RCI NEWS
PEOPLE
Housebuilders get a budget boost
The Chancellor of the Exchequer
has announced guarantees of
£1 billion to SME housebuilders,
plus funding for more than
650,000 new homes in last
month's Budget.
Presenting the Autumn
Budget to the House of
Commons, Phillip Hammond
said that £1 billion of British
business bank guarantees
would be awarded to help small
and medium enterprises build
houses. He also said that there
would be funds for up to 500
neighbourhoods to allocate
land for housing and sell the
homes to local people at a
discounted price.
In his speech, the Chancellor
promised £500 million to the
Housing Infrastructure Fund,
which is used by local councils
to fund housebuilding. He
estimated that this would help
build 650,000 new homes.
The Chancellor has also
allocated £653 million to
partnerships with nine housing
associations with a view to build
13,000 new homes in England.
Elsewhere, the UK’s high
streets will be given a £1.5
billion boost, with £675 million
going towards helping councils
transform their retail zones.
Brian Berry, chief executive
oΠcer of the Federation of
Master Builders, called the
announcements “positive steps
to address the housing crisis”.
He said that by making
use of empty spaces above
shops could create 300,000 –
400,000 new homes.
Brian said: “Retail will always
be an important element of
vibrant high streets, but there
is plenty we can do on a small
scale to help convert unused
and under-used space in to
attractive residential units.
“What we must avoid is
perfectly good space lying
empty and achieving nothing
in terms of boosting the local
economy or housing individuals.”
Brian also said that he
was "pleased" by the SME
housebuilding funding, because
“many small-scale housebuilders
continue to experience diΠculty
in accessing the fi nance they
need to build homes, and it is
often the smallest scale builders
that experience the greatest
problems.”
Be a part of the awards celebrations
The countdown has started,
and there's just a couple of
weeks to go until the Pitched
Roofi ng Awards, which are
presented by RCI magazine.
Bringing manufacturers
and roofi ng contractors
together from across all
aspects of the sector,
the awards luncheon will
champion the spirit of the
pitched roofi ng industry.
The RCI team are really
looking forward to welcoming
guests to the Midland Hotel in
Manchester on November 30.
The inaugural awards
ceremony will include a
three course lunch, and
entertainment by actress and
comedian Kerry Godliman
(pictured right), whose work
ranges from her own radio
sitcom, Live at the Apollo,
the National Theatre, to
BBC One's Our Girl and Ricky
Gervais' Derek.
The Pitched Roofi ng
Awards are near a
sell-out, with only limited
seating available, so, don’t
delay and book now!
To fi nd out more about
the Pitched Roofi ng Awards,
and to book your place at this
must attend event, visit www.
pitchedroofi ngawards.
co.uk, email eventsteam@
markallengroup.com or
call 01322 221 144 for more
information.
Scottish contractors crowned by NFRC
Roofers from across Scotland
gathered for the NFRC Scottish
Roofi ng Contractor of the Year
Awards at the Grand Central
Hotel, Glasgow on October 26.
Hosted by TV broadcaster
Jackie Bird, the winners, which
were chosen by an independent
expert panel, were:
• Roof Slating ¤ Avonside
Roofi ng ¤ Dalbeattie Learning
Campus
• Heritage Roofi ng ¤ D M
Roofi ng and Roughcasting ¤
Pine House
• Roof Tiling ¤ D M Roofi ng and
Roughcasting ¤ Shettleston
Parish Church
• Roof Sheeting & Cladding
¤ Procladd Scotland ¤ NHSS
PSS Building
• Rainscreen ¤ Curtis Moore
(Cladding Systems) ¤ Dundee
Station
• Reinforced Bituminous
Membrane ¤ Raynor Roofi ng
¤ D C Thomson¤Well Roof
• Single Ply ¤ AIM
Developments ¤ An Crubh
(The Hub)
• Liquid Applied ¤ Briggs
Amasco ¤ Marischal Square
• Green Roof ¤ MacLeod
Roofi ng ¤ CNPA HQ
• Fully Supported Metal ¤
Procladd Scotland ¤ Moge
House, Morenish
• Supply Chain Partner of the
Year ¤ Sika Sarnafi l
• Roofi ng Apprentice of the
Year ¤ Connor Liddell of
Rooftec (Scotland).
LSTA APPOINTS
GENERAL
MANAGER
The Lead Sheet
Training Academy
(LSTA) has appointed
Nick DuGard as its new
general manager.
Nick joins the LSTA with a wealth of
experience, having spent 15 years at City
& Guilds as a regional business manager,
where he was responsible for the delivery
of sales revenues, business solutions and
the development of a broad range of
qualifi cation products throughout the UK.
Speaking about his new role, Nick
said: "I am really looking forward to the
challenge of growing what is already a
very successful training operation. From
basic to advanced courses within the
specialist sector, we are the sole provider
of the CITB SAPs programme, whilst also
o¡ ering City & Guilds accredited lead and
hard metal courses.
"Supporting experienced operatives
through the delivery of OSAT levels 2
and Heritage level 3, we have a unique
o¡ er for the roofi ng industry and I am
passionate about getting the message
about the benefi ts of training out to a
wider audience."
www.leadsheet.co.uk
JEREMY MARKS 40 YEARS
IN THE INDUSTRY
Celebrations have
been taking place at
Centaur Technologies
as chairman Jeremy
Gorick marks 40 years
in the liquid roofi ng
industry.
Jeremy fi rst joined the industry in 1978,
cutting his teeth at Liquid Plastics – the
family-run business that was established
by his father and twin brother in 1961. He
grew the Preston-based fi rm, which rose
to prominence in the liquid roofi ng market
in the late 1990s and went on to sell the
business in 2009.
A well-known fi gure in the industry,
Jeremy set up Centaur Technologies with
Phil Richardson and Bob Stanfi eld, two
key former directors at Liquid Plastics.
Commenting on his career, Jeremy,
said: “It’s quite a shock to have notched
up four decades in the industry, but I’m
very pleased to have been involved for
so long. I’m also proud to have been part
of the movement that pioneered modern
liquid roofi ng products, setting them on
course to become respected, mainstream
roofi ng systems.”
www.centaurroofi ng.co.uk
06 www.rcimag.co.uk November 2018
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/markallengroup.com
/www.leadsheet.co.uk
/www.centaurroofi
/ng.co.uk
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