Angle Peninsula Primary School kicks off the New Year with Enabling Zero waste. 

Enabling Zero Waste is under way at Angle Peninsula Primary School Pembrokeshire. A third EZW initiative for WRW, who is the appointed main contractor for the construction of the new school. WRW occupied the site early in October 2016 and anticipates completing the scheme towards the end of 2017.

The EZW team are reviewing possibilities of implementing material take back schemes and waste segregation best practices have been implemented to increase recycling rates and avoid waste sent to landfill. A canteen waste service has been provided on behalf of Pembrokeshire Council, offering a road side collection service for the duration of the project, preventing food and canteen waste from entering mixed waste skips, and helping to increase recycling rates.

WRW has improved their waste performance on each EZW project. A project update and best practices will be reported in due course. 

Enabling Zero Waste is a CEW initiative which aims to establish if and how the industry can achieve the zero waste targets outlined in the Welsh Government’s waste strategy document Towards Zero Waste. We work alongside the industry to identify challenges in achieving the targets and disseminating best practices. To find out more please visit www.cewales.org.uk/enablingzerowaste or follow @EZWaste_wales or call 02920 493322 to speak to a member of the team.

The Constructing Excellence in Wales awards are recognised across the Welsh built environment as the biggest and brightest celebration of best practice. They are a clear demonstration of the core strength of construction in Wales and the desire and commitment to deliver buildings, roads, bridges and facilities of all kinds in a collaborative and sustainable manner.

Over the last ten years the awards have grown to become one of the highlights of the business year, with over 500 people regularly turning out to witness the best of construction across Wales. This year we received over 100 high quality submissions from both the public and private sector across Wales.

The awards dinner next year will be take place on Friday 14th July 2017, at The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport. Winners are selected across 12 categories and go on to compete in the National Constructing Excellence Awards, held every year in the autumn.

The sponsorship packages available are detailed at http://www.cewales.org.uk/cew-awards/sponsorship/ with all the benefits you will receive from supporting the categories.

A new £1.4m construction centre of excellence is planned for Ystrad Mynach college campus. The new Coleg y Cymoedd centre could open from as soon as September.

A new £1.4m centre of excellence where construction students can learn their trade could soon be built in the Rhymney Valley. Coleg y Cymoedd has announced the new facility, which will serve learners across the South Wales valleys, is being planned for its Ystrad Mynach campus - and it could open its doors next autumn. 

The project will be equally funded by Coleg y Cymoedd and Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools programme, and will include an extension to the current construction building - as well as significant upgrades to the existing centre and its equipment. 

It will include the creation of a brand-new UKAS-accredited gas training assessment facility, to deliver a wide range of specialist gas training courses. 

As a result, the existing curriculum will be expanded to include brickwork, plumbing, plastering and gas training, with further plans to expand into other areas of teaching such as painting and decorating. Industry-focused activity - including short courses - will also be offered.

Construction work will run alongside classes at the current centre, while upgrades to existing facilities will take place over the summer to minimise disruption, according to the college. The existing centre will remain open until the new one is complete.

Judith Evans, principal of Coleg y Cymoedd, said: "We are thrilled to announce our exciting plans for the Construction Centre of Excellence at our Ystrad Mynach campus.

"Coleg y Cymoedd is committed to providing our learners with access to the latest industry-standard technologies and focused training programmes.

"With its range of modern facilities, the new centre will provide a valuable resource for both learners and employers across South Wales, ensuring young people leave college highly-skilled to meet the needs of industry. We look forward to unveiling the project next year."

Construction could begin on site by March 2017, and could then be completed in September 2017, subject to planning approval.

Coleg y Cymoedd says the project brings its recent investment in its four campuses - at Ystrad Mynach, Nantgarw, Rhondda and Aberdare - to £70m in recent years. That includes a new £22m campus which is currently being built in Aberdare, to replace the existing facility in Cwmdare.

Welsh Government has produced a White Paper, “Securing Wales’ Future: Transition from the European Union to a new relationship with Europe” and a statement about it is definitely worth a read.

Last week we published a White Paper, “Securing Wales’ Future: Transition from the European Union to a new relationship with Europe” which can be found online at: www.gov.wales/brexit.  Arrangements are being made for printed copies of the document to be provided to Assembly Members.

The White Paper has been developed jointly by the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru, and as such draws on support from three parties. We hope other parties will also find some areas of common ground in the approach we have set out.

