News in Brief: Nov/Dec 2023

Muse Developments and The English Cities Fund (ECF), working alongside, St Helens Borough Council, have appointed VINCI Building as the contractor to deliver the first phase of regeneration in St Helens town centre. The project will revitalise the heart of the town centre and is aiming to start on site in early 2024.

Portsmouth City Council has chosen Willmott Dixon as preferred contractor for its Bransbury Park Leisure Centre project in Eastney. The scheme will provide residents with a sports, swimming and GP facility within a modern leisure centre that promotes health, wellbeing and social interaction in line with the council’s vision.

Caddick Construction has been appointed to build Yara International’s new manufacturing plant in East Yorkshire, which will on completion be the UK’s largest fertiliser factory. The new 27,468m² development, which is aiming for a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating, will enable Yara to double production of its YaraVita speciality crop nutrition products and biostimulants, which are vital for future food security and mitigating climate change.

The University of Liverpool and Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to advance plans for an Academic Health Sciences Campus on the site of the former Royal Liverpool University Hospital. The partners said the scheme will support the continued growth of Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, creating jobs and seeking to attract investment in this world-leading innovation district.

Plans to redevelop Wellington Plaza, a prominent Leeds city centre office building have been given the go-ahead. Designed by DLA Architecture, the approved plans will increase the building’s floor space from 1,950m² to 7,150m² with Grade A specification floorplates up to 930m².