Welsh Government and RICS have reported in the past few weeks that the instinctive optimism within construction professionals in Wales is being backed up by official data. 
In fact, the construction industry in Wales is outperforming the UK as a whole. The longer term trend for the Index of Construction for Wales shows an 8.7% increase when comparing 2013 with 2012 (whilst according to latest Office of National Statistics figures over the same time UK output fell by 1.3%) and the short term quarterly movements in the construction industry also show output increased in Wales by 2.8%.

Talking to ITV Cymru, Owain Llywelyn, Welsh spokesperson for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said the figures are 'pleasing' and shows there is an increased confidence in the construction industry across the UK, not just Wales. 

Welsh Government economy minister Edwina Hart said: “The latest figures showing an increase in the number of construction jobs in Wales and that the construction sector in Wales is outperforming the UK as whole.”

The sense in the sector is that there is an overall surge in confidence and more work generally. The house building market is often seen as a barometer for this and there has definitely been a rise in confidence but the talk of more investment in Welsh infrastructure, news about contracts being negotiated for the Wylfa nuclear power station on Anglesey, as well as SMEs competing for work around the Welsh super prison all contribute to the feel good factor around Welsh construction.

What Welsh construction needs to focus on now is taking advantage of these opportunities by doing the work collaboratively and pursuing best practice.

Cardiff Council, with support from Welsh Government, Technology Strategy Board, Cadw and Low Carbon Research Institute, is offering funding packages totalling up to £450,000, to develop innovative measures that will improve the energy performance of traditional & historic buildings.

The Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) process is being used to invite feasibility studies for affordable retrofit products and services which reduce energy consumption or generate energy whilst being fully compatible and appropriate to the particular characteristics of historic and/or traditional buildings. The intention is to use traditionally constructed historic buildings from the Council’s property estate to demonstrate and test successful feasibility studies

Accordingly, solution providers are encouraged to submit proposals for innovations that could bring a new concept, approach, methodology, tool or technology to the retrofit market. Proposals must address the following key challenges:

- be fit for purpose and compatible with the fabric of traditionally constructed (generally pre-1919) buildings;

- be visually sympathetic to the historic character of buildings designated for their special architectural or historic interest;

- increase the energy performance of the building;

- demonstrable scalability and additionality that will result in solutions that are affordable and easy to apply within the wider retrofit sector, especially for older buildings.

The competition will have two phases:

Phase 1 is intended to show the technical feasibility of the proposed innovations. The development contracts placed will be for a maximum of four months (April – July 2014) and have a maximum value of £30,000 per project.

Phase 2 contracts are intended to develop and evaluate prototypes or demonstrators from the more promising innovative solutions from Phase 1. Funding for this phase is not expected to exceed £150,000 per demonstrator project with an end date of March 2015.

At this stage contracts will only be let for Phase 1 with a further evaluation/selection process set for Phase 2. A limited number of places are available for Phase 2, with only the best projects from Phase 1 going forward. Applicants should state their goals and present an outline plan for Phase 2, as an explicit part of the path to full commercial implementation, in their Phase 1 proposal.

The project is open to applicants who are legal entities, being particularly attractive to small and medium enterprises.

We will be holding a briefing event at 1:30pm on Tuesday 21st January 2014 at City Hall, Cardiff. Those interested in applying are encouraged to register to attend at heritageretrofitsbri.eventbrite.co.uk.

Application packs will be released on 10th January 2014.

Application submissions for Phase 1 are due back no later than noon on Friday 28th February 2014 by email to heritagesbri@cardiff.gov.uk

Download: Document A – SBRI Brief
Download: Document B – SBRI Invitation to Tender
Download: Document C – Guidance for Applicants
Download: Document D – Application Form
Download: Document E – FAQs
Download: Document F – Notable Dates for Bidders
Download: Document G – Example SBRI Contract

Late submissions or submissions by post will not be accepted.

If you have any queries please contact:

Ross Cannon
Conservation Policy & Projects
Cardiff Council

Email or Tel: 02920 873222