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Big store refitting in Manchester

The Manchester franchise of Selfridges is hoping to have a multi-million pound refit of its exchange square store.

Selfridges has announced they will invest hopefully £40 millions on improvements to the store in a timescale of 3 years.

The shop which sells top designer labels such as Chanel and Alexander McQueen refused to tell of sales figures for the city centre branch but have explained they are “doing very well”.

A Selfridges’ spokesperson has said: we are keen to unsure the store is a real destination for shoppers”.

They celebrated their 100^th birthday earlier this year have said to have had a busier Christmas trading time this year than 2008. The standard spend for a customer was also high.

Quiz helps Loddon hall refurbishment

A whopping £5,000 has been raised by COMMUNITY Quiz events for Loddon and Chedgrave Jubilee Hall.

The location may quickly be the finest in south Norfolk with a rolling programme under way to refurbish the bar, lounge and the hall.

Alan Mason, the quiz organiser said: “24 teams, consisting of over 160 contestants rose to the challenge of our third fundraising quiz night, held on November 28 resulting in a cumulative sum in excess of £5,000, which will be used to bring the hall decor and standards into the 21st century.”.

The winning team Piaggio scored 121 in a maximum of 133 points.

The quiz was backed by the local and business community with over £500 of sponsorship. An extra £400 was raised from the raffle alone.

Big hotel under refurbishment plans

Since opening 25 years ago, the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa are having a multi-million pound refurbishment of all its bedrooms and suites, making the number of rooms to 268 and designing a Grand Suite and private ‘Club’ floor.

In January 2010 the refurbishment begins and the first stage will be finished by April, with all rooms completed by July 2010. Each of the bedrooms will undertake a complete renovation, becoming a state-of-the-art stylish room. All will have very spacious bathrooms covered in glass, having a sense of space with bath and separate walk-in showers. The refurbishment will be done with minimum disturbance to the visitors at the hotel.

The General Manager, J P Kavanagh, has said:

“Over the years we have continually invested in the hotel including the creation of Europe’s most advanced city spa, One Spa, in 2001. However, it is time to completely improve and enhance the rooms’ product with this sizeable investment in Edinburgh’s largest conference hotel. As the economy begins to recover the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa will be in an enviable position, poised to leverage our renovated product and offer guests Sheraton’s signature brand offerings at one of Scotland’s leading hotels. We are already starting to see growth in occupancy, particularly in the important corporate market which is very encouraging. We look forward to welcoming both former and new guests as we celebrate our 25th year in the city.”

Livingstone MP admits to refurbishment claims

MP Jim Devine has admitted to having 2 refurbishments in 1 year.

He was deselected in June because of allegations that accused him of claiming £2,157 for having his flat in London rewired, of which he gave a faux VAT receipt and company name.

He claims that he had the 2 refurbishments due to redecoration the first time and the second was after his house flooded.

Devine is also facing questioning over another claim of over £2000 for having shelves put up by his local pub landlord.

The MP didn’t respond to the Daily Telegraph’s questions. He actually claimed £23,658.72 in 2008-09 using his Additional Costs Allowance, which includes expenses for running a second home.

Victorian bridge refurbished and re-opened

A bridge dating back to the Victorian times in Paisley has been refurbished to it former glory after a £1.5m revamp programme.

‘Abbey Bridge’ had been unattainable to the public for the last 6 months in order for the support structures to be replaced and iron panels and parapets recast.

The historic landmark was built 130 years ago, but earlier on this year it came to be in need of repair.

During the refurbishment the support structures were replaced, as well as the iron panels and parapets recast and the walkways lifted out.

The renovators replaced all the metal work on the bridge but did happen to save the lanterns and the centre pieces.

Refurbished school delighted at re-opened building

A refurbished school is celebrating after re-opening a building which contains a drama studio & classrooms. KCC (Kent County Council) leader Paul Carter opened the block at Dartford Grammar school for Girls.

The work that the the school had done cost £900,000 and it now holds classrooms for cooking lesson, IT suites, drama studio, humanities and another school hall.

The refurbishment that took place was part of a £3.2m scheme which also includes a new sports hall and games area, to be completed by December 2010.

Gym’s £500,000 refurbishment in Croydon

A gym in Croydon has had a £500,000 refurbishment to encourage people to loose the Christmas pounds in the new year, There are new facilities at ‘Energie Fitness’ such as cardio-vascular equipment and an adaptive motion trainer.

The gym think the refurbishment will create a completely new look to the club and demonstrate ‘Energie’ is the most modern and vibrant place to train in Croydon.

Hamleys refurbishment finished for christmas

Members of a Northern Ireland firm have been rushed off the feet getting ready for Christmas by refurbishing Glasgow’s franchise of Hamleys. The refit cost 450,000 and it took 5 weeks to complete.

The project has an illuminated bus, which was from another Hamleys store which was based in House of Fraser in Belfast.

All of the members are looking forward to the Christmas rush, and think the work was well worth the time and the money

$32.6m Mafraq refurbishment

Benyan Development Company has won a $32.6 million contract which consists ofrefurbing the Mafraq Hotel.

Re-development of the hotel, new name Ramada Abu Dhabi Mafraq, contains therefurbishment of 120 rooms and the creation of 129 rooms in a new block.

The hotel is expected to be finished in 2010.

Revamp of Observatory office block

Manchester’s Observatory office block will have a £500,000 refurbishment, and the revamp will create another 14,000 square foot of office space.

The USS, (Universities Superannuation Scheme) is responsible for therefurbishment of the ‘Observatory on Chapel Walks’ which is an 8 storey office building and it will be of 2 floors, 6 & 7.

The most familiar areas are being upgraded as well as revamping the ground floor reception hall, the work will finish at the end of this year.

Home of cricket gets a £400m refit but, thank the Lord’s, keeps its name

Plans for the £400 million refit of Lord's cricket ground were unveiled today.
Five of its stands would be rebuilt and flats would be erected around the perimeter to help fund the transformation of the home of cricket.

But reports that Marylebone Cricket Club, which owns the ground, would consider selling naming rights to a commercial sponsor have been fiercely denied.
MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw said today: “I just want to reassure people that there's no way we would rename Lord's. It's the home of cricket, the hallowed turf. It's not an option at all.”
Mr Bradshaw said he even had a problem changing the names of the stands that are dedicated to famous cricketers — the Allen, Warner, Compton and Edrich stands. These and the Tavern stand are due to be rebuilt under MCC's Vision for Lord's proposals.

