Month in numbers

61

The percentage of homes assessed as mediocre in a design quality survey carried out by CABE (the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment). 17% were judged ‘good’ or ‘very good’, 22% poor.

CABE looked at 100 schemes in London, the East of England and the South East, areas where the government wants more housing to be built in so-called ‘sustainable communities’. It assessed developments against 16 criteria, awarding between –3 and +3 points for each of the 16.

The lowest scorer was Barratt’s 21-home Wellington Lodge development in Binfield which got –11 points. At the other end Countryside/Taylor Woodrow’s 199 apartment development in John Harrison Way, Greenwich scored 37 points. Cabe has set up a website www.thehomebuyersguide.org to tell punters what to look for in a ‘quality home’.

82.5

The expected price in pounds per tonne of bagged and bulk cement early next year, £10 up on the current price. Castle Cement’s commercial director Mike Eberlin issued a warning to contractors, saying that rising energy costs and two new pieces of European legislation would contribute to the 15% price hike.

The price of coal is set to rise by over 20% and electricity by just under 50%. This will increase the costs of many products, but cement will be hit particularly hard because its production is so energy-intensive.

The first piece of legislation is the Chromium VI directive. This says cement producers must add a reducing agent to neutralise the effects of Chromium VI, which can cause cement burns. Then there is the working time directive. This limits maximum working hours from 55 to 48 per week, meaning producers have to employ more drivers.

27,792

The national average wage for a 25 year old engineer, according to the Hays Montrose/Building contractors’ survey salary. This was up 13% on last year, the highest rise for any of the job titles. And young engineers in London are on an average salary of £30,000.

Assistant QSs, with up to three years’ experience, are on an average of £22,507, up 4% on last year. This shows that the rate of pay rise is slowing: last year wages were up 12.3%.

Project managers, age 35, are earning on average £36,769, up 4% on last year. Site agents, age 40, are on £32,000, up 5%.

There are some big regional variations in some job categories. For example a 35-year-old senior QS can earn £45,000 in London, but only £33,000 in Scotland. And 30-year-old planners in London take home £40,000 compared to Northern Irish planners who can expect to get £27,000.

For a free CD-Rom of the survey contact Anna Sharkey on 020 72226543, anna.sharkey@hays.com

60,000

The price in pounds for which John Prescott thinks builders can provide key worker housing.

The suggestion, made by the deputy prime minister, at the Labour Party Conference, has provoked criticism from house builders. Yes, we can build a house for £60,000, but that won’t pay for infrastructure which is usually funded through section 106 agreements with local authorities, they say. Only government-owned land such as MoD or English Partnerships with infrastructure in place could support such prices.

Data from 200 social housing projects built in the last year collated by the RICS Building Cost Information Service, gives an average building cost of £80,000 per unit. This figure doesn’t include design and project management costs or developers’ profits which RICS estimates would push the cost to £100,000.

3.5 bn

The value in pounds of a redevelopment in Stratford, East London, on land next to the main London Olympic Games site. Mayor Ken Livingstone has approved the scheme, which is seen as a crucial part of the capital’s bid for the 2012 games.

The Stratford City Development Partnership, which comprises developers Chelsfield, Stanhope and Eurostar operator London & Continental Railways, will build 1,350 homes, offices and retail. The partnership has agreed with Newham council to invest £300m in infrastructure and £115m in other community benefits.

The new development, which could start in 2006, promises 34,000 new jobs, mostly in the financial and business sectors. And there will be 4,000 construction jobs over a 15 to 20-year period.

The scheme is expected to receive government approval and construction could start in autumn 2006.