All Professional comment articles – Page 19
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Insight
‘Adapt and Make Better’ instead
The government’s loosely defined ‘Build Back Better’ mantra suggests construction of new buildings and infrastructure will be one of the engines of economic recovery, but what might this mean in practice?
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Professional
Physical and digital security are vital to flex-space working
Having the right security tools in place can foster trust with your tenants and safeguard your proposition.
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Professional
Cutting down embodied carbon
The real estate sector is just waking up to the fact that reducing operational emissions in the built environment is the easier part of the net zero carbon challenge – the more difficult part is tackling embodied carbon.
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Professional
Benefits of reduced energy use
A viral video during the pandemic shows young people in Paris using parkour skills to reach the kill switches for the illuminated signs of shuttered shops on the locked-down Champs-Élysées.
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Insight
The real value of outdoor space
With British Summer Time finally here, temperatures edging upwards and restrictions lifting, there is an ever-increasing sense of optimism in the air.
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Insight
New workplaces for a new world
With the recent reopening of the retail and hospitality industry, a new sense of hope has emerged. As the government reopens society step by step, the return to the office is on the horizon.
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Insight
A future in government property
Government property is a brilliant place to work on the biggest, most diverse property portfolio in the UK.
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Insight
An alternative key to the housing crisis
The number of small and medium-sized housebuilders (firms that produce 100 units or less every year) has fallen from more than 12,000 in the mid-1980s to around 2,400 today.u
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Professional
An opportunity for tech innovation
Technology has been invaluable for keeping contact and responding to the pandemic. It has also brought with it an opportunity for innovation.
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Professional
Is the Planning White Paper really a ‘housing’ white paper?
The government’s emphasis on housing does not necessarily make the house a home. Last year saw consultation on the Planning White Paper, which proposed changes to the planning system to “finally build the homes we all need”.
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Professional
Could redundant space be converted for life science use?
In the past year, Covid-19 has fuelled a significant interest in life science-related real estate. Clusters of life science-related property have developed within the London-Cambridge-Oxford triangle and also in Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Scotland.
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Professional
Boosting support for the under-30s
Identifying residents who need the most support is a key part of any social landlord’s job. While there are some groups who most understand have more extensive needs, such as elderly tenants, it’s always worth digging deeper into other demographics to see where help is needed elsewhere.
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Professional
Property needs fresh ideas to meet new industry demands
The sector must invest in future talent for the benefit of individual businesses and wider industry growth.
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Professional
Gear Change eyed for city cycling
While the public’s focus has understandably been preoccupied with the global pandemic, and that of planners with the planning white paper, the government has released significant new guidance that could lead to lasting changes to both public health and planning.
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Professional
Gauging the implications of AR
I loved sci-fi as a boy. Even though I hid behind the sofa when the Daleks appeared in Doctor Who, it always inspired excitement. Proptech is real estate’s sci-fi and, of this, augmented reality (AR) is particularly exciting.
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Professional
Retrofitting for a greener future
The scale and urgency of climate change means we all need to take action to reduce carbon emissions where we can.
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Professional
Scenario-testing tech at the fore
Covid has forced many companies to the negotiating table with their landlords to address what some now deem to be expensive, overly long leases. Even for the few that are still committing to physical expansion, it is under markedly different terms.
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Professional
Can TVG registration criminalise a landowner’s pre-existing activities?
The recent Supreme Court judgment in TW Logistics v Essex County Council clarified the law on the rights of landowners following the registration of land as a town or village green (TVG).
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Professional
Do buildings under 18m in height require remedial actions to EWSs?
Remedial actions to external wall systems (EWSs) are being advised for many residential blocks that fall below the 18m building-height threshold.
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Professional
Infection control needs to be taken seriously
An infection control strategy is fast becoming a critical element of any ethical business. This is certainly the case for the property market. Those properties that are best able to demonstrate a robust and future-proof policy when it comes to infection control will stand out in a crowded market.