“They're very famous names and I couldn't see the day, certainly in my time, when we'd want to be naming them after a sponsor,” he told BBC 5 Live this morning. “I do feel to a degree that would be selling our soul.

“To play at Lord's is a very special experience, Lord's has such a wonderful history and tradition and it's those traditions that we need to preserve.”

The proposals, which are being overseen by a committee that includes former prime minister Sir John Major and former England cricket captains Mike Atherton and Tony Lewis, aim to bring the world's most famous cricket ground into the modern era.

They would be the most radical change to Lord's in its 195-year history and would increase its capacity from 29,493 to 36,990 — easing massive demand for Test match tickets.
The new stands are being designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the architects responsible for the “bird's nest” Olympic stadium in Beijing and the transformation of the Tate Modern into an art gallery.
A 12ft brick wall would be demolished as would some Victorian terrace homes, while the new flats could sell for around £1.2 million each — though they will not overlook the pitch.
Work, which would require the approval of Westminster council and Mayor Boris Johnson, is not expected to begin until 2011 and could take a decade to complete.

Source: ThisIsLondon.co.uk

Nuclear refurbishment

ABB has won orders worth $73m (£44m) from Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt (KKL) to refurbish and upgrade the non-safety related operational control and automation system at its 1,220MW Leibstadt nuclear power plant in Switzerland.

For the refurbishment, ABB will replace the existing multiple control systems with a single solution, based on its Extended Automation System 800xA. ABB will design, engineer, install, commission and test the installation, and is also responsible for upgrading the KKL simulator used for operator training.

To avoid any disruption in electricity supplies, the project will be carried out in phases that coincide with planned annual outages, starting in 2011 and running until 2018. Prior to installation, each stage of implementation will be extensively tested on a full-size test bed and on the KKL training simulator.

Source: The Engineer

Cash boost for village pool

An old fashioned swimming pool used by thousands of people in Kings Langley every year has been transformed.

A major refurbishment project has recently been completed at Kings Langley Secondary School and further improvements are in the pipeline thanks to a cash injection from Herts County Council.

Cllr Richard Roberts, who represents the village at county, dipped into his locality budget to award the Love Lane school £1,700 to promote health and fitness.

The money will be used to boost decor, changing rooms, benches and showers at the facility - that is also used by primary school children, swimming clubs and village residents.

Source: HemelToday

New departure lounge at airport

A new departure lounge has opened at the George Best Belfast City Airport.
The refurbishment is creating 20 jobs through an increase of 60% in retail and restaurant space and is part of a £6m investment in the terminal.
A new security area is due to open in about three weeks, and airport management has said that will cut down on queue times.

Brian Ambrose, Chief Executive of the airport, said travellers would see a “remarkable difference”.
“This significant private investment will enhance the customer experience as we aim to stay ahead of the curve in accommodating increasing passenger numbers,” he said.
He added that the remainder of the work would be completed in March 2010.
The new lounge on the first floor is capable of handling 12,000 passengers per day.
Doug Pilkington of designers BDP said security changes had seen changes in how airports worked.

“In light of continuing heightened security, the pattern of use of airports has changed significantly, and as a consequence, passengers’ use of retail and catering facilities only begins properly on ‘airside’, after they pass through security,” he said.
“BDP’s reorganised terminal design acknowledges and addresses this change in trend, and will become an exemplar for domestic and business airports into the future.”

Source: BBC NEWS

THORNBURY Leisure Centre will be refurbished as soon as possible, South Gloucestershire Council has promised.

THORNBURY Leisure Centre will be refurbished as soon as possible, South Gloucestershire Council has promised.
At a meeting of the full council yesterday, all three political parties pledged to fund improvements to the centre which is ‘well past its sell by date’.

Cllr Clare Fardell (Lib Dem, Thornbury North) said: “Obviously this is welcome news. It is specifically the changing rooms that we have requested for something to be done.
“Over the years we have had numerous complaints, in fact we have had more complaints about the changing rooms than anything else.

“Now they are well past their sell by date. They do not satisfy modern requirements and they are without doubt putting people off going for a swim.”
She said the work needed to be done quickly to encourage more people to use the leisure centre.
Added Cllr Fardell: “We need the work done fairly soon. I would like to think it will be done this financial year and certainly hope it will be done by the end of the next financial year.”
The announcement comes after Thornbury Town Council launched a campaign to improve the leisure centre in October. Members called for investment following the modernisation of Yate Leisure Centre.

Cllr Heather Goddard, the authority’s executive member for communities, said the council was committed to providing high quality leisure facilities.

She said the £1.8million refurbishment of Yate Leisure Centre was completed earlier this year and £2million has been allocated to improve Kingswood Leisure Centre.

However, she said making a business case for Thornbury Leisure Centre was more difficult as the facility was not self-financing.
“There is an ageing population and young people are not being born in the area,” said Cllr Goddard. “But it would be wrong to assume that Thornbury has not been on the receiving end of substantial investment.

“Since 2007, £240,000 has been invested in a new gym, café, sports hall and spinning studio and there is an ongoing refurbishment of the squash courts.”
She said on the basis that improvements to Bradley Stoke and Longwell Green leisure centres can be funded through borrowing, the council should allocate money from its capital budget to invest in Thornbury Leisure Centre.

She said: “When appropriate finances do become available in the future we will invest them in Thornbury.”

Source: Gazette Series

Profession to reap benefits of £1 billion school jackpot

Architects could benefit from a raft of work following the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme’s decision to bankroll 12 school projects across the UK

Clearance has been given for the refurbishment or rebuilding of secondary schools in: Brent, Darlington, Devon, Havering, Kingston and Croydon, Lancashire, Norfolk, Plymouth, Sefton, Tameside, Wakefield and Warrington.

Each of the local authorities will start working on their BSF schemes between January and March 2010. The authorities were approved after a selection process in which they demonstrated they were ‘thoroughly prepared to go ahead with renewal projects’.

