The BBC3 Brickies is about getting more people in to the building trade and taking up an apprenticeship. Every Monday at 9pm

 

Brickies to trowel up again as BBC Three series is set to air

 

A TV series which made stars out of young bricklayers is heading back to our screens later this month.

 

BBC Three’s Brickies is back for another hot summer of building houses and chasing dreams.

 

The first episode of series two of the popular docuseries, which follows the lives and loves of young recruits at Derby-based Hodgkinson Builders, airs at 9pm on Monday, March 20, followed by Episode 2 at 9.30pm.

 

The full series is also available to view on BBC iPlayer on the same day.

 

The programme shows how life on the trowel is hard, and emotions run high on building sites full of fun, friendships and fallouts. 

 

As well as the banter, it also highlights how Hodgkinson is tackling skills shortages, by encouraging more young people into the trade - with some of the brickies revealing they can earn up to £1,200 for a 35-hour week.

 

There are some new faces, as well as old ones, and as well as a return to Stoke, the gang are working on new sites - in Mansfield, luxury houses in Leicester and on the building of a 5ft plinth to support a memorial bust of former Derby County player Reg Harrison.

 

Keeping the brickies in check is site manager Jack Smith, who is originally from Ilkeston but now lives in Giltbrook, Nottinghamshire.

 

The 32-year-old said: “There are a few new faces - new apprentices and new labourers this time around.

“The show continues to follow the lives of brickies and labourers as they earn money and pursue jobs and careers.”

 

Jack added that he was still getting used to being recognised since last series.

 

“You still get people coming up to you in the street or in Asda, saying ‘are you that person off bricklayers?’, which is nice,” he said.

The programme proved so popular, earlier this year, Brickies was up against Love Island in the British Broadcast Awards, with the team rubbing shoulders with stars including athlete Mo Farrah. Both Brickies and Love Island lost out to Welsh language programme Drych: Fi, Rhyw ac Anabledd.

 

Jack said: “Going to the awards night was nice - it makes you realise how big the show’s been. Getting nominated against Love Island, it’s like ‘all of a sudden, this is really happening’. We just keep riding the wave of it and seeing where the show goes - hopefully there will be a Series three.”

 

Ian Hodgkinson, founder and managing director of Pride Park-based Hodgkinson Builders, can’t wait to see the new episodes.

 

He said: “After the success of the first series, the second series is due to be aired in a few weeks, and it is just unbelievable.

 

“We started filming last June and finished in August.  

“To be asked to take part in a second series just proves how popular the show is. The reception received from Series one was absolutely phenomenal.”

 

He added: “Being a part of it has been so much fun, but it’s also been a fantastic platform in spreading the word about bricklaying as a career and the aspirations of our young workers.

 

“We had lots of great feedback in particular from females, who had been inspired by Jeorgia and Molly’s determination in Series one. It’s so inspiring.”

Are House Prices defying the market ?

 

Average house prices have risen by nearly £3,000 this month as the property market continues to resist predictions that the UK’s lacklustre economic performance will cause a significant slump during 2023.

Despite low growth and historically high mortgage rates, which have prompted forecasts of a 10% fall in prices this year, the average home is on the market at £365,357 in March, a rise of 0.8% on the previous month.

The increase is below the typical March rise of 1% over the past 20 years but still reflects a market “on a much more stable footing than many anticipated”, according to property website Rightmove, which published the data.

Rightmove said the market was recovering from a spike in borrowing costs at the end of last year, when policies put forward by Liz Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng spooked international investors and sent mortgage costs soaring.

Average rates for a five-year fixed deal with a 15% deposit soared to 5.89% in October, shortly after Kwarteng’s doomed “mini-budget”, prompting estate agent Savills to predict a 10% slump in prices during 2023, amid the wider economic malaise.

The rate for the same mortgage deal has since fallen back to 4.65%.

Although this is still well above the 2.48% seen this time last year, estate agent Knight Frank said borrowing costs could fall further, as lenders compete to win business in a less buoyant market.

