This week, Robert Jenrick MP - the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government - announced planning reforms in a bid to get the UK building trade back on its feet.

Dubbed 'Rob the Builder', Jenrick promised to rip up red tape in order to help smaller construction firms and kickstart the British economy.

The government is planning to construct 300,000 new properties each year, and Jenrick wants a "substantial" portion of those buildings to be constructed by small and medium-sized businesses.

He said:

"We'll cut red tape, but not standards - placing a higher regard on quality, design and the environment than ever before.

"Planning decisions will be simple and transparent, with local democracy at the heart of the process. Today's reforms are going to give our brickies, builders and labourers the boost they need to get back to the business of building homes.

"Thousands of self-employed workers will be able to don their hard hats and help the country recover from the impact of coronavirus."

Many construction workers and other tradespeople have been outspoken in their appreciation of the news, welcoming moves to speed up the planning process.

One company spokesperson said: "Many building workers are paid weekly, so it's a quickfire way to put cash back into the economy."

With the UK building trade at the forefront of government plans for the nation's economic recovery, there has never been a better time to learn a trade and join the construction industry. Call Access Training on 0800 345 7492 to speak with a course advisor today.

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Are you looking to gain the skills and knowledge needed to be able to improve your outdoor living space with a self-built deck? Access Training can help! With our range of Carpentry Courses, you can gain the essential competencies required to become a professional carpenter and build your very own deck area. Whether it's for your own property or for others, we provide intensive and thorough training courses that enable you to become fully qualified in the carpentry industry and pursue a range of career goals. Click the button below to browse all of the Carpentry Courses that we currently offer here at Access Training.

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Why Learn to Build Your Own Deck?

So, why would you want to build your own deck? Let's take a look at some of the benefits you can experience by gaining the appropriate building skills! 

  • Cost - Probably the biggest factor to enrolling onto one of our courses to gain professional building and carpentry skills is the amount of money you can potentially save by completing the work required to build the deck yourself, rather than outsourcing the labour to another builder! The cost involved with gaining professional carpentry qualifications can quickly turn itself into an investment when you realise that you are able to do the most important and skilled elements of the job yourself. 
  • Trust - When it comes to working on your property, you want somebody that you can trust to a proper and professional job. The risk of hiring an external builder is that there is no guarantee that this will happen unless you know them of course. By gaining the skills and knowledge, you eliminate the risk of the project never being completed to the standard that you require.
  • DIY Skills - By completing one of our carpentry courses, not only will you be competent in building your own deck, but you will gain the skills to complete a number of different jobs around your home such as installing doors and repairing floors! This again can be a huge cost-saving bonus and saves you the stress and hassle of finding a quality and trustworthy carpenter to complete the job.
  • A New Career - One of the most rewarding benefits of gaining professional carpentry and building skills with Access Training is the potential that you gain in starting a totally new career! Simply by starting to learn the basic requirements needed to be able to build a deck, you can quickly gain a passion that can change your life. Become your own boss or start a team of other professional builders/carpenters with the help of Access Training today!

 

What Decking Should You Choose? 

Gaining the necessary skills and qualifications to be able to build your own deck is one thing, finding the right decking that is going to last is another. We now take a look at the options that you have and what is best for saving even more time, money and effort. 

When it comes to decking, there a whole host of choices that you can choose from, each one offering a different kind of benefit. Firstly, you have plastic. Plastic decking has been a hugely popular choice with homeowners in many countries due to its low-maintenance and cheap costs. However, it does come with its drawbacks. Most notably their complete synthetic makeup, which over time can cause them to bow or crack underfoot, meaning you have to then replace the damaged boards! Leading to more costs and time spent installing new boards.

Secondly, you have natural wood decking. This again has been a popular choice for many people when installing a deck in their home due to its natural wood look, but it also has its disadvantages. Over time, wood decking can begin to crack and splinter, as well as building up algae, causing the deck to become extremely slippery in wet conditions. These pose obvious safety hazards to you or anyone that walks on the deck, resulting in it having to be cared for and maintained on a regular basis. This again takes up much more of your time and money as you have to buy the necessary equipment and products.

Finally, there's the option of composite decking. Composite decking combines the natural wood appearance of wood decking with the low-maintenance properties of plastic decking. Eliminating the need for regular upkeep to retain its beautiful look or to keep it safe. Composite deck boards are created using a combination of natural hardwood and synthetic materials, creating a board that is the 'best of both worlds'. 

If you would like to be able to build your own deck and gain the potential of starting a new career, enrol onto our Professional Carpentry Course today! 

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For further information on our range of courses or if you have any general enquiries, then please do not hesitate to contact us today.

 

Trainee and existing tradespeople alike will know there's a lot to remember when it comes to current building regulations. Whether it's having to remember Part P when performing electrical installations or keeping energy efficiency in mind because of Part L, it's a lot to take in. However tradespeople's lives are about to get that little bit easier when it comes to house building, as Communities minister Stephen Williams announced that the current housing regulations were "complicated and confusing" and "ripe for reform".

The proposed changes are a very large scale, reducing the current 100 standards down to a mere 10, with the number of remaining pages of guidance from 1,000 down to less than a hundred. Among the abolished standards are requirements for rainwater harvesting in places that don't suffer from water shortages, requirements for more than one phone line to be installed and requirements for compost bins and secure sheds in gardens.

Another important change is that this new system technical requirements will be solely assessed by building control bodies. Currently work needs to be check by multiple organisations such as the planning authority, a Code for Sustainable Homes Assessor, Homes & Communities Agency as well as the aforementioned building control organisation and various other independent assessors.

Other changes being made to the regulations include:

  • Optional regulations such as water efficiency and wheelchair access that is up to councils whether to apply or not.
  • A single national space standard.
  • A new standard for security in new homes.
  • New energy standards which allow councils to impose locally-set targets for energy efficiency and renewables.

More detailed information is still yet to be revealed, however the news seems to have been received positively by housebuilders across the UK. Head of Residential at construction consultant EC Harris Mark Farmer said that they are "a further step toward improving housing standards and supporting house builders to reduce the national housing shortfall".

We'll provide more detailed news on these changes as they come, but for now it certainly seems like tradespeople will have a little less red tape to deal with when it comes to new house building. If you'd like to join the construction boom and become a professional tradesperson, give Access Training a call on 0800 345 7492 to find out more about our trades training courses.

Via Construction Enquirer

Communities secretary Eric Pickles has announced that the Government is to increase its infrastructure investment by a massive £40 million, in the hopes that it will further attract new businesses and create thousands of local jobs.

At the time of announcement Eric Pickles said: "Enterprise zones are stimulating job creation and economic growth in different parts of the country with their special package of incentives to attractive new business ventures. The government is putting its money where its mouth is and making sure enterprise zones have the buildings and infrastructure they need to make sites ready for business to set up in."

Enterprise zones are areas which have been specifically targeted for economic growth. The polices surrounding them usually offer infrastructure incentives, tax concession and other reduced regulations in order to attract investors and private companies to them. Among the Enterprise zones shortlisted for this fund are areas in Birmingham, Tees Valley, Wirral Waters, Dover, Manchester, Sheffield and more.

Andy Rose, Chief Executive at the Homes and Communities Agency, which is administering the fund, said: "The response from the enterprise zones to this investment opportunity demonstrates just how crucial upfront infrastructure is to development. It is great news that this additional investment means more priority sites can be funded than first thought, creating more jobs in the areas that need them. We will now work with partners to refine the bids and ensure the investment is helping to maximise economic growth in local communities."

The full Government press release can be read HERE.

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