In its new capacity as the delivery organisation for all capital investment programmes, Partnerships for Schools (PfS) also confirmed funding for three local authorities to progress their plans for local delivery of the primary capital programme. Hammersmith & Fulham, Leicestershire and Medway have had their Strategy for Change submissions approved, guaranteeing their additional funding for 2010-2011.

The BSF announcement sees up to a further £1 billion of funding committed to UK schools. The 10 local authorities new to BSF will share around £800 million of funding. This will enable them to move forward their first batch of secondary schools to rebuild or refurbish, meaning that local authorities are able to start their BSF schemes earlier than had previously been thought. Lancashire and Tameside local authorities, already in the programme, can start on the next stage of their projects.

The second half of the BSF programme began in July of this year, with the first group in a series of ‘rolling starts’ for the 70 local authorities yet to join BSF or start follow-on projects, and a schedule for up to 18 projects to begin within the financial year 2009-2010.

Source: Architects Journal

Govt promotes traditional games

As part of Batswanas intent to promote their national heritage, traditional games will form part of activities geared towards achieving that.
The President, Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama said in his address during the First Session of the 10th Parliament that the games would form part of the annual district sport festivals, which will be celebrated in different districts and sub-districts.

On constituency sport tournaments, President Khama pointed out that the tournaments have been successful as already 1 582 football, 66 netball and 45 volleyball teams have been part of the tournaments.

Therefore, he said that the government would continue to support the competitions, which provide entertainment, promote fitness and inculcate the spirit of camaraderie as well as shared values among all the participants of the 57 constituencies.
On the development of sport infrastructure, he said the government would continue to play a leading role despite financial constraints.

Two stadia in Lobatse and Francistown are under construction and should be completed in the first half of 2010.

The refurbishment of the Gaborone stadium, he pointed out will be completed in the first quarter of 2010, while re-grassing of the Sir Seretse Khama Barracks will commence soon. The re-grassing of the University of Botswana Stadium is complete.
Turf work done on the Molepolole Stadium was completed and was handed over to Government late last year as part of the FIFA Win in Africa with Africa Project. BOPA

Source: gov.bw

£185,000 revamp of Westhoughton Parochial Primary marks start of new era

A building dating back to 1739 has been transformed to signal a new era for a primary school.
The key stage two building at Westhoughton Parochial CE Primary School has undergone a £185,150 refurb.

Each classroom has been carpeted, redecorated, and rewired and there are new toilets and a new staffroom to give it a new “bright, clean and happy” learning environment.
The work complements the refurbishment of the key stage one and early years building of last Christmas.

Funding came via a mix of Government, local authority and school funds.
The transformation of the building signals the start of a bright future for the school, which was taken out of special measures earlier this year.

Ofsted, the Government’s watchdog for education, judged the school to be “good” in every category.
Year Six pupil Alishia Sims said: “It may be centuries old on the outside, but it certainly isn’t on the inside. It’s brilliant.”

Headteacher Mr Gareth Robertshaw said: “The completion of this superb project would not have been possible without the successful collaboration of the children, staff, diocese, local authority, governors, building contractors and significant funding from St Bartholomew’s Church.”

Bernadette Reynolds, chairman of governors, said: “The atmosphere in school is electric.
“I am confident our church school will continue to improve under the direction of our senior leadership team, who, supported by an enthusiastic and talented staff, all rise to our new school motto ‘Fun and Achieve’.”

During a champagne reception, the revamped area was officially opened by Margaret Asquith, director of children’s services, in front of representatives from Manchester Diocese, and building contractors. After that Year Six pupils led the visitors on a tour of the school.
Ward councillor David Chadwick said: “This school is unrecognisable from two years ago. It is fantastic.”

Source: The Bolton News

Observatory refit nears end

A two-year refubishment project on an iconic 18th-century building in Edinburgh is almost complete.

Old Observatory House on Calton Hill was designed by James Craig - the 18th century "architect of the New Town".

The building had become dilapidated and affected by rot, but is now on its way to becoming holiday accommodation with regular access for the public.

Source: Teletext

London's Swiss church re-opens to great applause

London's Swiss community was out in force this weekend as hundreds gathered to celebrate the re-opening of the capital's Swiss Church.
Braving November downpours and negotiating their way through crowds of Christmas shoppers, church-goers, dignitaries, donors, and well-wishers came together in a quiet side street a few hundred metres from the bustle of Covent Garden to admire the refurbished interior of the Grade II listed building.

Basel architects Christ & Gantenbein, who have achieved international acclaim in recent years and are renowned for their fresh approach to architectural design, were awarded the £2.2 million (SFr3.7 million) refurbishment project, which was funded by private donations and a massive fundraising drive by the extensive Swiss community in London.
"Our main task was to successfully blend the old structure with more contemporary elements," architect Emanuel Christ told swissinfo.ch.

"We achieved this by creating a transparent structure using glass and mirrored panels to highlight the features of the 19th-century architecture, while making it feel very modern and spacious with a freestanding structure right above the entrance that offers additional office and exhibition space."

The original church was founded by French-speaking Swiss Protestants in 1762 and has been the spiritual home of Swiss ex-pats in London ever since. Churchgoers regularly come together for services in English, French and German, and for other spiritual events.
The current building, built in 1855, required complete renovation and transformation as well as spatial changes to adapt it to current needs, and to give it a better space to expand and develop its cultural programme.

Source: swissinfo.ch

Bristol pub opens after £70,000 makeover

A pub purported by its owner to be Bristol's best "back street boozer" held an opening bash this weekend following a £70,000 refurb.

Redcliffe's The Golden Guinea, in Guinea Street, has undergone a complete transformation over the last month.

Owner Stephen Wallace, 38, said the opening do, complete with DJs, saw the premises packed.
He said: "We've had a refurbishment from top to bottom. We have a new bar, cellar, furniture and floors as well as a sound system and music room."

The pub has a selection of real ales and brews its own cider.

Source: this is bristol.co.uk

Florist donates to Bradford appeal

A florist has pledged to help the Bradford Burns Unit Appeal by donating £1 from every order he receives during the next month to the cause.
Chris Eastell, 55, of William Eastell & Son, Shipley, hopes to raise at least £200 for the pioneering unit at Bradford University, set up in the aftermath of the 1985 Valley Parade fire disaster, which killed 56 people and injured almost 200 more.