The White Paper provides a comprehensive and credible plan for the negotiations with our partners in Europe on the UK’s exit from the European Union – based on solid evidence that places Wales’ priorities centre stage but which is designed to work for the UK.

Setting out our approach in this White Paper reflects our commitment to engage and work with stakeholders across Wales on the implications of the UK’s exit from the EU. The development of its content has benefitted from a wide range of discussions with stakeholders across Wales, including through the European Advisory Group. Whereas we hope the approach set out in the White Paper will attract wide support, we are not attributing the direct backing of any individuals or external organisations to the document.

The White Paper represents a fundamental contribution to our discussions with the UK Government and the devolved governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland. From the outset, we have engaged constructively with them on this agenda and the White Paper continues this positive approach.

The decision is made that the UK will leave the EU. The challenge we all face now is ensuring that we secure the best possible deal for Wales and the UK, and that is what the approach set out in the White Paper seeks to achieve.

Kier has awarded a £1m+ package to specialist contractor Design & Display Structures for 17 towers to be installed at the new Trago Mills superstore in South Wales. 

D&D will now design, manufacture and install the 20-metre-tall towers at the £40m retail complex which is due to open in Spring 2018.

The modular GRP cladding kits will be factory fabricated off site in fully finished condition ready to be shipped for fast track hoisting and fixing to the primary steelwork structures located around the building perimeter.

Two of the towers will be habitable and enhanced accordingly with thermal insulation and double glazing.

Tower cladding installation works are programmed to start at the end of Spring 2017.

The Structural Timber Association is setting up a series of visits to member factories to help educate the construction industry about the potential of timber frame.

Members of the Structural Timber Association will be hosting a series of Factory Tours nationwide throughout 2017. These leading companies will be opening the doors to their impressive manufacturing facilities to demonstrate the process of timber frame production and construction from design and storage through to the several mechanical cutting, nailing and finishing procedures to the finished product and delivery to finished goods.

Below are details of tours for the first half of the year but you can keep up to date with all STA events here

Benefits of offsite manufacture presentation:

    Office CAD demo - timber frame design and scheduling
    Production information and work orders
    Production planning and outputs
    Factory layout principles
    In coming raw materials
    Procurement principles and sources
    Cross cutting pre assembly and setting out
    Assembly and labelling, stacking and storage
    Finished goods and work in progress
    Loading / shipping product
    Quality checks
    Quality Management Systems
    Waste and re-cycling
    Fire Risk Mitigation

Who Should Attend?

These tours are FREE to attend and are aimed predominantly at Architects, Engineers, Contractors, Clients, Housebuilders and Developers.

Please note - All tour bookings are secured on a first come, first serve basis.

Contact:

If you have any queries relating to the Factory Tours, please email Bob Davis, Membership Manager at: bob.davis@structuraltimber.co.uk

Date: 8th February 2017  Time: From 9:30 until 12:00
Venue: Neuadd Reichel, Ffriddoedd Road, Bangor, LL57 2TR

The aim of this WKW event is to introduce the new external timber cladding standards and to highlight important durability considerations. The event will enable participants to understand how to successfully specify, detail and use timber rain screens and should be of benefit to clients, architects, specifiers, planning and building control officers as well as sawmills and timber suppliers.   Timber is increasingly being used as a high-performance rain screen.  It is a durable low carbon solution that can also be grown and processed in Wales. This event brings together leading industry experts with detailed knowledge of critically important design and performance issues.

Programme 9:15 - 9:45 Registration   9:45 Welcome Rob Elias - The BioComposites Centre   9:50 Gary Newman - Chief Executive of Woodknowledge Wales Introduction Woodknowledge Wales and the Campaign for Timber Cladding   10:05 Janet Sycamore - Timber Decking and Cladding Association How TDCA can help with your cladding projects   10:20 Dr Ivor Davies - Centre for Wood Science and Technology, Edinburgh Napier University Maximising performance through design BS 8605 External timber cladding, Part 1 specifying, Part 2 design and installation   11:00 Dr Morwenna Spear - BioComposites Centre Weathering and durability Timber modification, experiences of heat modification of Welsh species for external cladding   11:20 Gary Newman - Chief Executive of Woodknowledge Wales Comments and questions   11:40 - 12:30   Tea / coffee and networking

Booking and Cost The cost to attend the event is free but booking is required as numbers are limited.  If you would like to attend, please register via Eventbrite Link to (https://wkw-timber-cladding.eventbrite.co.uk)