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

05/01/2018

The evolution of the Harwell Campus moves into a new stage this year as plans are drawn up to build 1,000 homes on the site. The 710-acre former RAF airfield, operated since 2014 by a partnership between Harwell Oxford Partners and U+I, plus two Government backed agencies, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (UKRI STFC) and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), has long been a global success story of leading-edge science and is already expanding commercially faster than anywhere in

04/30/2018

Delegates at a special debate at the Oxfordshire Property Festival learned of the extraordinary growth of the University of Oxford in recent years and the knock on effects that have resulted. The College Bursars’ Round Table, chaired by Hugh Blaza, senior partner at BrookStreet des Roches, was a rare look at the finances and challenges facing the university and its colleges at a time of rapid growth. It was held under a form of Chatham House rules so some information is not attributed.

05/25/2018

A new 280-boat marina is being planned between Cholsey and Wallingford. Specialist developer and aggregates business, London Rock Supplies, based in Borehamwood, has applied to Oxfordshire County Council to build the marina on the west bank of the Thames at White Cross Farm, Reading Road, Cholsey. The proposal is a joint venture with the landowner which they are calling the The White Cross Project. Partnership. Development of the 19-hectare site, currently arable and grazing land with no

05/24/2018

Councillors have been recommended to grant planning permission for up to 240 homes on land north west of Radley, Oxfordshire. Vale of White Horse District Council, planning committee votes on Wednesday, May 30 on the plans submitted by Radley College. The 13.54-hectare site - two fields currently used for arable farming - had been removed from the Oxford Green Belt by the council so that it could be allocated for housing in the Local Plan 2031. Now the college wants to build homes of up to

05/24/2018

Winnersh Triangle owner Frasers Property UK has announced three key appointments. Chris Stevens and Eilidh McAllister have joined its asset management team while Katharine Westcar has become head of marketing (commercial). Mr Stevens has 12 years experience in real estate investment and asset management. He was previously with Resolution Property where he asset managed UK and German office investments. Prior to that, he worked for Singaporean Sovereign wealth fund, GIC Ms McAlister was