The Bradford City season ticket holder recalled the day of the disaster. He said: “We were busy in the shop that day and I was late setting off. When I got there I couldn’t get in to the stand where the fire was because it was full. I had to go to another part of the ground behind the goals.
“At first we thought it was people being stupid and the fire would go out quickly. In those days supporters were fenced in and you couldn’t move.

“As the fire got hold the gates were opened and I, like most people, left and thought the fire would go out. I went back to the shop and carried on working so it wasn’t until I got home and listened to the news I realised how serious it was.”
The father-of-two, who runs the business with his wife Sue, also decided to support the appeal to mark the completion of refurbishment work at the shop, which was opened by his grandfather in 1937.

Four generations of the family have now worked at the shop, with Mr Eastell’s daughter Sarah recently joining the business.
A Burns Unit Appeal collection box has also been placed in the shop for customer donations.
The appeal, backed by the Telegraph & Argus, was started in August by Bradford City FC and aims to raise £100,000 by May – the 25th anniversary of the Valley Parade Fire Disaster.
The funds are needed to pay for two researchers to work for two years. So far more than £20,000 has been raised.

The campaign follows an appeal in 1995 which raised £105,000 for the unit and kept it running for another three years.

Source: thetelegraphandargus.co.uk

Demand for offices to increase

THE Commonwealth Property Office Fund is progressing with the refurbishment of its office block at 175 Pitt Street, with plans to kick off a leasing campaign in the next few months.
No tenant has been named, but the prospect of leasing the site will not be as daunting as a year ago, given statistics show a steady rise in employment for October.

In its third-quarter results released last week, the fund said it has reduced its expectation of peak vacancy levels in Australian office markets as local economic indicators continue to demonstrate favourable improvement in the domestic market.
That would have a flow-on effect to expected demand for office space as business confidence returns and tenant enquiry and activity increase.

Macquarie Equities said that the fund's 175 Pitt Street building is expected to re-enter the market in the first quarter of calendar 2010, although it still does not have a tenant secured.
The other developments at 385 Bourke Street, Melbourne and 1 & 5 Mill Street, Perth, will not proceed until significant tenant pre-commitments are achieved.
The fund's manager, Charles Moore, said the Australian office space market was likely to remain challenging for the next 12 months.

He said that over the three months to the end of September, 12 of the fund's 25 office assets were independently revalued, resulting in a 4 per cent or $45.5 million decline on prior book value

''However, recent economic indicators show resilience in the Australian economy which should particularly benefit Sydney, the fund's largest geographic holding,'' he said. ''As a consequence, we expect to see an improvement in tenant demand for office space across Australia, with vacancy levels peaking at substantially lower levels than originally anticipated.'' Mr Moore said he was confident, subject to a continuation of existing economic conditions, of the fund meeting its distribution guidance of 5.3 cents per unit, for the 12 months to the end of next June.
OneSteel has also appointed CB Richard Ellis to look for 2000-2500 sq m of office space with the aim of moving by the end of next year or early 2011.

At present it occupies space at 205 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, over three full floors and two part floors, and employs about 150 staff.


Source: The Age

Air conditioning goes green

At the Lac du Bourget near Lyon in France, researchers are testing new air conditioning technology aiming to cut the amount of energy needed to keep buildings cool in the summertime.
Here in the Port Authority offices, they have installed an air conditioning unit which cools the air using cold water from the bottom of the lake, which maintains a temperature of 6 degrees centigrade all year round. The system works via a pipeline forming a closed circuit, neither taking nor putting water back into the lake. Using a simple pump, the water just circulates around 150 metres of pipeline, going down to 37 metres beneath the surface of the water to be cooled.

Says researcher Alain Henaut, “When you use cold water in air conditioning, it is like dropping ice cubes into a drink. You’re using the fact that it is cold and that it cools the environment naturally, physically, without using additional energy.”

At the end of the pipelines, at the bottom of the lake, coil-shaped thermal exchangers like these – either plastic or copper – mean that the water circulates for up to two minutes at the bottom of the lake. Long enough for it to be cooled down. Divers fixed the coils on the lake-bed using weights to stop them floating to the surface. There are now 8 thermal exchangers in total at the bottom of the lake.

Says engineer Bruno Garnier, “The main advantage is that it uses up to 80% less energy: another advantage is that classic air conditioning uses gasses which are poisonous for the atmosphere, whereas we don’t use those gasses at all. This technology means we can supply air conditioning at a minimum cost for people living beside a lake or beside the sea.”

The only energy used by this technology in fact, is to work the pump which keeps the water circulating. The functioning of the system is supervised by a controller who measures the temperature and the water levels. As part of the struggle against the greenhouse effect, the new technology being tested at the Lac du Bourget, reduces the environmental damage caused by air conditioning.

Source: EURONEWS.NET

Interior designers flash back to the 60''s thanks to TV''s Mad Men

The Emmy award winning television series Mad Men has garnered its fair share of acclaim over the past three seasons, but if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then the show''s highest honor may be the throngs of interior designers who scour the set design every week in an attempt to copy the show''s unique signature style.

Set in the 1960''s, Mad Men has been praised for its tenacious historical authenticity and its particular blend of retro-stylings has gained as much attention online as the family dynamic of lead characters Don and Betty Draper.

The Draper home is a colorful image of 50''s era perfection, replete with sashed curtains, floral patterns and claw-footed furniture - styles not commonly associated outside of the era, yet it is that anachronistic appeal that makes fans clamor for these detailed vestiges of the bygone period in the modern day.

"We''ve had decades of a lack of detail and a lack of romance," New York-based interior designer Valerie Onor tells Newsday. "People become so accustomed to neutrality that they''re responding very enthusiastically to color."

The show has created a stir on online auction site eBay as well, with the phrase "Mad Men era" finding its way into several product descriptions.

Source: DESIGN-TRAINING.COM

Ship refit brings dock 300 jobs

Swansea Dry Dock beat off international competition to transform the 446- passenger ship, the Saga Pearl II.
The Saga Shipping contract will see three months of work begin almost immediately to transform the ship into a luxury liner.

A company spokesman said the contract will also enable the dock to compete for future business.
Saga Shipping is part of the Saga Group, a UK company specialising in services, including holidays, for the over-50s. The ship was bought at auction in Gibraltar earlier this year, and is currently called the Astoria.

