07/06/2018

Buckinghamshire law firm Blaser Mills Law sets out the progress of the third runway at Heathrow Airport from the commitment given by the Government almost a decade ago to the future the expansion offers the region. “Check in” – a look back on events leading to the crucial vote​ In 2009, the incumbent transport secretary Geoff Hoon declared that the cabinet at the time supported the notion of a third runway to be built at Heathrow Airport. On June 5, 2018, almost 10 years later, the transport

06/11/2018

‘Just do it’ was the resounding response from Thames Tap’s Voices of the Valley when we asked their thoughts on Heathrow expansion – and some had a little more to say. A mix of positivity and exasperation was evident when we asked our panel for their views on the long-awaited third runway which came a step closer when transport secretary Chris Grayling set out the Government’s final proposal for an Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) on June 5. A vote will take place in Parliament within

05/21/2018

UK Property Forums researcher Andrew Gibson reports from the FT Future of Construction summit at One Great George Street in London on Wednesday, May 16. Technology has been at the forefront of discussion when looking beyond the horizon in any industry - and construction is no different. But is it all hot air? A recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute found the construction sector to be one of the least digitised global industries. While there has been great progress in the development

05/14/2018

Thames Tap spoke to two of the leading figures behind the multi-billion pound regeneration of Basingstoke; Cllr John Izett, former managing director of Rogers Chapman at the time it was sold to JLL, and Victor Nicholls, former deputy chief executive of Bracknell Forest Council. Both public and private investment is flowing into Basingstoke and the councillor overseeing the town’s regeneration has no doubts why. A combination of an 8,000-home Garden Town, the £300 million rebuilding of its main

05/10/2018

Few people have a better understanding of the issues facing Oxfordshire than Bob Price. We spoke to the former leader of Oxford City Council about how both the city and the county should address the challenges in its dynamic future. The May elections brought to an end 35 years on Oxford City Council for former leader Bob Price. Mr Price spent half his life on the authority during a period of development unlike anything the city has seen. Yet the growing pains caused by the explosion of

07/23/2018

Few developments proposed for Reading town centre have attracted the level of public approval the Broad Street Mall's urban market plan achieved. Not since the days when an indoor market known as Traders, just off the Harris Arcade, was lost to developers in the 1980s, have so many been optimistic that independent retailers would finally be welcomed into a town which, in recent decades, has moved further into clone town status. The usual cynicism of online forums was, for a time, replaced by

07/23/2018

An economic development company for Windsor could be set up to help the town make the most of its heritage. Guests at last week’s Windsor2030 Forum heard the town’s two chambers of commerce could be combined to form Windsor UK, a unified voice to help improve both its environment and its economy. The meeting heard how Windsor should not become a prisoner of its history and should capture its heritage to use as a base to promote a plan for the future. Setting up Windsor UK was one of four

07/23/2018

A 150-year-old listed mansion in Gerrards Cross is to be converted into a luxury hotel on a par with Cliveden. The house, known as Bulstrode, had been used for more than 50 years as a training centre for a Christian charity WEC but was sold in 2016. Developers, named as Bulstrode Park Ltd, gained consent to convert the Gothic-style building, which is set in 34 acres of land, at a meeting of South Bucks District Council’s planning committee on July 18. The hotel will include: * 60 bedrooms * A