The vast majority of surveyors believe that charges levied against empty commercial properties are ‘significantly detrimental’ to the recovery of the nation’s local economies, a report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found.

The new survey from RICS found that 90 per cent of surveyors claimed that extortionate Empty Property Rates (EPR) are hampering local economic recovery in the UK.

75 per cent of those who responded also believed that the rental value of retail properties would decrease as a direct result of EPR.

Nine tenths (88 per cent) also considered EPR to be a significant deterrent for the speculative building of commercial property.

Jonathan Cornes, Building Surveyor from Jonathan Cornes Associates said: “The charges faced by property owners are quite simply crippling the high street and preventing businesses of all types from achieving financial stability. It is clear that in this difficult economic climate, businesses need all the help they can get.

“We would like to see the government take the initiative in the forthcoming Autumn Statement and offer property owners a longer exemption period. This would allow commercial landlords some much needed breathing space and contribute towards getting the business sector moving again”.

Owners of commercial premises, including both offices and high street shops, are not required to pay business tax for three months after they are vacated. This period is extended to six months for warehouses and other industrial properties.

However, beyond this period, EPR are applicable at a full rate, leaving many businesses with a hefty tax bill which they cannot fund.

68 per cent of respondents also claimed that commercial property floor space was vacant for periods in excess of six months, meaning that owners face unmanageable taxes when their businesses are at their most stretched.

Over half of those surveyed said that they believe such factors can lead to property owners demolishing their business premises rather than face the tax.

Rates collected from taxpayers are initially passed to central Government before being redistributed back to Local Authorities as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. These funds are then used towards paying for local services.

RICS has called for the Government to extend the exemption period for commercial property owners in its forthcoming Autumn Statement, allowing premises owners without tenants to avoid EPR for six, rather than three, months.

It has also asked for industrial property owners to be granted an extended 12 month grace period.

Property Aspects Magazine appreciates the expertise and advice from Jonathan Cornes in the compilation of this article

A leading drainage expert explains the detrimental effects of the recent floods across the country and indicates that government indecision and inactivity have made matters worse.

The last time flood damage was seen on this scale, in 2007, it prompted the government to commission leading municipal engineer Sir Michael Pitt to recommend measures to minimise the likelihood of any repetition. However, little progress has been made in certain areas, it is claimed, with some of Pitt’s key recommendations yet to be implemented and some mired in uncertainty and delay.

Jill Jones, Drainage Expert at Environmental consultants Peak Associates said: “For thousands of homes and properties facing flooding misery, nothing has changed significantly since Pitt.

She added: “According to the government’s final progress report less than half of Pitt’s 92 recommendations were fully implemented with most of the rest remaining ‘work in progress’. Some key recommendations, embodied in the Flood and Water Management Act, have been subject to continuing setbacks”.

According to Pitt, two thirds of the 2007 floods were caused by surface water flooding. Yet plans to introduce new national standards in England and Wales making Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) compulsory through Local Authority Approving Bodies have been subject to persistent delays.

Jill suggested: “It now seems likely that local authorities will have to wait until April 2014 to begin their roles – at least two years behind the original schedule”.

These measures are still just the tip of the iceberg in the upgrading of our urban surface water drainage systems. As yet there are no firm plans in place to legislate and the current proposed legislation does not cover highways.

Accepted thinking on surface water drainage has been overly influenced by an enthusiastic Green lobby, causing concerns for developers who may be forced to reduce available land for building in new developments already facing tight profit margins.

At the same time, natural features present engineering challenges for drainage designers to accurately predict their performance in extreme weather conditions, as well as their long-term maintenance requirements.

Jill commented: “A wide variety of engineered systems are available which can enhance the amenity value of natural features whilst providing repeatability of measurable performance. Slowly the industry has come round to this way of thinking. Unfortunately, in the meantime I believe this uncertainty has caused delays in framing clear and unequivocal national standards that can provide a consistent benchmark for all designers to follow”.