By the time it has undergone a comprehensive refit, it will be transformed into a luxury liner and renamed the Saga Pearl II.
The spokesman said: "The dry dock facility will now be opened and refurbished, providing some 300 jobs over a three-month period, enabling it to compete for future business.
"The Saga Pearl II refit will be the most comprehensive and expensive in the company's history."

It will include the addition of "one of the best libraries afloat" and a new cinema. There will also be a sports deck, including a short tennis court.
The spokesman said a new, state-of-the-art external coating will be applied to enable the ship to travel with greater ease, reduce fuel consumption and lower her carbon footprint.
Saga Group executive chairman Andrew Goodsell said: "I am delighted that we are able to support a British yard and in doing so we will help the regeneration of the Swansea docks."
The main engineering work on the vessel will be carried out by the Harris Pye Group which has won two major contracts over the next five months.

The firm, based in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, will work on the complete overhaul of the main engines and other structural work. It will also be responsible for fully equipping a restaurant and lounge, and be involved in the renewal of the crew's cabins.
Chris David, Harris Pye Group's technical director, said: "We are extremely gratified to win these two contracts - one above the water line, the other below".

"It was good news to reopen the dock and see it put to good use, and to create quite a number of temporary new jobs which will run through the difficult Christmas period in an economically-challenged area such as Swansea."

Source:

Cave rescuers' grants enable HQ refit

A £30,000 grant to a Yorkshire rescue team has enabled the completion of a major redevelopment at its base.

The Cave Rescue Organisation is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its formation in the Yorkshire Dales and its headquarters have been completely redesigned to enable it to operate more efficiently. The latest grant, from Freemasons in the area, added to the £80,000 already raised for the project at its Clapham base.

A cheque was handed over by members of the Wenning Lodge at Bentham, as part of a larger handout from lodges throughout the West Riding of Yorkshire, which used to include much of the Dales before its disappearance from the maps in 1974.

Other cash has come from a £75,000 legacy and £5,000 from the North Yorkshire Police disposal of property fund. Skipton architects Bowman Riley also donated their services, worth £8,000 for the refit.

The cash has enabled the development of an open-space training area and internal rigging wall at the base, which was formerly the coach-house and stables for the inn next door. It has housed the CRO, which carries out searches and rescues both in the Dales caves and potholes and on its fells, since the mid 1970s.

The organisation’s control room has been resited, allowing more space for its IT and mapping equipment, and a separate area for relatives has been set up.
The base can now accommodate the team’s three Land Rovers and three trailers, some of which had previously been stored in another part of the village.

Source: GROUGH.CO.UK

London Mayor Boris Johnson could bring Olympic ping-pong to Old Malden

Could the Olympic games be coming to Kingston? That was the tantalising, if far-fetched, prospect offered by Boris Johnson as a possible use for a newly refurbished community centre in Old Malden.
The Mayor of London was in Old Malden yesterday to officially open the Shiraz Mirza Trust Manor Park Hall in Malden Road.

Unveiling a plaque to mark the occasion, Mr Johnson joked: “Given the huge pressure on budgets in the run up to 2012, I think that if things really get tough, this might be the perfect venue for the Olympic ping-pong championships."
He was fulsome in his praise for Councillor Shiraz Mirza who was the driving force behind transforming the run-down council-owned building, which only a year ago was nicknamed The Stalag by locals because it had to be swathed in barbed wire to protect it from repeated vandalism.

He described it as a “fantastic achievement” particularly given the difficult economic climate which is forcing councils to drastically prune their budgets.
He said: “Here we have a man who has stepped up to the plate by his own initiative, enterprise and vision and has, I think, created one of the most beautifully refurbished halls in the whole of this part of London.”

The new centre is the second of its kind to be refurbished by the Shiraz Mirza Trust, which was founded by Coun Mirza, Kingston’s first Asian mayor, in 1993 and includes people from many walks of life.

The trust’s first project was to transform the old YMCA hall near Norbiton station into an affordable venue for social, business, training and community activities.
That has been such a financial success that it has paid for much of the £50,000 refurbishment of the second hall, the rest of the work being provided for free or at cost price by local firms and donors.

Coun Mirza said: “I would like to say a big ‘thank you’ from the bottom of my heart to all the sponsors and all my friends, for giving me so much.
“People ask, how do we do it? Very simple: be honest. If you do right by the community, they will do right by you.
“There is nothing we can’t achieve in Kingston and maybe, if the Mayor ever needs our help, we have a good, committed team who will be able to help him with anything he needs.”
Ping-pong is clearly a sport close to the Mayor’s heart. In 2008 he caused a stir at the Beijing Olympics handover ceremony when he said ping-pong was invented on the dining tables of England in the 19th century, and it was called wiff-waff.
He told millions of people around the world: “And there, I think, you have the difference between us and the rest of the world. Other nations, the French, looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to have dinner; we looked at it and saw an opportunity to play wiff-waff.”
Councillor Howard Jones, who represents the ward where the new hall is based, praised the Mayor for coming along to support such a worthwhile community project.

He said: “We are grateful to Boris for showing once again that he is not only a mayor for central London but is willing to give time to the community projects like the re-opening of Manor Park Hall in the outer ring.”

The Mayor also visited businesses in New Malden High Street where he found out from local businesses how they were coping with the recession.

Source: YOUR LOCAL GUARDIAN

CRUSADERS' £1M GIFT TO HOSPICE

A WORLD-leading cancer care hospice was officially reopened yesterday after a £3.8million refurbishment partly funded by a rock supergroup.
Daily Express owner Richard Desmond cut the tape after his band, the RD Crusaders, raised £1million at a charity gig for the state-of-the-art Marie Curie Hospice, Hampstead.

Mr Desmond was joined by TV stars Jon Culshaw and Andrew Sachs and actress and local MP Glenda Jackson at the hospice, which cares for hundreds of cancer sufferers each year.
Band members including Argent guitarist Russ Ballard and Steve Smith, Nick Newall, Wendi Harriott and Jackie Rawe joined the celebrations after helping to drum up cash for the project.
Thomas Hughes-Hallett, Chief Executive of Marie Curie Cancer Care, said the hospice in Hampstead, north London, would help the organisation “set the standard” for the NHS.