 

Central banks have also been tipped to think twice about raising base rates, given turmoil in the banking sector after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the crisis engulfing Credit Suisse.

Inflation has also edged down to 10.1% from a peak of 11.1%, also registered in October last year, while recent economic figures have shown the UK narrowly averting a recession.

The improved economic environment drove up house prices in March, Rightmove said, compared with February, when prices were unchanged.

Underlying factors, such as the UK’s apparent inability to build new homes, are also preventing large price falls.

The rate of new housebuilding is predicted to fall in England, the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has warned, owing to a range of government policies that threaten to slow development dramatically.

 

The HBF said this would exacerbate the country’s housing crisis and make it harder than at any point in recent history to become a homeowner.

Yet property experts are still predicting an overall price fall during 2023, with mortgage rates and inflation still stubbornly high amid the broader cost of living crisis, coupled with factors specific to the housing market.

Downwards price pressure will persist as more owners come to the end of fixed-rate deals and supply picks up from the lows of the pandemic,” said Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank.

“We expect a 5% decline this year across the UK.”

The Rightmove data also showed discrepancies, with major variation depending on region and the price bracket of homes hitting the market.

The Spring Budget Thoughts

ITS TIME TO GO AFTER THE NIMBYS DON'T TAX LANDLORDS,

Will housing be high on  the Chancellors agenda ? will anything be done about the housing crisis ? 

The Spring Budget is upon us ..

Housing supply issues are to do with demand and not enough new homes   being built. There isn’t enough houses available to rent therefore putting the cost of renting a home up another demand problem. Anything in short supply will go up in value just like the issue we had with toilet roll’s during Covid and tomatoes at the moment.

Every house built contributes around £108,000 to the local economy.

The following is a report in the Sunday Times from David Byers Deputy Editor.

Jeremy Hunt is again thought to be considering milking landlords and second-home buyers for more tax in Wednesday's budget.

And for a chancellor in urgent search of new revenue streams, why not? After all, since George Osborne introduced the 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge for those buying additional properties in April 2016, it has been a lovely little earner.

Since 2016-17, government figures show the surcharge has raised £10.1 billion for HMRC and, in the 2021-22 tax year, a whopping 46 per cent of all stamp duty receipts came from buyers who were liable to pay the charge on top of their normal stamp duty.

The abacus looked so inviting that, in April 2021, then-chancellor Rishi Sunak decided to introduce an additional 2 per cent levy to be paid by foreign buyers, which has raised £219 million so far.

On the face of it, there is much to like about another stamp duty rise that targets those for whom most of the public hold the smallest of violins. But in evaluating the success of any policy, we need to work out whether it does anything more than simply bring in money - after all, Osborne originally claimed it was integral to his "bold plan to back families who aspire to buy their own home".

The former chancellor's thesis was that landlords were bed-blocking first-time buyers, and he hoped the extra tax would force them to stop buying in such large numbers, while existing ones would balk at a series of other tax clampdowns announced at the same time and sell up.

But, while the extra stamp duty has raised a lot of cash, 12.2 per cent of properties sold in Britain last year were still bought by an investor, according to the estate agent Hamptons - the highest proportion of sales since 2016.

English Housing Survey data suggested the number of households in the private-rented sector has been unchanged between 2020-21 and 2021-22.

A separate Hamptons analysis calls into question Osborne's philosophy - that landlords and first-time buyers compete with each other. It finds there is only a one-in-five chance that a first-time buyer will find themselves up against an investor.

Meanwhile, first-time buyers are being driven away from the market in their droves because they can't afford a home, particularly since mortgage rates skyrocketed from September onwards (thanks Kwasi) and the government's Help to Buy equity loan scheme ended.

The banking body UK Finance says there were 370,220 first-time buyers in 2022, down from 405,360 in 2021. Savills predicts the number will drop to 200,000 this year.

This all brings us back to the one inalienable fact in all of this - that the only solution to the housing crisis will be to boost our paltry supply. However, the Home Builders' Federation says that as few as 120,000 homes could be built this year

- not even half of the government's

300,000

annual target.