“Whilst urban drainage schemes remained dogged by delays, there are similar frustrations for many major proposed flood defence projects put on hold after the government’s swingeing cuts in 2010. New partnership funding arrangements now require local stakeholders such as councils, developers, utilities or Network Rail, to contribute to schemes in their area.

As a result, communities desperate for updated flood defences such as Morpeth in Northumberland have had to wait longer for defences to be built whilst funds are raised”.

“The good news is that the British water industry offers some innovative and imaginative technologies available to provide sustainable, maintainable and reliable solutions to flood defences in future.

We have the ability to solve the problems raised so clearly and fully in Sir Michael Pitt’s excellent report. For the sake of all those affected by flooding we need decisive and resolute government action with redoubled effort to follow through on Sir Michael’s recommendations”.

For drainage advice contact Jill Jones via www.peak-associates.com

Controlling voltage is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to reduce electricity use and cut carbon emissions.

Nearly all organisations pay for electricity they do not use because they do not control the voltage of the electricity that flows around their site.

Tighter control means more savings. Power wastage costs can be avoided and as electricity prices rise, every 1% of power savings will have a greater impact.

Voltage regulation reduces, controls and balances your supply voltages. Typically, this will deliver site savings of 5-17%, although savings of 20% or more are possible when applied exclusively to certain types of electrical load such as direct motors and traditional lighting.

In addition, lowering and controlling incoming voltage reduces maintenance requirements and extends the life of electrical equipment.

It can also help you avoid fines from not complying with the Carbon Reduction Commitment Act.

Gary Brandwood, Commercial Business Manager Reef Energy Solutions who are leading experts reducing energy costs in the NW, said: “Commercial voltage optimisation is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to reduce electricity use, cut carbon emissions, reduce electrical breakdowns and increase the life of electrical equipment”.

He added: “we see many firms looking for ways to reduce their energy spend and not taking advantage of Voltage Optimisation as it’s not easily understood.

By doing this they could make a significant difference to their monthly energy bill each and every month with instant results and a very fast payback period”.

If you are interested in learning how Voltage Optimisation can be of benefit to your property, please contact Reef Energy Solutions on 0845 3032921.

Property Aspects Magazine is grateful to the assistance and knowledge provided by Reef Energy in helping us to compile this article.

A recent case has given cause for employers and their advisers to re-think about how they calculate the level of Liquidated Ascertained Damages (LADs) in construction contracts. The focus has moved from the precise sums included to the reason behind that level.

Until recently the level of LADs, the fixed sum payable per week of delay, was assessed by the courts on the principle that employers would work out a genuine pre-estimate of likely losses. For example, if a firm was moving offices but a contractor was late on the expected move-in date, the firm would charge a sum of their likely costs and losses I.E. loss of rental or other income from the completed development, additional financing charges, additional professional fees for longer site supervision, cost of new marketing, additional rental costs for alternative premises etc.

However the courts have recently changed the way in which LADs are legally interpreted to try and support the arrangement between the two parties. Instead of looking at the level of LADs, they look at the reason for the amount.

If a level of LADs has been calculated via a genuine pre-estimate and the figure is in the right ballpark, they will allow the employer to recoup the agreed fixed sum – they will uphold the parties’ bargain. On the other hand if the figure is outlandishly large and clearly being used as a deterrence for the contractor being late, then the court will strike the amount of LADs out as a penalty and those LADs cannot be recovered.

A prime example of this is the recent case of Azimut-Benetti SPA v Healy, where luxury Italian yacht builders Azimut-Benetti (AB) claimed for 20% of the contract price, which incidentally was €38 million, if the contract was terminated. When the contract was terminated, Healy complained, “The 20% was a penalty clause aimed at deterring breach which exceeded the maximum possible loss.”

To talk through the ins and outs of the case and LADs, we spoke to legal expert Sarah Fox of Enjoy Legal Learning.