But he stressed the need for constant funding for the charity which must generate by its own means £100million of the £135million it needs to operate each year.
Mr Desmond, who met patient Rudolph Stennett, 89, during a tour of the hospice, said: “I jumped at the chance when I was asked to put the band together for the hospice.
“It is very difficult to say no when we all lead such wonderful lives.

“To be able to raise £1million for such a great cause is absolutely fantastic and it is wonderful to be here to celebrate the newly refurbished hospice.”
The hospice is regarded as an international unit of expertise for new treatments of ­cancer survivors.

Despite the upheaval it remained open throughout the revamp, which included converting the multi-occupancy wards into 26 single en-suite rooms.
The appeal for refurbishment funds, Project Butterfly, was launched in November 2008 and raised £1.5million. The Department of Health also contributed £2.3million.

To find out more, including how you can donate, visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/hampstead.

The RD Crusaders, jointly founded by The Who frontman Roger Daltrey and Mr Desmond in 2003, have raised more than £14million for UK charities.

Source: DAILY EXPRESS

£100m refit will see trams off until April

BLACKPOOL trams will be taken off line for five months as the track is closed for a £100m refit.

The stretch between the Pleasure Beach and Starr Gate has been closed since the end of summer.

But the rest of the 11 mile line will be closed down from November 9 and is scheduled to re-open on April 2 next year.

Coun Maxine Callow, cabinet member for tourism and regeneration said: “We are undertaking this essential work during the winter to minimise disruption and we hope local residents will appreciate this reconstruction will ultimately create a much better service.

“Blackpool fought hard to get this funding because the tramway is a vital part of improving the local economy.

“We’re particularly pleased in the current economic downturn we’ve been able to continue with this work at a pace and with no cutbacks.”

It is only the second full closure in the tramway’s history, following on from two years ago when trams were halted for emergency repairs.

The winter stoppage will enable the reconstruction of around five miles of new track and an upgrade of the electrical infrastructure.

Work will also begin on 14 new signal junctions where the tramway crosses the road, a move to improve safety and cut journey times.

The first highway crossing to be affected will be at Little Bispham with work then continuing on the other crossings to the north of the Fylde coast up to Fleetwood.

The section of track between Central Pier and North Pier will be replaced to tie-in with the recently completed section between the Pleasure Beach and Central Pier. At the same time, electrical equipment between the Pleasure Beach and Central Pier will be modernised.

A replacement bus service will follow the Line 1 route from Starr Gate to Fleetwood and pull up at all stops along the Promenade.

It will run every 20 minutes during the day and every half hour in the evening.

Work has begun on a new tram depot at Starr Gate and contracts have been agreed for the delivery of 16 super-trams by 2012.

Source: BlackPool Gazette

£50m transformation for Liverpool’s Central Library

THIS is how Liverpool’s historic Central Library is set to look after a massive £50m refurbishment.

Liverpool Council have named its preferred bidder to develop the scheme, bringing it a step closer to reality.

These pictures show the incredible transformation planned.

The plans include a new forecourt with outside cafe space, a rooftop terrace and meeting rooms.

Stonework and masonry will be restored and specially lit at night, and inside, there will be a 24-hour service for returning books and using computers and a coffee shop.

The Grade II-listed parts of the building, which date back to 1850, will be restored to their former glory, while newer extentions will be demolished completely.

There will be a soundproof “games pod” for teenagers, and Wi-Fi connection and downloading facilities.

Liverpool Records Office – the biggest outside London – will be expanded to accommodate a further 20 years of acquisitions, in state-of-the-art protective facilities.

It already houses some 14km of archives, including the original King John’s Charter which made Liverpool a city in 1207.

The restored library will open again in 2012.

Inspire Partnership was named as the preferred developer, part of a collective which includes key investor International Public Partnerships.

The library is scheduled to close in June 2010 and will take three months to empty. The council is about to finalise an arrangement with another central location to keep facilities accessible to the public throughout its closure.

A full planning application will be made on November 23, and a four-week public consultation event will be held in Central Library throughout December.

Source: Maghull Star

Hall refurbishment finally underway

A LONG-awaited £320,000 refurbishment has started at Alfrick’s village hall this week after months of delays.

The project will see one side of the existing hall completely demolished and replaced with a new foyer, meeting rooms, toilet and changing rooms as well as a refurbished main hall and kitchen.

It will allow different events to take place simultaneously in the hall, greatly increasing its community use.

Committee member of the Peace Memorial Hall, Richard Steele, said: “We’re delighted and relieved that it’s starting now and look forward to it being finished.

It will mean we will be able to provide improved services with much better facilities.

“One of the problems we have at the moment with the configuration of the hall is we can only really have one function on at any one time.

“There are also environmental aspects. It will be far more energy efficient with double glazing and a new heating system.”

The project has been funded through the Big Lottery Fund as well as the money from the Severn Waste Environmental Fund, which is part of Welcome to Our Future.

The committee, made up of 12-residents from Alfrick and Lulsley, also received donations from local charities and individuals.

The hall committee had hoped for work to begin in the spring, but this was delayed after they encountered problems with the removal of an electricity pole.

Mr Steele added: “It’s been very frustrating but at last now the contractors have started on site.”

He estimated that the work would take 23-weeks to complete.

Source: Malvern Gazette

Air conditioners under fire

City authorities have been threatening an aggressive campaign against ugly air conditioner units, but uncertainty remains over how they will proceed.

Authorities originally announced their intentions to target the installation of unssightly externally-mounted air conditioners in mid-August and reiterated the call for their removal earlier this month.

Speaking at a press conference held at the "Architecture-2009" expo, Moscow's chief architect, Alexander Kuzmin, promised to fight air conditioners that disfigure urban facades.

"Air conditioning devices and antennas can be mounted so that not every part of the façade is peppered with them, and each house can be designed differently, with special places for these devices," Kuzmin said. "If a person simply attaches such things wherever he wants, there's a good chance that it could just fall off.

And of course, it ruins the outer appearance of the building."

Kuzmin stressed that authorities were preparing a law on the appearance of the city, in which this question would be addressed in detail, RIA Novosti reported.

Over the past decade, buildings in Moscow have become increasingly dotted with devices such as air conditioners, satellite dishes and antennas, leading to the buildings resembling industrially ornamented Christmas tress.

