Laing O’Rourke is on board to deliver the 575-home scheme in Ealing, regenerating a large light industrial site close to the Southall Crossrail station.

The 350,000 sq ft development will comprise a mix of build-to-rent, market sale and around 180 homes for shared ownership and affordable rent.

Designed by Cartwright Pickard, the development will also include 2,100 sqm of office space and 318 sqm of flexible commercial floorspace within four separate buildings of between 15 and 23 storeys with a 2-storey podium.

The scheme will be car free but with 926 cycle parking spaces and two dedicated servicing bays on Merrick Road.

Communal gardens and public realm space will be created on the Merrick Road frontage and landscaping, play and amenity space areas within the site.

35% of all residential units by habitable rooms will be affordable, with a tenure split of, 30% London Affordable Rent, 70% Shared Ownership.

The development in Merrick Road will act as a gateway site, helping to trigger the regeneration of Southall over the next decade, in line with Ealing Council’s aims.

Several large sites nearby have been purchased by other developers.

James Pickard, Director at Cartwright Pickard, said: “We are thrilled with the result of this planning application. The project is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the full potential of offsite manufacturing methods to speed up the delivery and improve the quality of new homes for London.

“Stanhope and Network Homes are forward-thinking organisations that are pushing the boundaries in terms of innovation and design quality, and demonstrating how homes in London will be delivered in the future.”

Storage specialist Access Self Storage is planning to redevelop a former Bodgers discount store with the 380-flat high rise.

According to planning documents just submitted to the London Borough of Redbridge, Skanska is on board as preferred contractor to deliver the project.

The scheme follows the storage business setting up a new brand to bring forward a wide portfolio of private rented scheme across London that will be retained as long-term assets.

The station road site sits opposite the new Crossrail Elizabeth Line station opening up the potential for the residential complex with two smaller podium buildings of offices and shops.

Access Self Storage is linking the new plan to a recent application to redevelop the Ilford Recorder newspaper building with a further 144 homes.

Together the two plans will deliver 520 homes of which a third will be affordable homes.

The One Station Road scheme has been designed by ColadoCollins with Curtins providing structural design and Hilson Morran M&E design.

The facade of the building will be brick clad with sky terraces on levels 32 and 37 where the building is cutback.

The planning documents states: “There is an exciting opportunity for positive change in Ilford. This application will form a small, but important, part of the transformation and kick-start the delivery of the Council’s Manifesto and Vision.”

This aims to make Ilford a London town again harnessing the benefits of Crossrail, building 6,000 new homes.

The £410m redevelopment plan will see up to 700 mixed tenure homes built at Juniper Crescent and Gilbeys Yard estates next to the Camden Goods Yard site.

These two estates are separated by a large Morrisons supermarket, which is to be demolished to make way for a separate 600-home mixed-use scheme being jointly developed by house builder Barratt and the supermarket chain.

Work is expected to start on the Barratt scheme next year.

Together these projects will see the wholesale regeneration of the Camden Goods Yard area with mixed tenure homes and 300,000 sq ft of shopping space.

Residents at Juniper Crescent and Gilbeys Yard have backed the rebuild option, which will see around 200 homes demolished across the estates.

Sketch of Juniper Crescent rebuild plan

Gilbeys Yard redevelopment plan

Under the plan residents living on the estates would be temporarily moved elsewhere while the building work took place, before returning to a brand new property on Juniper Crescent and Gilbeys Yard once they had been built.

Work on the estate rebuild should begin on the ground some time in 2020.

Residential landlord Grainger has agreed to forward fund and acquire the first 108 home private rented sector phase for £41m.

The developer is Waterside Places, a Joint Venture between Muse Developments and the Canal & River Trust.

Waterside Places will develop the site and McLaren has been confirmed for the job which is the first phase of a wider development.

Grainger said: “The scheme which has planning consent is subject to a number of conditions which are to be satisfied prior to construction starting on site, anticipated in early 2019.”

Helen Gordon, Chief Executive of Grainger, said: “We are pleased today to announce our latest investment in Tottenham Hale, one of our target London locations, which will deliver 108 new high quality, purpose built rental homes and complement our Apex House development close by in Seven Sisters.”

Once complete, the wider scheme will deliver up to 505 canal side homes and extensive public realm improvements along with a range of commercial and leisure space.

The £172m project will be built in Limehouse at 82 West India Dock Road in East London, with work expected to start next summer.

Designed by architects Simpson Haugh & Partners, the project will include a 400-room hotel, 66 homes and retail space set amongst substantial public realm improvements.

It will take the form of two buildings on a shared podium with the apartments distinguished with a floor to floor fully glazed facade and the hotel clad with brick-clad precast panels.

The slenderness of the tower enables a substantial amount of public realm to be given back at the ground floor.

Donal Mulryan, Founder of Rockwell, said: “Our vision for 82 West India Dock Road will breathe new life into a neglected site that has been derelict for many years.