She stated: “Since 1915 there has been a long line of construction cases, giving us a series of increasingly complex rules for determining what might be an acceptable level of LADs for delay on a construction project. In many of those cases, the courts approached the issue of whether the level of LADs was acceptable by a forensic analysis: a line-by-line review of all the employer’s losses. Whether or not an employer could recover might depend on what losses they actually incurred, compared to the ones they thought they might. This made us all into ‘mystics’ – trying to predict the future.”

She continued: “But now the courts have stepped back from having to review if the sum claimed is ‘excessive’, ‘unconscionable’, or if there is a ‘wide gulf’ between the amounts suffered and the amounts claimed. We are getting a pragmatic approach to LADs, which will help both parties.

The court wants to support commercial agreements, and as long as the figure for LADs is not so large as to clearly be intended to deter the contractor from completing late, then the courts are likely to uphold the level of LADs included in the contract.”

“This is a victory for commercial common sense.”

Sarah has been Highly Commended in the SCL Hudson Prize competition in 2011 for papers on construction law. If you wish to contact her, please email Sarah via: sarah@enjoylegallearning.co.uk

A Cheshire-based planning consultancy has been considering if ‘Neighbourhood Plans’ are yet to have an impact on the local decision making process.

Amanda Olley, Managing Director of North West-based Summit Planning Associates, believes that the challenges facing Local Authorities in bringing local policy in line with national policy, will impact upon timeframes for Neighbourhood Forums to adopt Neighbourhood Plans in the near future. This then leaves another question as to whether it will impact upon the willingness of the development industry to engage with Neighbourhood Forums, if involvement in the neighbourhood planning process provides no more certainty.

The ethos behind Neighbourhood Plans is to encourage development, whilst also handing power back to the people to have influence over the decision making process.

However since it’s inception, the Neighbourhood Plan has come under fire from developers, MPs and the general public alike.

A select committee called that Localism Act as a whole, inconsistent and incoherent, while developers were concerned that Neighbourhood Plans would simply be another hurdle added to the planning process, and dissuade projects rather than encourage them.

There have also been concerns that Neighbourhood Forums would simply use the new power to block development or create difficulties.

While it’s to soon to tell from even the forerunner Neighbourhood Forums if the Neighbourhood Plan will fulfil what it is set up to achieve, it’s fair to say that it has not caused half as many issues as were originally feared.

Chartered Town Planner Amanda Olley from Summit Associates believes that in this unstable period, time will tell if this element of the recent planning reforms will have the desired long-term effect.

Amanda stated: “If the Neighbourhood Planning process is going to stand a chance of anything close to success it is going to need patience in the short term. It will take time for the local plan process to pull itself in line with the national position before meaningful neighbourhood plans can truly come forward”.

She continued: “The over zealous pushing through of Neighbourhood Plans, simply to demonstrate implementation, will only end up with yet another tier of plan-making that is going to be out of date almost as immediately as it is adopted. This will not provide certainty for developers or for neighbourhood forums and will not contribute to the stimulation of economic growth”.

Amanda Olley has been a planning consultant for 12 years and is happy to assist with yourlocal planning requirements. Please contact her at Summit Planning Associates via Tel: 01625 801800 or E-Mail: amandaolley@summitassociates.co.uk

OFCOM recently reported in their Communications Market Report, “Text-based communications are surpassing home calls or meeting face to face as the most frequent ways of keeping in touch for UK adults.”

The report showed that, “The average UK consumer now sends 50 texts per week which has more doubled in four years with over 150 billion text messages sent in 2011.” With over two decades experience in telecoms, Ian Hilton, Director of North West-based telecoms provider, TechAdvance has been reflecting on how businesses can utilise the current trend by using texts.

OFCOM’s reports highlighted that even though people still prefer to communicate face-to-face, mobile phones are one of the driving forces, with two fifths of adults now owning a smart-phone and using it as their primary access point to the Internet; while for the first time ever, calls from a mobile outnumbered calls from a landline. But it’s the text revolution that is most prominent, with the average Briton now sending around 50 texts per week.