Kuzmin said that it remained to be worked out how the duty of "preserving the outer appearance of facades" would be enforced - as a separate legal act, or through amendments to the City Planning Code. He added that at present there is no legal framework to deal with these issues, and taking care of buildings' appearance rests solely on the managers of organisations or owners of non-residential buildings. Kuzmin added that after adjusting the legislation, uniform requirements for the improvement of facades would be established.

The chief architect said that the fight against air conditioners would begin at "home" - his office looks out into the courtyard, but on the façade of the Moskomarkhitektura building, facing Triumfalnaya Ploshchad, there are no fewer than 10 apparatuses of various sizes and shapes.

"It's not easy. But we will solve the problem," he said.

Evolution not revolution

At a press conference held on Friday, Kuzmin, however seemed to change tack from his previous stance, softening the city's position.

"I want to remove the conditioners from Moskomarkhitektura," said Kuzmin, "however, there will not be a special programme." He added that he intended to deal with the air conditioners installed on architectural monuments and in the areas surrounding historically valuable buildings. "Then we will proceed," said Kuzmin.

"Nonetheless, there will be no revolution, it will be an evolution of the brain," said Kuzmin, adding that the decision whether to remove them was up to every city resident individually.

Permission required

Since 2005, mounting antennas and air conditioners on residential buildings has required approval from the authorities. To receive approval, the owner of the flat has to provide the Moscow Housing Inspectorate with a plan for the installation, a packet of application documents, including permission from the planning authorities, fire-safety department and so on.

The application is then processed over 45 working days, and is not always approved. As a result, the majority of air conditioners in the city have been unlawfully installed.

"In some cases, we can dismantle these appliances with a court order, and even fine the owner 1,000 to 1,500 roubles for violating the Administrative Code," a source in the city administration told RIA Novosti. However, the authorities promised that a mass targeting would not take place.

"We're not racing to take conditioners off the facades. We need to systematically pressure residents so that they will voluntarily restore some order to their buildings," said Moscow Duma Deputy Mikhail Moskvin-Tarkhanov.

According to the chief artist of Moscow, Igor Voznesynsky, Muscovites will most likely be asked to relocate their air-conditioners to the courtyard-facing walls of the building or to balconies. In his opinion, the reform will firstly affect the tenants living in buildings considered historic monuments, as well as those in historical areas or close to main roads.

Source: www.mnweekly.ru

Canton man uses carpentry skills on TV

A Canton man's recent participation in a popular ABC TV show has him considering going back into his old line of work.

Mark Palmieri lent a hand to the show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" earlier this month.

He said the house the show was going to make over happened to be just two doors down from where his brother, Pete, lives in Woodlawn, Tenn.

"My sister-in-law called me and told me this was going to be happening. She suggested I come up to help out," he said.

The brothers helped out by putting their carpentry skills to work in a woodshop tent outside the house. There they made furnishings for a beach-themed room, including a boat bed and a seashell desk.

"My grandfather was a carpenter," Palmieri said, adding he put himself through college by working construction.

Working on the project was a pleasure for Palmieri.

"When you have people like (series designer) John Littlefield and (team leader) Ty Pennington give you the thumbs up like, 'Hey, you did a good job,' it felt pretty good," he said. "It was a good opportunity to work with my brother for a good thing."

The family being helped by the show was Trina Scott and her three daughters. Her husband, David, served with the U.S. Army Special Forces and, after being discharged, became a police officer. In 2002, he and his partner were on-duty when their police car was hit by a truck. Both David and his partner were killed.

"She is a single mom doing the best she can," Palmieri said, adding he and his brother put in 18-hour days on the project. "The house was full of termites. The house was coming down around them."

He described the final reveal of the newly renovated house to the family as "crazy emotional."

"It is really gratifying to know that you helped a family like that," he said.

Palmieri went into the construction business after graduating from college, eventually becoming a project manager for an Atlanta construction company until the economic slowdown caught up with him.

"A lot of the projects wound down," he said about the local construction market.

Working on the Scott home has helped push Palmieri back to his original trade of carpentry.

"I have been thinking about getting back to my roots," said Palmieri, who currently is not working. The show "reconfirmed what I was thinking."

Debenhams restarts refurbishment plan as group begins to feel more confident

Debenhams will restart its store refurbishment programme a year after it battened down the hatches amid the financial crisis.

In the latest sign that retailers are beginning to feel more certain about the economic outlook, the department store group said that it would begin investing in improving its stores again now that sales had stabilised.

It postponed the programme as sales plummeted last year, prompting criticism that the group was struggling under the debt mountain it was bequeathed by its former owners, CVC and TPG, the private equity groups.

Rob Templeman, chief executive, said that the investment would begin tentatively at first. He said: “At our peak we were doing, [up to] 20 a year. I don’t think I would go back to that level, but if you asked me to guess I would say half a dozen a year.”

Mr Templeman added that the stores would be competing with some of Debenhams’ own-label brands for capital expenditure. “Red Herring, Jeff Banks and John Rocha will all be getting a makeover this year, so there’s quite a lot of investment elsewhere,” he said.

He denied that the refurbishment programme was mothballed because of Debenhams’ debt pile, which had been whittled down this year from £994 million to £590 million with the help of a fundraising.

“The reason we stopped wasn’t a capital constraint. It was because we were seeing massive volatility in sales. It would have had a considerable impact on sales,” Mr Templeman said.

Sales at Debenhams fell 3.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the year to August 29, with total sales flat at £2.3 billion. The decline in sales was a result of devoting more space to ownlabel ranges, particularly the Designers at Debenhams lines.

The retailer, which has 144 department stores and ten smaller Desire by Debenhams stores, this year scrapped its dividend, which was 3p last year.

Lower sales volumes were more than offset by the improved profit margins available on exclusive ranges, including Butterfly by Matthew Williamson and H! by Henry Holland.

About 76 per cent of sales are now own-label, with Debenhams aiming for 80 per cent in the next two years.

Yesterday, the company announced that it was resurrecting the Principles brand, which it said would have a “designer twist”, after it bought it from Principles’ administrators this year.

The refurbishment of stores could be stepped up if trading improves. “We want to see what Christmas trading is like. We have got the financial capital to accelerate, but you do see disruption on sales as you do them,” said Mr Templeman.