“This inspiring new building includes a hotel that will bring new jobs and business to the local area, in addition to much needed new homes for the local community in an inspiring new building. We are dedicated to delivering this exciting, high-quality development and look forward to turning this site into a place that locals can be proud of.”

It’s the first time architect Make has used virtual reality to help an inspector assess a new development, marking a significant moment for digital construction.

225 Marsh Wall residential tower will be built next to the Madison high rise near Canary Wharf

The 48-storey project at 225 Marsh Wall will replace an existing multi-let office building with 332 flats, and will be directly to the east of The Madison tower being built by Balfour Beatty.

The residential project was recommended for approval by London Borough of Tower Hamlets planning officers in late 2017, but was refused by elected members of the Strategic Development Committee.

The planning inspector has now granted planning after being helped by virtual reality visualisation at the site.

Frank Filskow, lead architect on the project from Make, said: “At a time when it is agreed that more homes need to be built, that provide amenities and community benefits, we are delighted with this result.

“This is the first time we have used Virtual Reality to help the inspector assess the scheme on site and it made a real difference.

“This will make a great sister building to The Madison which we also designed for LBS Properties and fits with the wider masterplan for the area, delivering wider benefits for the community including a nursery and retail.”

Nick Crawford, managing director at LBS Properties, said: “We are delighted to have received planning permission for this significant development, that will provide high-quality new homes, commercial space, and extensive public realm, contributing to the evolution of the South Quay area as an attractive place to live and work.

“It will combine with The Madison, due to complete in 2020, to provide a new public square for Marsh Wall East, and over 750 new homes in two slender towers.”

The first site will be The Timber Yard on Pershore Street.

The 1.5 acre regeneration scheme will include 379 apartments for private sale, complete with hotel-style foyers, concierge, private gymnasium, club lounge and cinema/screening room.

The apartments will be in two 13-storey and seven-storey blocks.

The Galliard Apsley Partnership has four other residential projects in the pipeline across Birmingham providing 2,800 apartments.

Mark Evans, Knight Frank’s Head of Regional Residential Development, said: “Birmingham welcomed over 7,500 people migrating from London last year, more than any other city in the UK.

“As the city’s renaissance continues at speed, we anticipate this flight out of the capital to continue as people search for greater value and higher yielding residential investments.”

David Galman, Sales Director at Galliard Homes said: “For over 25 years Galliard Homes has helped young professionals and individual investors get onto the property ladder and this launch will continue our work in Birmingham and give the city the benefit of Galliard’s value-for-money London style product for which our brand is renowned.”

Growth for next year has been downgraded to rise by only 0.6% with this year now expected to be flat amid Brexit uncertainty and on-going delays in the delivery of major infrastructure projects.

The Construction Products Association’s Autumn Forecast predicts that even this growth will depend on the Government extending help to buy and driving ahead with major infrastructure projects to hit the expected output peak of £23bn by 2020.

Over the last 12 months, the equity loan accounted for almost one-third of all house building sales, particularly sustaining demand  in the North and Midlands which has offset falls in London and the South East.

The housing sector’s output is forecast to rise 5% in 2018 and 2% in 2019 – but this assumes government will extend funding for the scheme beyond 2021. Without an extension, housing starts are expected to start declining from 2019.

Infrastructure, the other primary driver of growth, is forecast to achieve a historic high of £23bn by 2020, driven by large projects such as HS2 and Hinkley Point C.

But forecasters remain concerned about government’s ability to deliver major infrastructure projects without the cost overruns and delays seen recently on Crossrail.

Caution surrounds the forecast, and growth in the infrastructure sector has been revised down to 8.7% in 2019, from its previous forecast of 13%.

Brexit uncertainty continues to drive expectations for the sharpest construction decline in the commercial sector, particularly felt in the offices sub-sector.

Investors have signalled the uncertainty is too high to justify significant up-front investment in new floor space for a long-term rate of return, and output is expected to fall 10% in 2018 and a further 20% in 2019.

Noble Francis, Economics Director at the Construction Products Association said: “Construction continues apace in some sectors such as house building, particularly in key hotspots of activity such as Manchester and Salford. Overall, we are still expecting construction output to increase next year but this growth is highly dependent on house building outside London and also major infrastructure projects offsetting falls in activity in other sectors.

“The forecasts assume that the UK and EU will agree a deal on Brexit towards the end of the year but the continued uncertainty over a ‘No Deal’ Brexit has already had a big impact on construction new orders in construction sectors dependent on high upfront, often international, investment for a long-term rate of return.

“These include the construction of prime residential in London, industrial factories and commercial offices towers.

“Even if the UK government eventually agrees a deal with the EU on Brexit, construction output in all these sectors is expected to fall sharply during 2019 due to falls in new orders, which have already occurred in the past 18 months, feeding through to activity on the ground.

“Major infrastructure projects are expected to drive industry growth in 2019 and 2020 but the £600m cost overruns and nine-month delays to Crossrail add to existing concerns about government’s ability to deliver major projects and lead to additional concerns about the delivery of already delayed projects such as Hinkley Point C and HS2.”