It was recently reported that ‘the sender pays’ model is one of the key reasons why text in businesses fails, and they need to look for more real-world applications. Among these are for monitoring, information, notification or as a security key.

Ian Hilton has had first-hand experience of successfully implementing this technology, and believes embracing texts are the way forward.

Ian stated: “The ability to integrate text messaging simply provides an opportunity for organisations to communicate effectively using a technology that we are all very familiar with and comfortable with. We are seeing a growing interest from people wanting to send and receive text messages from their PC, email, or database applications.”

He continued: “Texts can be used in all sorts of ways to help both your customers and workforce, such as keeping in touch with your off site staff or for reminding your customers about appointments. It is often used by Healthcare, Education, service and support providers, and many different direct sales and marketing applications.”

Property Aspects magazine thanks Ian Hilton for assistance with compiling this article. For more help and advice with your telecoms, contact Ian via Tel: 0845 389 2311 or E-Mail: ihilton@techadvance.co.uk

Mention ‘socialising’ in the office and you may conjure up images of slackers hanging around the photocopier (or is that now the ‘water-cooler’?).

However, these negative images aren’t today’s norm. Socialising in today’s business has changed and the advantages are clear. People need to become more connected than ever, and are mixing and mingling in new ways nowadays via social media channels.

But face to face networking is so important – and still very effective!

Most business people know they must, amongst other things, still network in order to achieve development and find new prospects. Many people are now told as early as high school that to succeed in business you need to “meet a lot of people and build a network”.

It’s critically important to participate in the public arena and interact with the people who could become your future business clients or colleagues, or provide you with valuable information to help you develop business.

If possible you would want to meet business people working specifically within your own business sector. These events can be few and far between for many sectors.

But the Property and Construction sector has a perfect networking opportunity already in existence. And it’s been around for years!

The Curry Club

The Curry Club is run by the team at Networking in the City at venues in Manchester and various cities around the UK. They provide people in property and construction with the ideal opportunity to meet lots of other businesses working in the sector.

Being around the right people can give you an edge over your competitors. We all need to keep our profile out there amongst our target audience.

The Curry Club property lunches give you the time to mix with others, maybe share updates on projects that are taking place around the city or maybe catch up with contacts that you haven’t seen for a while.

Sharing knowledge is a big part of networking and a far better strategy than pitching your business offering at the table. It makes the lunch beneficial to both parties, and by asking questions of others it provides you an insight into them that may help lead you to getting business in future.

In order to convert socialising into networking, you need to have a goals planted in your mind before you even enter the venue where networking will take place. It is important to attend the right functions within the city, talk to the right people, ask lots of questions and bounce ideas and conversation off each other.

The Curry Club can help you do exactly that and is a great place to start, for anyone working in the property and construction sector.

Check it out at www.networkinginthecity.co.uk

FREE guest places at the Manchester Curry Club

Would you like to attend the Curry Club as guests of Property Aspects Magazine?

The first 5 people to email me via david@m3publishing.co.uk and mention this article can come as our guests.

Time management is key for any architect, especially when they are working on multiple projects to tight deadlines. However the intricacies of the planning system can impact on both productivity and creativity when it comes to the design process.

Architects Journal reported in August that the second quarter of 2012 saw a workload boost for British Architects. The research firm Arch-Vision found that one in ten British practices saw their order books increase by 5% or more in the three months to June. With this in mind, architects need focus on their work to be paramount, and many find that dealing with planning issues hinders them from creating their best possible design work.

Property Aspects Magazine recently spoke with Amanda Olley, who is a chartered town planner and Managing Director of North West-based Summit Planning Associates. Amanda gave us her expert advice on how Architects can lighten their load.

Amanda commented:“As a newly formed consultancy we have found great benefit in collaborating closely with Architects as it widens the scope of services that both partners are able to offer. Having a planning consultant on board provides added value and confidence to the creative and design process that the Architect wishes to follow!

“More often than not, Architects receive little or inconsistent design guidance from the Local Planning Authority and it’s multitude of statutory consultees. This can fragment and disjoint the design process, and ultimately adds significant time and cost to a project.”

