Godwin Developments: Go ahead secured for two residential schemes in Nottingham

UK residential and commercial property developer Godwin Developments has today (Wednesday 16 December) secured planning consent from Nottingham City Council’s planning committee for the construction of 102 family homes in the Bulwell area in the city.

The mix of two- and three-bedroom properties will be delivered across two neighbouring developments with a combined land size of 5.2 acres. Both sites are currently vacant and are set to be restored for community use after nearly a decade of being disused.

The Maple Fields development, which will be built on the site of the former Henry Mellish School on Kersall Drive, will contain a total of 57 homes, while the Crescent scheme – situated on the previous Piccadilly Playing Field – will provide an additional 45 dwellings to the local area.

Residents will have easy access to a range of nearby amenities, including supermarkets, a doctor’s surgery, home and retail outlets, eateries, a nursery and primary and secondary schools. The new schemes are also located near well-serviced bus routes and are just a 10-minute walk from Bulwell Train Station, which offers regular services into Nottingham and further afield.

Both developments have been amended after feedback from councillors and residents to incorporate new materials and a colour palette that better reflect the character of the local area. Additional planting, better defined community gateways and improved shared road surfaces have also been included to provide for more sustainable and attractive schemes.

Gurdeep Gill, associate director at Godwin Developments, said: “We are delighted to have secured planning permission for both sites. The developments will support the regeneration of the local area, enhance the provision of high-quality homes in Bulwell and improve local infrastructure. We are also pleased to confirm that these schemes will deliver a higher proportion of affordable homes for the local community than required by planning policy.

“We wish to thank Nottingham City Council’s planning department for working closely with us to shape these proposals and the councillors for giving us the green light to take them to the next stage.

“We would also like to thank the award winning architects CPMG, who designed the scheme, RG+P for project managing the development and Rodgers Leask for expert engineering advice throughout.” 

James Mulcare, land director at Godwin Developments, added: “We are extremely pleased to have secured planning approval for both these suburban housing sites, having worked closely with Nottingham City Council and its planning department during the development process.

“Both schemes align well with our core suburban development principles, which aim to provide high-quality homes for families with a wider choice of tenures and help to improve local communities in key regional cities such as Nottingham.”

Throughout the approximate two-year construction period, the developments are set to create over 300 temporary jobs and contribute in excess of £150,000 to the local community and infrastructure.

This announcement follows news of Godwin Development’s planning approval of another residential scheme in Doncaster, which will see the creation of 60 Build-to-Rent homes and strengthens further the developers’ UK-wide pipeline of the business which currently includes over 2,000 residential units.

News from Godwin Developments: https://www.godwingroup.co.uk/residential-development-nottingham/

Godwin Developments: Godwin awarded approved supplier status on major national developer framework

UK residential and commercial developer Godwin Developments has today (Tuesday 15 December) gained approved supplier status on Pagabo’s new national developer-led framework, worth £47 billion. The approval will enable Godwin to be directly appointed on developments or bid for contracts to deliver residential schemes such as housing, student, and multifamily schemes, as well as senior living projects.

The EU-compliant framework, which will run for five and a half years, will assist Godwin in partnering with public sector organisations through single site development agreements valued between £20m and £40m across London, South West, East of England, East and West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber, North West and North East England. In addition, the business will also be eligible to cover projects worth up to £40m in London, South East, Midlands and North of England, delivered through either special purpose vehicles, joint ventures, LLP or other corporate structures.

Acting on behalf of Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, the Pagabo framework will cover a range of developer-led schemes within the construction industry and is open to all public sector bodies including schools, universities, local authorities, police and emergency services, NHS organisations, health and social care providers and housing associations, as well as central government departments and the Ministry of Defence.

The business secured a place on the framework after a rigorous OJEU compliant tender process, covering relevant experience, financial suitability as well as contribution to social value and technology implementation.

Lindsay McCombe, senior development director at Godwin Developments, said: “We are really proud to have been awarded a place onto this prestigious national framework. As an established UK developer with credentials across the residential and commercial sectors, we bring over 20 years of experience in property – from identifying sites through to design, planning permission and full build – and have a solid track record in both single-site schemes as well as projects delivered via SPVs, LLPs or joint ventures.

“We are also passionate about enhancing local communities by attracting investment and creating homes and jobs, improving public realm, skills and opportunities, growing infrastructure and the provision of affordable homes. Similar to the UK Government, we see construction and support for the public sector as a key component of recovery and long-term prosperity. We look forward to working with procurement departments in our appointed regions to realise their regeneration programmes.”

Jason Stapley, managing director at Pagabo said: “With all our frameworks we aim to simplify the whole procurement process, ensure flexibility and provide greater choice for clients, all packaged up with OJEU compliance – our developer-led framework is no different in that respect. It will allow developers the ability to procure works through a compliant and simple to use framework and help the public sector with vital expansion plans, creating an overall more robust sector. 

“We’ve been absolutely blown away by the response we’ve had in this tender process and are really pleased to be bringing a unique procurement offering to market with such a strong set of companies.” 

Stuart Pratt, group development director at Godwin Developments, said: “It is fantastic to be concluding 2020 with news of our appointment to the Pagabo framework. Today’s award is an acknowledgement of our growing national capability, strong in-house team and exceptional advisory board – all of which will be able to support public sector teams across the country as they seek to improve infrastructure and services across their towns and cities.

“I would also like to thank Pagabo for providing us with the opportunity to be a part of their programme, and we look forward to working closely with their teams over the next five years and beyond.”

News from Godwin Developments: https://www.godwingroup.co.uk/godwin-awarded-approved-supplier-status/

ROMCO Group: Pendulum Swings In Favour of Aluminium Demand (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Flourishing aluminium demand in China and the United States, higher freight costs and tight scrap supplies are expected to fuel further rises in prices of the metal used in the transport, packaging and construction industries.

Benchmark aluminium on the London Metal Exchange at around $2,050 a tonne is near the $2,080 hit earlier this month, the highest since October 2018 and up 40% since April when industrial activity and demand stalled due to coronavirus lockdowns.

Since then, relaxing of restrictions and economic and fiscal stimulus, particularly in China, have boosted growth and demand.

“There has been a sharp swing in economic activity and aluminium demand and that is reflected in prices,” said Jorge Vazquez, founder of consultancy Harbor Aluminum.

Vazquez expects LME aluminium to reach at least $2,200 before the end of the first quarter 2021.

Physical market premiums paid on top of the LME price have also climbed.

(Graphic: US manufacturing ISM vs aluminium premiums – )

In the United States, higher trucking costs, less scrap and expectation that tariffs would be reimposed on aluminium imports from Canada have helped the duty-paid premium rise more than 15% to above $300 since October.

“Canadian exports of aluminium to the United States exceeded October’s hard export quota limit,” Vazquez said.

“The likely retroactive 10% tariff on those who imported the metal in October and the corresponding lower hard quota itself for November are likely to further reduce aluminium supplies at a time of growing demand in the United States.”

(Graphic: Platts container Index spikes on firm demand as year-end approaches – )

Premiums in the spot market in Japan at around $115 a tonne, according to S&P Global Platts, are up 50% since January.

This is mainly due to Chinese consumers buying aluminium overseas because it is cheaper than the metal on offer locally — known as import arbitrage.

“The single biggest factor supporting Japanese premiums is the strong import arbitrage into China. Shortages of containers is a factor, but not the primary driver, China will continue importing through December,” said CRU analyst Eoin Dinsmore.

“End users in the United States are reporting high aluminium utilisation rates and a firm pick up in orders.”

(Report by Reuters; Pratima Desai; editing by Ed Osmond)