To build more,

Mr Hunt knows he must overhaul our rotten planning system, but that involves confronting the nimbys - aka Conservative voters.

Taxing landlords or second-homers brings nice headlines, but.

won't dent the housing crisis that is short termism.

The Build to Rent sector continues to be a bright spot for the UK construction sector providing opportunities for contractors.

The Build to Rent sector continues to be a bright spot for the UK construction sector providing opportunities for contractors.

With higher mortgage rates and a mixed economic outlook putting new house sales under pressure, one continuing bright spot for the construction industry is the Build to Rent (BTR) homes sector.

According to a recent report from Savills, UK Build to Rent Market Update, the supply of new rental homes is failing to keep pace with soaring demand, particularly as smaller, private buy-to-let landlords pull out of the market in the face of tighter regulations and higher interest costs.

This in turn should mean continuing healthy demand – and positive new work prospects – for larger scale, institutionally-funded BTR developments across the country.

Positive work prospects

Over £5 billion was invested in the UK BTR sector in the year up to last September and in the third quarter alone, the funds flowing into the sector were up 75 per cent on the period a year earlier. Whilst uncertainty and higher interest rates have cast doubt on all property sectors recently, Savills says BTR deals ‘continue to progress’.

The work prospects in the sector also appear positive. Before Christmas, the BTR stock stood at 76,800 completed homes with a further 49,800 homes under construction. In all, the future pipeline stands at 113,500 homes, including those in the pre-application stage.

One promising sector of the market is single family rental (SFR) homes where there are around 15,000 units in the pipeline, more than double the level of a year ago. SFR schemes are also getting bigger; the typical size of an existing development has increased to 77 homes whilst new sites under construction average 94 homes and those at the planning stage typically involve 103 homes.

Opportunities up north

The opportunities in BTR are strong in northern UK cities with large and growing student populations. Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Liverpool and Leeds all have large student numbers but face an under-supply of both purpose built student accommodation and buy-to-let housing.

Cities such as Glasgow, Belfast and Manchester have high a proportion of young graduates who want to live close to their place of work, which in turn bodes well for the demand for rental homes.

Glenigan data provides numerous examples of BTR developments across the country which reflect these trends and where work is due to start in coming months.

In Manchester, detailed plans have been submitted for a £107.7 million development at Albert Bridge House (pictured) involving some 367 BTR flats, alongside a 19-storey off

Housing associations are increasingly working with new partners better placed to finance and take forward new developments.

Glenigan’s market research found that housing associations submitted 254 detailed planning applications featuring proposals for 10 or more units in 2022. These submissions contained a total of 17,784 homes.

The average application contained 70 units but the number of units in the pipeline fell sharply, as housing associations looked to develop projects with partners to offset rising costs.

Glenigan’s economics director Allan Wilén explains: “Potential funding for new social housing provision has improved since 2020, with housing associations and other social housing providers better placed to finance and take forward new developments. However, despite the improved funding, increased construction costs appear to be constraining development activity.

“Housing Associations are increasingly developing sites with mixed tenures and in partnership with other developers, providing the opportunity to cross-subsidise rented accommodation.”

Clarion call

Clarion sought permission to build the greatest number of social housing units last year with applications to build 1,707 homes. The group’s partners include the London Borough of Southwark on the Flaxyard Peckham scheme to provide 164 flats and four townhouses .Clarion is also developing 336 flats at Furness Quay in Salford with developers Beaumont Morgan, Elite City and Fortis Developments 

Clarion continues to develop schemes independently. These range from a £36 million plan to regenerate the Barne Barton Estate in Plymouth to provide 102 houses and 102 flats , to the first phase – providing 623 homes – of the City Reach development in Leeds.