Amanda continued: “The forte of the planning consultant is in the reliable interpretation of both planning policy and initial advice received from the Planning Authority and its statutory consultees”.

“A familiar trap that we often see Architects fall in to, is to try and give the Planning Authority everything that they ask for. Quite often this is not always justified and the design process ends up being unreasonably compromised”.

Property Aspects also spoke with Ian Leighton, an experienced, Chartered Architect from Architect Solutions, who supported Amanda’s points.

Ian commented: “Having a planning consultant on board reduces the amount of time that an Architect needs to spend in inconclusive discussions with the Planning Authority, and provides a greater degree of confidence to the design approach with which the Architect wishes to move forward.”

Amanda Olley has been a planning consultant for 12 years and is an expert in her field. For more information, contact Summit Planning Associates via Tel: 01625 801800 or E-Mail: amandaolley@summitassociates.co.uk

Chartered Architect Ian Leighton and examples of his work can be found via his website www.architectsolutions.co.uk

Are you taking necessary precautions to protect your property business from criminals?

New research has revealed the full extent of business crime in the UK and the added pressure it’s placing on firms in the recession.

Research has found that more than one million small businesses have been targeted by criminals in the UK during the past two years – many of them in the construction sector.

One well-established and very experienced construction firm in the North West, Ennis Construction ensures that they maintain adequate security levels on all their sites. Their spokesman Bart O’Sullivan commented. “Security is always an issue on any building site. We ensure that we have a strong security presence in place on all our properties”.

Property damage had also affected some 135,000 businesses as well as damage to equipment and tools in which 90,000 firms were targeted.

Also commenting on the research, David Hudson, Managing Director of leading Manchester commercial insurance brokers Buckland Harvester, said: “Being targeted by criminals is often a catastrophic event for small businesses in terms of the disruption it brings to their production or delays on a development site. There is also the financial cost of the actual lost property and equipment”.

“Businesses need to ensure they protect themselves for every eventuality so that they’re fully covered when the worst happens. This can be achieved by ensuring the commercial insurance they choose in the first place adequately safeguards their assets and takes account of every possible risk.

“The gloomy economy is bringing additional pressures to small businesses and many are finding it a struggle to survive but insurance is one overhead which should never be stripped back as part of an economising drive as the consequences for the business could be dire.”

If you need advice or help regarding the protection of your sites, plant hire and equipment, please contact Jolene Shaw at Buckland Harvester at www.bucklandharvester.co.uk

The government has unveiled plans to exempt some of Britain’s biggest industries from charges for clean electricity.

The Energy Bill confirms that households will be expected to pay about £100 a year on average to get more power from nuclear and renewables.

But it looks as though energy intensive firms won’t have to pay the extra charges. It’s feared that if their energy bills rise too high, they’ll move manufacturing jobs abroad. The move may prove controversial with consumer groups.

We spoke with Gary Brandwood, Sales and Marketing Director at Renewables 4 business said: “The government has recognised that if you are trying to cut global emissions of carbon, it’s futile driving away firms to pollute somewhere else. But many households may wonder why they’re being forced to pay extra whilst big firms are not”.

Gary continued “Our aim is to enhance business premises and domestic homes by reducing the amount that is spent on their energy bills – something that everyone can connect with. The Green Deal is definitely building momentum and funding is also available from ECO for certain measures”.

The Bill confirms that households would provide £7.6bn of subsidy to nuclear and renewables by 2020 to keep the lights on and to meet targets on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

The government says the investment will shield the UK from volatile gas prices and force down costs in the long run.

But ministers have also announced that some of biggest industrial polluters in the UK – like steel and cement – may not be asked to pay extra. These global firms threaten to take their jobs elsewhere if power bills rise.

If you would like help and advice in order to cut your energy bills, contact Gary Brandwood direct at Renewables 4 Business on 01925 764586 .

Property Aspects Magazine appreciates the expertise provided by Reef Energy Solutions in publishing this article.