EWS LEEDS OFFICE SCHEME REVAMP ADAPTS TO NEW NORMAL As part of a 2m refurbishment of The Coach Works, at 21 The Calls, Leeds, Regional REIT working with KPP Architects, BNP Paribas Real Estate, TB&A and main contractor JP Wild has invested in measures to provide a safer post-Covid environment for occupants. As well as installing Superloos self-contained cubicles with a toilet, vanity unit and hand-drying facilities, plus touchless taps, soap dispensers and flushes the ventilation has been adapted, with improved outdoor airflow and extraction, and fully renovated, openable windows. The systems are twin-circuit, providing 100% airflow change for fresh-air feed and on extraction. The works are expected to be completed by 7 December 2020. IN BRIEF Industry events move online ASHRAE has announced that the 2021 AHR Expo, due to be held at McCormick Place, Chicago, in January, has been cancelled. The societys Winter Meeting, usually run alongside the expo, will instead be a virtual conference from 9-11 February. ASHRAE committee, council and board meetings will also take place virtually, in January. CIBSEs 2020 Build2Perform event will be held online on 2326 November. To register, visit www.build2perform.co.uk 3bn building upgrade fund launched The government has committed 3bn to a national retrofit programme that could help create or protect more than 120,000 jobs. Around 1bn is earmarked for public buildings in England. Government departments, local authorities, schools and NHS Trusts will be able to access the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund to install energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures. Around 2bn will be available through the Green Homes Grant scheme, to help homeowners upgrade the energy performance of their properties, while 50m will be allocated through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund to improve 2,000 of the worstperforming social properties. Other measures will try to bring almost three million privately rented homes up to modern energy efficiency standards by 2028. Engineering bodies urge government to back innovation Paper calls for measures to address the shortage of Stem teachers and diversity challenges in science and engineering subjects More than 40 engineering organisations, including CIBSE, have urged the government to support innovation that will help cut carbon emissions. The National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) said infrastructure, low carbon energy, and skills should be the top priorities for investment. It added that the UK should aim to be a science, engineering and innovation superpower, which would allow the government to receive the maximum economic and social returns from its investment. In a joint paper compiled by the NEPC, industry bodies representing more than 450,000 UK engineers have recommended that the government invests to help decarbonise the economy, and forms a national workforce planning strategy that will create jobs and spread opportunities more evenly. The paper calls for careful and considered decisions about physical and digital infrastructure in order to drive economic recovery and provide skilled jobs. It also demands measures to address the shortages of physics, maths, computing and technology teachers, and methods to boost the number of people completing higher technical qualifications and apprenticeships. In October, amid economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the government announced it will set out a one-year review in late November. Cundall reshaping its workforce Cundall may implement a second round of redundancies as part of a workforce restructure to cope with changes brought about by the Covid-19 crisis. The consultancy reduced its headcount by 54 during the summer and is now considering a further 15 redundancies from its total workforce of 900. Managing partner Toms Neeson said the company had done everything it could to keep our people safe and protect jobs as our clients and markets dealt with the same disruption to their operations. He added that the pandemic had changed the way the company did business, with demand falling in some areas, but increasing in others, such as sustainability, data centres and schools. As a result of this change in the market, we are reshaping our business to meet this demand and are currently advertising 74 roles across the global business, said Neeson. Unfortunately, part of this planning means we have also identified a small number of roles in the UK that are at risk of redundancy. We are exploring options for alternative employment with all those whose roles are at risk. 6 November 2020 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Nov 2020 pp06-07 News.indd 6 23/10/2020 15:27