Business Update

Apologies for our absence from updates to the website recently, the team here has been extremely busy in developing the business.

Over the last 3 years, Logic PM has undertaken a significant number of projects, in which multiple roles were accepted by our team. The notable projects are:

• Logic PM has been the Employer Representative for a large new build 750 seat Music Hall and Music School in Kent.

• Project Manager and Client Representative for a significant single property in Hampshire.

• Project Manager for a new build of 10 luxury apartments in Kent.

• Contract Administrators and cost monitors on 100 plus insurance claim projects, where we scheduled and monitored the works on site.

• Acting as project monitoring surveyors on 20 plus projects throughout the UK.

• Completing our fourth project in Manchester with a view to achieve more.

• Employers Agent for a number of design and build fit-out projects throughout the UK.

• Expert Witness to a number of Clients involved in legal disputes.

More recently we have been appointed as:

• Project Manager and Contract Administrator on a new build Performing Arts Centre for a Private School in Kent.

• Project Manager for a new 63-park home development in Berkshire, turning the green field site into the latest phase of the site’s expansion.

• Employers Agent on a civil engineering project for the design and creation of a new car park.

• Contract Administrators on a 10-year warranty insurance-backed subsidence project.

• Project Managers and Cost Monitors on a new build/refurbishment of a local parish council pavilion. This is our third pavilion project.

• Clerk of Works function for the inspection and monitoring of 3 projects as work continues for a developer.

Logic PM was created, nearly 10 years ago, to work with all people in the construction process and offer support to those where required. We work for Commercial Clients, Financial Institutions, Legal Practices, Education providers and private individuals giving professional support and guidance to people where needed.

The team are looking forward to up-and-coming projects and we will be updating the website more frequently, please do get in touch if you wish to discuss any of our projects or are interested in working with us.

Benenden School, Client Representative – Logic PM

Logic PM, the project management division of The Logic Group, is currently working on secondment to Benenden School. Engaged as the Client Representative, we have been engaged to support this leading independent school in matters relating to ongoing building work taking place on their premises.

Throughout the last 18 months, our business principal, Nick Baster, and members of the Logic team have been on site each week to assist with the flow of information. We closely monitor works carried out by the contractor and provide detailed reports to the School Executive Team and Governors.

As Client Representative, Logic PM is an expert point of resource for the Employer, in this case Benenden School. We address any questions the school may have about their project and advise on the best course of action at decision making points.

The additional benefit of engaging us as Client Representative is that we provide a knowledgeable single point of contact for both the main contractor and their designated trade contractors. Keeping the flow of information short and simple minimises delays and avoids any confusion – there is clear and defined direction to ensure the project stays on track and keeps the client’s objective at the forefront at all times.

The Logic Group has been working as Client Representative at Benenden School since Summer 2019. With project completion now in sight, it’s fantastic to see all the hard work coming together to create a wonderful new facility for current and future students of this prestigious Kent school.

What Impact will The Queen’s Speech have on UK Construction Industry?

As the country looks to recover following the impact of COVID-19, the Queen's Speech earlier this month had a lot for the construction industry to consider. In total, 31 bills were presented to parliament which covered infrastructure and planning as well as ongoing building reforms and how to combat the skills shortage in our industry. There were also a number of bills required following our departure from the European Union.

We are particularly interested in rumoured and proposed changes to the planning system in England and would welcome positive reform in this area.

Planning Reforms:

The White Paper Planning for the Future (first launched in August 2020) accurately argues that the planning system in England is “outdated and ineffective” so proposes major reforms to this area.

Santhosh Gowda, Chairman of Strawberry Star, commented on this, saying: “modernising the UK's time-honoured planning laws was never going to be easy, but the idea of a dynamic, flexible and digitalised system is an exciting prospect.”

He continued to say: "it will be a balancing act that seeks to boost housing supply without compromising on design, community, and ecology.”

The Bill will be a step towards a more Americanised zonal system that places greater emphasis on community engagement in the plan-making stage and provides a national and local design code that sets the parameters for what can be built in certain areas.

Chief Executive Officer of Powered Now, Ben Dyer is hoping to see a simpler approach based on pre-set rules rather than the decision of a committee for a faster decision making and appeals process. "All county councils should have a clear housing and development policy with greater transparency on what can, and can't be…this policy should focus on protecting green spaces by relaxing planning rules on brownfield land and should include simpler planning for renovations to existing buildings.” He added that “the rules should be relaxed for homeowners who simply wish to improve their own houses.”

Others are calling for the Government to make a concerted effort on the aesthetic of homebuilding in the UK. A ‘carrot and stick’ approach could be created to reward housing developers who build beautiful, outstanding and unique buildings within well thought-out communities with plenty of parking, green space and communal facilities such as schools. A penalty system could equally be created to discourage the building of generic, ugly or out of character developments.

After the collapse of the Green Homes Grant, surely all plans going forward should ensure that new buildings are developed with energy production and efficiency at the heart of the design process. If the UK is to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2050, this is crucial.

Other areas included:

• Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill to extend 5G mobile coverage

• A bill covering ground rents on future lease agreements which looks to set future ground rents to zero in the 2021-22 session

• A Subsidy Control Bill to support private companies, as the UK has now left the "state aid" regime run by the European Union

• The Procurement Bill will replace EU rules on how the British government buys services from the private sector

• New powers to build and operate the next stage of the HS2 high-speed rail line are contained in the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill

• A tenants reform bill which looks at issues such as lifetime deposits and landlord redress