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Business News Wales
3 days ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
Hugh James Planning Team Marks 'Transformational' Year of Growth
Top 100 UK Law Firm Hugh James is marking a 'significant milestone' in the evolution of its planning practice. Since the appointment of Alex Madden as Partner and head of planning and environmental in July 2024, the planning team has grown in both size and scope. The firm says it now has new clients, complex projects, and key hires under its belt. 'It's been an action-packed 12 months,' Alex said. 'We've supported the firm's commercial property team on standout deals like Rockwool's new manufacturing base at Peddimore and Pobl's land acquisition at Cardiff's Plas Dŵr. We've also facilitated critical conversations around housing delivery in Wales, including a roundtable with Lee Waters MS focused on unlocking social housing.' The team now includes Senior Associate, Hannah Mannion, who specialises in energy and renewables, and soon to be assistant solicitor Ben Bowen who will qualify in September 2025. The team's growth over the past year has significantly boosted their capacity to support the firm's national housebuilder client base across both contentious and non-contentious work, it said. The introduction of mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) for certain developments, updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) – including the new 'grey belt' classification – and proposed legislative reforms via the Planning and Infrastructure Bill all signal an increasing demand for commercial planning advice, said the firm. Further changes are in the pipeline, with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) publishing a working paper proposing reforms to site thresholds in the planning system to better support housing delivery across different types of sites and launching a consultation on proposed reforms to planning committees. Defra is also consulting on BNG implementation for NSIPs and minor, medium and brownfield developments. Alex believes these developments only underscore the importance of having a strong, agile legal team in place. 'Our expansion means we're not just meeting our clients' needs – we're anticipating them,' he said. 'We're now able to offer a cradle-to-grave service that ensures continuity, clarity and strategic input at every stage of a project. That's a win-win for clients new and old.' The team is advising on significant residential schemes in the South West. These include the landmark Selwood Garden Community comprising 1,700 homes, a major mixed-use development of around 400 units at Nailsea within the Green Belt, and a residential-led scheme at Trull delivering 125 new homes. Recent client wins include Wain Estates, Wain Homes, and Land Value Alliances. This strategic growth reflects Hugh James' wider vision for its planning and environmental team, and delivers on the ambitions set out when Alex was first appointed, the firm said. 'We knew that planning and environmental law was becoming a bigger priority for our clients,' said Alex. 'That's why we invested in building a market-leading team, and now we're delivering on that promise.'
Wales Online
29-04-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Stunning view from top of Swansea's newest skyscraper taking shape in city
Stunning view from top of Swansea's newest skyscraper taking shape in city Set for completion this summer, the new building will not only change the city's skyline but also house 50 flats, retail spaces and more Newly released footage from Swansea Council shows how the city's newest skyscraper is taking shape in the heart of Swansea — and it looks impressive. The council has said the construction of this new 'living building' is set to be complete by the end of summer this year. Powered by solar energy and a 'air source heat system' the building is touted to consume five times less energy than a building which is powered by gas boilers. To be built at the former Woolworths site in Swansea, the construction work for this new 'Biophilic' building in the city appears to already be well underway in newly released visuals. Set next to a new 13-storey tower, the new building will be located between Oxford Street and The Kingsway and the scheme is being led by Swansea-based Hacer Developments. The new building is set to be 12 storeys high (Image: Hacer Developments ) This 'living building' scheme is being funded by a combination of private sector funding, money from the Welsh Government's Innovative Housing Programme, Pobl and the Development Bank of Wales. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here At the start of this year, we took a look inside the 12-storey tower as it was being built. To read more about that, click here. Article continues below The company behind the scheme describes Biophilia as 'our affinity, as human beings, to the natural world.' It said: 'The Biophilic Living project incorporates this into the building's design and development, allowing the community to reconnect with nature, in an urban environment.' The Biophilic building is the first to be built under the project and is set to include an urban-style greenhouse set over four floors, an education facility featuring an aquaponic system, rooftop gardens, wildflower borders and green spaces, nine floors of apartments to be managed by Pobl, close to 32,000 square feet of commercial floor space for businesses, retail spaces, a landscaped courtyard, and a bio-solar roof with ambient loop heating and sustainable drainage systems Once complete, the council claims the building will have the capacity to accommodate up to 500 people and create jobs and homes. A video released by the council shows work underway on the building as it is nestled within Swansea's city centre, overlooking much of the area around it. It will feature an "urban greenhouse" (Image: Hacer Developments ) You can also see a series of solar panels on its roof along with the 'air source heat system' that will power the building once it's complete. It also offers stunning views over the city and Swansea bay that occupants of some of its 50 'modern flats' will enjoy, once people start moving into the building. The company behind the project has said that the new building will connect 'residents and workers to nature.' Carwyn Davies, managing director of Hacer Developments, said: 'These are unprecedented times for Swansea city centre with so much funding being invested by the council, the Welsh Government and the private sector. 