Planning Success at Trent Park
Posted on October 11th 2017
We are delighted to have supported Berkeley Homes (North East London) Ltd in devising an integrated energy and overheating strategy for the proposed residential development at Trent Park in the London Borough of Enfield. The development will provide 232 new flats and houses, and include the refurbishment of an existing Grade II Listed Mansion House and Stable Block to provide …
Changing Specifications for Non-Combustible Insulation and Cladding
Posted on October 11th 2017
In response to heightened focus on the insulation and cladding used in developments, many of our clients have changed Phenolic and PIR insulation to non-combustible insulation, and metal cladding to non-metal alternatives. This trend is being observed even on buildings less than 18m tall due to increased caution on insulation and cladding. Changing the insulation product has a number of …
Draft London Housing Strategy Promotes Quality and Safety
Posted on October 11th 2017
The Mayor of London published his draft London Housing Strategy for consultation in September, 2017. The document makes it clear that the quality and safety of new homes is a key priority for the Mayor, and that London’s housing design standards will be consolidated into a single new planning document. Strict accessibility and space standards will be implemented, ensuring more …
Charity Football Tournament Raises Over £50,000
Posted on October 11th 2017
The Hodkinson Consultancy team from left to right: Chris Forster, Jonathan Peck, Thomas Gwilliam, Russell Hodgson, Georgios Koronaios, Igor Esteves, Donald Sinclair . Employees from Hodkinson Consultancy took part in the Annual Berkeley Foundation 5-a-side football tournament in South East London to raise funds for Demelza Hospice Care for Children . Demelza Hospice Care for Children provides vital care and support to …
Performance evaluation for better buildings
Posted on September 13th 2017
Undertaking Building Performance Evaluation has many practical applications for improving operational performance, increasing levels of customer satisfaction, and feedback into the design process for future developments. We are increasingly finding that metered heat consumption within community heating schemes varies widely from what is expected. Monitoring this data alongside surveys of building occupants has demonstrated that improvements could be made in …
ANC Working Group on overheating, ventilation and acoustics
Posted on September 13th 2017
Achieving thermal and acoustic comfort at the same time is becoming challenging for developments in urban areas and noisy locations. For example, a development built next to a mainline railway or road will mean that residents cannot open their windows for natural purge ventilation, this significantly increasing the risk of overheating and making a dwelling very difficult to pass the …
Security Assessments: What’s New?
Posted on September 13th 2017
Since 1989, Secured by Design has provided prescriptive guidance in terms of security for developers of both residential and commercial units. This was established by the Association of Police Chief Officers (ACPO) and has been rolled out with the help of Architectural Liaison Officers (ALOs) and Crime Prevention Design Advisors (CPDAs). In 2007, the Secured by Design (SBD) principles were …
Three more specialists join the Hodkinson team
Posted on September 13th 2017
We are delighted to welcome three new people to our team, Igor Esteves, Angeliki Antoniou and Eleanor Ballinger. Igor joins our District Energy team as a Senior Specialist with experience gained at a major utility company. This strengthens our district energy capabilities in response to the growing demand for strategic energy solutions particularly on major regeneration projects particularly in the …
Draft London Environment Strategy Supports Enhanced Role for District Heating
Posted on August 15th 2017
The Mayor of London’s Draft Environment Strategy was published last week. This sets out an ambitious programme to make London a Zero Carbon city by 2050, and provides a focus on policy areas for the Mayor to address in the upcoming London Plan due to be published later this year. Here we examine the proposals with specific regard to district …
Getting External Lighting Right
Posted on August 15th 2017
Good external lighting design can significantly uplift the visual environment of any scheme. However, wider considerations of light pollution, energy efficiency, safety and security need to be appropriately considered. Addressing the issue at planning stage not only supports planning applications but also promotes a fit-for-purpose and cost effective basis for the detailed design. Light pollution was introduced to the National …