News in Brief: May 2021

Severfield said it has strengthened its commitment to reducing carbon emissions by signing up to the SteelZero initiative, which is led by international non-profit organisations, the Climate Group and Responsible Steel. Severfield is making a public commitment to transition to procuring, specifying, or stocking 100 per cent net-zero steel by 2050, with certain interim targets to be achieved by 2030.

The former site of the Rolls Royce engine factory at Hillington Park in Glasgow is set to become a major hub of industry again as a major £14M redevelopment project has begun. The development will see 13 new units with large secure yards ranging from 473m² to 2,300m² completed and available to the market by the first quarter of 2022.

Birmingham City Council has granted planning permission for a health innovation campus in Selly Oak, which will be designed for life science businesses, with a focus on those working in medtech, precision medicine, biopharma and digital healthcare. Phase one will include a home for the University of Birmingham’s Precision Health Technologies Accelerator (PHTA), providing innovation and incubation spaces for businesses to engage with academics and clinicians.

Maple Grove Developments, part of the Eric Wright Group, has secured planning for the new AEW-designed £18M Pioneer Place leisure and retail scheme in Burnley. Funded by Burnley Borough Council with support from Lancashire County Council, the 3,388m² leisure-led scheme is anchored by an eight-screen Reel Cinema, as well as restaurants, bars, retail units, a public realm and a 125-space car park.

Architecture Initiative has been given the go-ahead for a cinema and community venue at EMI’s former manufacturing headquarters in Hayes, west London. Known as The Gramophone, the project will be the first cinema in Hayes for 70 years. The overall masterplan will also include 750 homes, a school, office space, and retail and leisure facilities.