Top 10 Housing Associations by 2022 planning pipeline

Company	Total Applications	Total Units
Clarion Housing	12	1,707
Home Group	3	914
Sovereign Housing	7	765
Evera Homes	7	748
Peabody Trust	3	691
Goram Homes	4	602
Trafford Housing Trust	5	594
Women's Pioneer Housing	3	533
Places For People	4	498
Saffron Housing Trust	1	461

Source: Glenigan

Busy planning

Home Group was ranked in second spot after filing detailed plans to build more than 900 homes in 2022. Home Group is also working with partners, such as Karbon Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Miller on the South Seaham Garden Village (Project ID: 08026773). This will provide 1,500 homes and Glenigan’s research suggests construction will start this year.

Sovereign ran in third with proposals including plans for nearly 800 homes. Schemes ranged from the 60 unit Bleadon Hill scheme in Weston-Super-Mare in conjunction with Vistry to the £10.4 million Taverner’s Field development at West Clyst in Devon , which the group is – so far - developing independently.

Glenigan’s industry research shows that Sovereign is also busy acquiring land and sites ahead of starting planning including the Princes Mead Shopping Centre at Farnborough in Hampshire, where the group plans to develop 350 homes .

Flat out

Home and Sovereign are focused mainly on housing but the other three of the top five housing associations with the largest planning pipelines are seeking to build more flats than houses.

At Peabody Trust, which was ranked fifth, 95% of the units in the group’s planning pipeline were apartments, such as the £30 million Bridgewater Road, development for 173 flats at Wembley, north London 

Overall, 41% of units in the overall planning pipeline for housing associations were flats last year – up from 38% in 2021 - while 52% were houses, which is down from 56%. The balance of units were bungalows, which occupy more land and are less attractive to the commercial partners that housing associations are increasingly seeking to work with.

Major housebuilders are pressing on with applying for planning permission to build more homes despite concerns over the housing market and the wider economy.

Glenigan’s construction research shows that the 10 biggest housebuilders submitted detailed planning applications to build 78,000 new homes last year.

Persimmon led the way with proposals for 13,547 units ranging from plans for 198 houses and flats in Bedford (Project ID: 19188395) to the Burdon Lane development in Sunderland featuring 478 houses and 54 flats (Project ID: 22116884).

Top 10 Private Housebuilders by 2022 planning pipeline

Company	Total Applications	Total Units
Persimmon	96	13,547
Bellway	71	13,302
Taylor Wimpey	69	11,843
Barratt	74	11,149
Redrow	54	7,106
Vistry	36	5,077
Bloor Homes	26	4,748
Miller	23	4,345
St Modwen	11	3,393
Berkeley DeVeer	19	3,248

Source: Glenigan

Bellway grew its planning pipeline by 10% last year with proposals for 13,302 homes including 313 flats at College Way (pictured) in Welwyn Garden City (Project ID: 22189751).

The number of homes in detailed planning applications submitted by Berkeley DeVeer, which owns Avant Homes, surged 28% to 3,248 units ranging from plans for 94 homes at Balderton in Nottinghamshire (Project ID: 17026241) to 150 homes in Walsall (Project ID: 21144894).

St Modwen plans more

St Modwen’s planning pipeline also ballooned as the group embarked on a major expansion programme.

In March 2022, St Modwen, which is owned by investment group Blackstone, outlined plans to double its development programme over the next five years to 2,400 units a year. That ambitious programme is already evident in Glenigan’s data with St Modwen submitting plans to build 3,393 units last year – up from 415 in 2021.

Major St Modwen schemes in the planning system include plans for 205 flats in Longbridge, Birmingham (Project ID: 22288312) and the 1,100 unit West Cheltenham Development (Project ID: 21451969)

Takeover influence

Vistry was ranked sixth after sending in planning applications last year for more than 5,000 homes. This total was boosted by Vistry’s takeover of rival Countryside last November.

Vistry’s overall total included proposals for 1,177 new homes submitted by Countryside, including plans for 119 houses and two flats at Maidstone Road in Ashford, Kent (Project ID: 18035384).

The totals of a number of other residential groups outside of the top 10 were also boosted by takeovers last year according to Glenigan’s market intelligence.