'This is important because city centres now need more people living and working there to create the numbers needed to support city centre businesses and encourage more shops and other businesses to open up in future.' Swansea-based Hacer Developments is leading the delivery of the scheme (Image: Hacer Developments ) He added: 'Our scheme is aimed at creating a new way of urban working and living - one that connects residents and workers to nature. This has been proven to benefit health and happiness. 'The building will also be powered in a renewable way that will help cut Swansea's carbon footprint and fight climate change.' The scheme is part of a £1bn regeneration scheme that has seen several buildings across the Swansea city centre being transformed. In September 2024, the historic Albert Hall was unveiled after a major revamp costing nearly £9m boasting a food hall and bar, with private entertainment space, offices, studios, visitor accommodation, a gym and a rooftop garden above. A month later, in November, 2024, Swansea's iconic Palace Theatre was revamped at the cost of nearly 10m and turned into a business hub with a cafe. The construction is set to be completed this summer (Image: Hacer Developments ) Cllr Rob Stewart, Swansea Council leader, said: 'Swansea's £1bn transformation is continuing at pace to create more jobs for local people, support local businesses and raise Swansea's profile across the UK and beyond for investment. 'Swansea Arena has been completed, the Palace Theatre building has re-opened, the Albert Hall has been transformed, and the 71/72 Kingsway office development will soon be open with a number of tenants confirmed and advanced discussions with many other tenants ongoing.' He added: 'It's fantastic news that the groundbreaking, innovative 'living building' scheme led by Hacer Developments will be following suit by the end of the summer. Article continues below 'Our new 'Y Storfa' community services hub at the former BHS unit on Oxford Street is due for completion by the end of the year too, and work will soon start to transform Castle Square into a greener destination at the heart of the city centre.'
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Swansea's old police station is being put to a new use
A former police station is the latest building in Swansea which will be converted into accommodation for people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. Swansea Council is working with social housing landlord Pobl Group to convert the grade two-listed former central police station on the corner of Orchard Street and Alexandra Road into temporary supported accommodation. Pobl has owned the building, now known as Llys Glas, since 2003. It had been offering it as student accommodation but no longer does. The latest plans involve an interior reconfiguration to provide around 65 rooms for single people or couples. Five existing kitchens are to be upgraded and three new ones installed. There'll also be a new sprinkler system and some new access arrangements. Detailed planning and listed building consent applications have been approved. The council said it hoped the project would reduce its reliance on bed and breakfast accommodation, which has increased since the the Covid-19 pandemic and been compounded by wider cost-of-living challenges and a shortage of affordable housing. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here READ MORE: BBC to leave historic Swansea studios where it has been since 1930s READ MORE: Tiny shop making world class sandwiches loved by TV and Michelin chefs makes major announcement Cllr Andrea Lewis, deputy leader and cabinet member for service transformation, said: "This is a great opportunity for the council and Pobl to work together and ease some of the pressures we face with tackling homelessness in Swansea. We will also be able to ensure those being housed within the redeveloped property are supported for any additional needs while they are there, with the aim of moving them into more permanent housing as soon as possible." She added that the latest statistics for homelessness in Swansea showed it was increasing year on year. Andrew Vye, Pobl Group executive director for customer and community, said housing was at the heart of everything. "The security a suitable environment provides can allow those who have experienced homelessness to get back on their feet," he said. "Homelessness continues to be a challenge across Wales and can impact anyone." Pobl has previously helped the council create temporary supported accommodation for 24 people at the Ty Tom Jones building in Alexandra Road. The council has developed homeless "pods" at a former education centre in Uplands, plus temporary accommodation flats for families in Penlan. Local authorities across Wales face growing demand for temporary and permanent accommodation. According to Audit Wales there were 11,591 people being temporarily housed by councils in Wales in May last year, of which 3,003 were children. Swansea councillors heard at a committee meeting last week that "multiple millions" of pounds were being spent annually in the city to address the challenge. Speaking at the governance and audit committee meeting, Mark Wade, the council's director of place, said: "I think this one has been a a significant risk and issue for us for quite some time. But it's more of a glowing red status at the moment."