The company expects customers to make another last-minute dash to the shops this Christmas. Festive trading has been getting later in recent years, analysts have said, driven partly by expectations of last-minute discounts from nervous retailers.

Mr Templeman said that, despite signs that shoppers were regaining their confidence, there would be no quick bounce back to pre-recession spending. “There are lots of reasons why consumers are in a better place. Equally, there are a lot of negative factors, not least VAT and fear of unemployment. Christmas will, I think, come late. I think that it will be competitive and promotional, and we will probably be in the heart of that — with planned promotions. I’m more in the positive camp than the negative camp, but it will be a tough old year.”

He added that falling property prices would help retailers to respond if there was a sharp economic recovery. “We have a low-cost environment that we haven’t seen for many, many years. If the economy does turn on a sixpence, we will see quite good momentum in retail,” he said.

Debenhams confirmed yesterday that John Lovering, its chairman, would step down in March. Mr Lovering was part of the management team that ran Debenhams under CVC and TPG, and helped to float it in 2006.

Shares in the company, which are up 224 per cent since the start of the year, fell 0.65p to close at 82.45p.

Source: business.timesonline.co.uk

Wollongong Central refurbishment to add 15 new shops

The $30 million refurbishment of Wollongong Central will add 15 new names to the complex's store directory, with most shops to open by Sunday.

Only a handful of the new additions in the shopping complex's northern wing will not be trading from November 1, weeks before the development was initially forecast to finish.

With new signage recently unveiled, many of the new tenants are now common knowledge, however additions yet to be announced include the trendy T-shirt shop T-Bar and the computer store Game.

New face for Wollongong Central

Up to 25 stores are expected to open by Sunday ahead of the beginning of a program of entertainment, sales and promotions to herald the refurbishment.

Another 19 shops have been relocated, most obviously Best and Less, now standing in the old Franklins site, and Priceline, which will move upstairs to where Uncle Pete's Toys used to be.

Development manager Steven Turner said the new fit-outs had surpassed expectation.

"We expected that a large number of (tenants) would complete new fit-outs, but there were far more than we originally anticipated and they are of a better standard," he said.

With temporary kiosks and further small changes planned, the shopping complex has gone from advertising "more than 140 speciality shops" to "more than 150" shops.

Eight original tenants have not returned, including a number of food stores deliberately excluded when plans for the West Keira development, on Keira St, were being drafted.

That development is now in limbo due to the global financial crisis.

"Ultimately the plans that we have approved for the development of the West Keira side contained a full supermarket and fresh food offer and ... we didn't want to start replicating," Mr Turner said.

Source: www.illawarramercury.com.au

Stewart Company helps launch the Big Business Refit

Earlier this month, The Stewart Company helped launch the Carbon Trust’s Big Business Refit which is giving out £100m interest-free to help small and medium companies modernise their businesses and slash their energy costs in the process.

In 2008, Stewart’s received an interest-free Energy Efficiency Loan of £56,000 from the Carbon Trust, to pay for a new cooling system. This year, Stewart’s heard that the Carbon Trust would provide further loans up to a total value of £400,000 for energy efficient equipment. Recognising future potential for energy efficiency, Stewart’s applied for two further loans totalling £344,000 to help replace three of its plastic moulding machines.

The interest-free loans are designed so that the energy savings from using the new equipment – which will total nearly £120,000 a year – will pay back the loan. Once the loan is paid back, savings go straight back into the business. Stewart’s smart approach of replacing old machinery will also cut 926 tonnes of CO2 from their carbon footprint, a key long term business objective.

Lee Mowle, CEO at The Stewarts Company said: "The installation of our new machinery and our national supply chain means we offer a winning combination of top-quality products and the certainty and stability of supply and pricing to our customers. This is particularly important in the current economic climate, when many of our customers are finding their pricing and supply sources from outside the UK uncertain."

Mowle added: "We are proud to be a British company and probably more so because we are a British manufacturer with a continuous investment in and commitment to innovation."

The Stewart Company has been established for over 64 years and is today a leading player in the gardening and catering industry, supplying over 1,000 customers including Wyevale, Dobbies, Wilkinson and Homebase. The company’s stock includes products such as bio flower pots, garden accessories, watering products, decorative planters and propagators.

The company made over £1 million in profit last year and is on course to do even better in 2009, much of which is being reinvested in new products and machinery to take the business forward.

Once listed on the London Stock Exchange, Stewart endured an unsettled period in the hands of Venture Capitalised during the early 2000s before being bought by its managing director Lee Mowle, who stepped in to save the company in 2003 when it was on the brink of failure with annual losses in excess of £1 million a year.

This innovation was demonstrated last year, when the company became the first to launch the Holy Grail of a 100 per cent biodegradable plastic flower pot. It is making a sizeable six-figure sum investment in new machinery that uses the latest moulding technology and will result in improved productivity and significant energy savings.

Only five per cent of Stewart's turnover comes from export business and, with Sterling weak against the Euro, European markets offer Stewart a real growth opportunity that the company is taking full advantage of.

Mowle added: "Despite the recession, we continue to do well and it is great that, for the first time in a long time, consumers are actively seeking out locally or British-made products rather than cheaper Far Eastern imports. It's a good time to be British and, for UK plc, it is vital that businesses like Stewart fly the British flag a bit.

"Not only has 2009 been an excellent year for us in the UK due to the reasonable weather and huge interest in 'grow your own', but our export business is also performing well. We recently appointed a new distributor for Spain and Portugal, which we believe will be a great step forward in the expansion of our business in Europe."

Mowle is convinced that, if the industry works together, it can not only ride out the economic downturn, but also expand. Stewart's gardening division has almost doubled (80% growth) its turnover in the last seven years, much of which has come from new products.

The company is confident the sector will continue to hold up well in the current economic climate, the biggest factor to influence trading being the weather over the spring and, particularly, the bank holiday weekends. The unpredictability of the British weather makes it essential for the business to manufacture close to its market to respond to demand.

Mowle also believes Stewart's success over recent years is down to having the right team of people within its 75-strong workforce. "We all share a common goal and, most importantly, work as a team to each of our individual strengths," he explained.

Source: www.gleebirmingham.com