adrian Speller (Speller Metcalfe)
• Consultant – Ian Tipton (Stride Treglown)
• Supplier – Andrew Shepherd (Ibstock Futures)
• Client – Darren Bramley (Birmingham Airport)

Launch of CE Midlands new Social Value Theme Group – Sue Woollett (Stepnell)

Trevor Steven in conversation with Andrew Carpenter

 

There can be no doubt that the need for collaborative working within the UK construction industry has never been greater. Report after report since the mid-nineties have outlined the necessity for collaboration to replace the traditional adversarial culture and for integrated supply chains to replace the fragmented nature of the sector. More recently Dame Judith Hackitt commented in her review following the Grenfell tragedy:

“We need to maintain the spirit of collaboration and partnership which has been a feature of the review process to date. In a sector that is excessively fragmented, we have seen during this review a will to work together to deliver consistent solutions. This will be especially important going forward to change culture.”

With productivity one of the current priorities within the new Labour Government, the need for our industry to adopt lean principles is essential and to be able to do this we must adopt a collaborative culture. The only way we can deliver ‘more for less’ or to get a ‘bigger bang for our buck’ is to have integrated collaborative supply chains. This level five diploma, academically benchmarked by the University of Wales, sets out to deliver the tools and techniques individuals will need to ensure that this essential collaborative culture can be delivered. One client recently commented, ‘the UK construction knows the word collaboration but doesn’t have the necessary knowledge, behaviours and culture to deliver it’.

Delegates undertaking this diploma course will add additional important skills in collaborative working to the advantage of themselves, their organisation and any projects on which they are involved. Clients will want their supply chains to have these skills and supply chain members may use them to win work. This diploma course provides you with the chance to be an early adopter in this critical area.

We are delighted to announce that the latest Level 5 Diploma in Collaboration in Construction course will commence in spring 2025 and that we are now taking bookings at diploma@cemidlands.org

When the Diploma in Collaboration in Construction was developed back in 2020-21, we worked with the University of Wales to academically benchmark the delivery, ensuring it met the rigours of the typical delivery of a short-duration Level 5 qualification. Private sector education organisations and University’s may class this as a form of MOOC or unaccredited CPD learning and therefore no unit credit values, or formal qualification are attached to this programme by UWTSD.

The focus of the development is the alignment of ‘industry collaboration’ in sharing best practices across the supply chain, very much experiential and led by industry experts and not traditional academic delivery and assessment. UWTSD is proud to support Constructing Excellence Midlands by previously academically benchmarking this innovative programme. This allows learners to recognise the level of academic learning being delivered and achieved for those who complete the course, even though it doesn’t result in a formal qualification.

We only have 16 places available so please book early for this eight month online course.

Starting in April 2025 CLICK HERE FOR FULL DIPLOMA BROCHURE

Welcome to the November edition of CE Midlands Newsletter, it’s been seven months now of the new ways under the Building Safety Act and its associated regulation changes.

Competency is now expected to turn to other Disciplines now that most Registered Building Inspectors have completed their BiCOF competency assessments. The assessments and Regulatory changes have took some getting used to and definitely slowed down the rate of construction.

An important part of these new changes being the requirement for Principal Designers, Principal Contractors and indeed Clients to submit declarations of compliance with the Building Regulations and ensure all Regulation 38 information has been collated in order for Building Control Approvers.

An interesting culture change is to ensure sufficient time is planned for Final regulatory inspections to enable the issue of Final/Completion certificates particularly where a deadline date for Practical Completion is targeted. We hope you find this months contents of interest and that the ethos of collaboration continues to support the delivery of Compliant projects.

Important factors to consider on Refurbishment Projects

1.Establish full condition of the building before establishing budget cost and scope (intrusive and non-intrusive surveys).

2.Ensure the consultants have the correct competencies and experience for building age and operational usage(e.g. Listed Building, Swimming Baths, Concert Halls, traditional contract verses contractor Design & Build).

3.Important to have an ‘Intelligent Client’ with the right resource competences and capacity.

4.Ensure a fully completed design before starting construction.

5.Ensure fully costed ‘Risks’, timeline for ‘Risks’ and mitigation plan for ‘Risks’.

6.Governance Structure, decision making process must be robust

7.Managing expectations to non-construction stakeholders,  both internal client structure and externally stakeholders.