US investment giant Pimco acquired Allison and Larkfleet and the newly enlarged business, trading as Allison Homes, was ranked in 16th position after submitting plans for 1,875 new homes last year. Allison schemes in the planning pipeline include 76 homes at Doddington Lane in Newark (Project ID: 21185535).

Elsewhere, investment group Terra Firma has a pipeline of more than 1,000 homes in planning as it expands its residential development portfolio. In 2021, Tera Firma bought Kier’s housing arm and last year it acquired East Anglian housebuilder Hopkins, which is behind plans for 360 homes at North Walsham (Project ID: 21440810).

Apartments hold up

Overall, Glenigan’s industry research shows that private housebuilders and developers submitted detailed planning applications to build 149,113 new homes last year. This total was down 16% on 2021 as proposals for new houses slumped 19%, but housebuilders are planning to build more flats.

There was an 8% rise in the number of apartments in the planning pipeline, while proposals for retirement homes only fell away marginally, showing that sections of the residential development market remain resilient.

A Derbyshire builder is going trowel-to-towel with ITV’s Love Island in TV award showdown

Stars of the hit BBC reality show Brickies have raised the roof after learning they are shortlisted alongside ITV show Love Island in this year’s Broadcast Awards.

Far from being ‘mortar-fied’ by the prospect of being pitched against one of television’s most popular shows, the brickies at Derby-based Hodgkinson Builders believe they have laid the perfect foundations for claiming victory.

Brickies, a six-part documentary series following a team of young builders at Pride Park-based Hodgkinson Builders, including some from the Erewash borough, became an overnight sensation when it was first aired on BBC Three last Easter.

It was so popular that a second series was immediately commissioned. Brickies II is set to broadcast this spring, this time promoted to the BBC’s flagship channel BBC One.

The prestigious annual Broadcast Awards, which celebrate the best of British television, take place on February 8th at the Grosvenor House Hotel, in London.  

In addition to Love Island, Brickies is shortlisted against four other contenders in the Best Multichannel Programme category of the awards.

Ilkeston man, Ian Hodgkinson, founder and managing director of Hodgkinson Builders, said: “It’s incredible. We could not believe it when we heard that not only are we shortlisted for a TV award, but we are actually up against the humungous Love Island. 

“What a roller coaster year we’ve had! And who’d have thought that a ‘builder’s bum’ from Derby might be up against the those tanned, bikini-clad beauties on the other show!

“But we know that Brickies offers something a bit different – so maybe it’s not quite the David vs Goliath contest that it might appear.”

Ian puts the success of Brickies down to its honesty, and the fact that, through laughter and tears, it adds a real human perspective to the life of a brickie. 

“The real reason we agreed to do the show in the first place was to hopefully encourage more young people to take up apprenticeships, due to the severe skills shortage in the UK construction industry,” said Ian.

“The success of the show suggests we’ve done some good in that area. As far as we are concerned, just the fact we’ve been shortlisted means we’ve already won, whether or not we manage to clinch the top award next month.” 

Tina Clough, managing director of Poppy PR, which counts Hodgkinson Builders among its list of clients, said: “It doesn’t get much better than this, when one of your clients hits the headlines in such a massive way.

“Some people find Love Island quite shocking in places – but it’s not nearly as shocking as learning that a team of builders from Derby might actually outshine one of the nation’s best-known series.” 

Ian’s team of brickies were so gobsmacked at being nominated alongside Love Island that they agreed to put their own spin on the momentous occasion by donning swimsuits in a tongue-in-cheek photoshoot at MKM Building Supplies in Pride Park, Derby.

Ian added: “They really showed their character. It seemed like a fun idea, but I can’t believe my guys and girls were actually up for it – stripping down on a freezing January morning in Derby. It definitely seemed a million miles from where Love Island is filmed in sun-drenched Majorca!”  

Hodgkinson Builders, which launched in 1990, is no stranger to the limelight. In 2016, Ian led a group of young brickies to Parliament, where they built a wall beneath Big Ben to encourage more young people to consider bricklaying as a career.