As a £45m housing scheme for Gloucester collapses the county's construction sector counters with positive news
Planning and skills, the two big challenges facing construction. As Gloucester's decision to reject a £45m investment underlines the former in red ink, the sector reveals a solution to the latter.
Dear readers,
Today the big read is all about construction. In fact, its two main stories are - leaving barely enough room aboard this email for anything else!
On Wednesday we reported on a scheme to invest £45 million in Gloucester - eight-years in the making, and rejected at its final hurdle.
The planning system and all that is wrong with that is just one of the challenges construction faces. You can read that story here. And there is an update below too. Spoiler alert, there is no happy ending to that one.
But today’s big read is far more positive and shows just how well the county can work together, is willing to work together and is indeed working together to find solutions.
This second story came together as a result of the recent Constructing Excellence Gloucestershire conference focus on the same issue - skills. Aside from planning it is perhaps the other big challenge facing the sector.
We were lucky enough to speak to Jonathan White, Andy Bates, Alan Mulrooney and Polly Pick and thank them for their time and for bringing some light to an otherwise dark week for construction in Gloucestershire.
As we were about to go to press a press release were out announcing HBD, part of Henry Boot, had secured the inevitable outline planning consent for the first phase of what it billed as “the landmark £1bn Golden Valley scheme”, being delivered in partnership with Cheltenham Borough Council. As as good as the news is, I’m afraid we think these two stories below are more interesting currently, so you can read the council’s news in our PR Wire channel here!
Raikes will not be publishing next week due to holidays and time off work. Expect normal services to resume from Thursday 17 July.
Have a great weekend.
Andrew.
Andrew Merrell (editor).
In other news…
🛫👩✈️👨✈️ Already partnered with the likes of British Airways, Jet2.com and Delta, Gloucestershire-headquartered flight school Skyborne has now signed a contract with Ryanair. The Staverton-based school will train the next generation of aspiring pilots through the Future Flyer Academy training programme, offering UK entrants a dual UK CAA and EASA licence. Trainees at the Ryanair Future Flyer Academy will receive a conditional job offer upon enrolment and complete their Integrated Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) with Skyborne before joining Ryanair as second officers. More here.
🚴♀️New marketing company launched! Marketing Inspiration, a new freelance marketing consultancy based in Cheltenham, has been launched by Kelly Richardson. Richardson said her new company was aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses across Gloucestershire with creative, strategic, flexible and affordable marketing solutions. “I’m passionate about supporting local businesses that don’t have their own or a budget for an in-house team or marketing agency,” said Richardson, who has more than 15 years of experience in in-house marketing expertise, communications and events and fundraising campaigns. More here.
🏗️ For the latest news on the Golden Valley Development click here.
GCH confirms council’s decision kills off its £45m investment
As the inevitable political row erupts after the debarcle that saw a scheme to invest £45m in Podsmead in Gloucester rejected, the housing association behind the project confirms the council’s decision marks the end.
By Andrew Merrell.
It is no secret that Britain is facing a housing crisis and issues with the planning abound, but how serious the impact of all that can be was laid bare this week by Gloucester City Council.
As we reported on Wednesday, after eight years working on plans to deliver a £45 million investment to create affordable housing and business space to help regenerate Podsmead, members of the council’s planning committee voted to reject the plans.
For Gloucester City Homes, the housing association driving the scheme, it was a blow that looked to have lost it the £20 million of funding from Homes England that made it all possible. That’s now been confirmed (see below).
But it also left questions about why, when the city council had been working closely with GCH on the project for years, and high profile plans for a deprived area of Gloucester at that, councillors on the planning committee seemed so unfamiliar with the detail.
(You can read that story here: £45m investment plans for deprived area of Gloucester kicked out by councillors)
For a city that has a critical shortage of homes and, as outlined in the meeting itself, a waiting list of 5,000 for social houses – with 244 families waiting for four-bed homes and 65 waiting for five-bedroom homes of the kind proposed by the scheme – this was a major blow.
It’s led to the inevitable statements on political party lines, not least from the city’s MP, Alex McIntyre, as all sides try to distance themselves, but no matter what is said Raikes has been told the scheme is not coming back to life.
That’s it.
“We won’t be appealing Gloucester City Council’s decision or reapplying for Homes England funding for Podsmead. That chapter is now closed.
“This was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring significant investment into the community, and we’re hugely disappointed that it couldn’t go ahead. We’re proud of the work done with residents, partners and funders to get this far, and grateful for all the support we received.
“While the regeneration won’t be moving forward as planned, our focus remains on investing in our existing homes, supporting our communities, and delivering new affordable housing elsewhere across the county.”
McIntyre, the Labour MP for Gloucester, was quick to the keyboard post council meeting – and to draw a distinction on party lines - releasing the joint statement below with Labour city councillors on the Podsmead planning decision.
“For months, alongside Labour city councillors, I have been calling on Gloucester City Council and Gloucester City Homes to work together to deliver the Podsmead regeneration. The planning committee’s decision to refuse approval for the regeneration of Podsmead is therefore incredibly disappointing.”
He said the opportunity had been “squandered by the Liberal Democrats.”
“Labour is backing affordable housing in Gloucester and forcing the council to commit to the regeneration of Podsmead and Matson in its corporate plan.
“Along with Labour city councillors I am serious about building social housing in our city but residents are being let down. The council must now urgently clarify what steps they are taking to get the regeneration of Podsmead back on track.”
* The Raikes Journal is a digital magazine and community interest company whose supporters believe, like us, that journalism about Gloucestershire is worth keeping alive. Everything you read here - original stories about our county - is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire+ College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne; our sponsors, Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.
You can sign up to support and see past the paywalls for just £2.30 a week - or £1.80 a week if two or more people sign up at once. Or go all in and become one of our Founding Partners or Founding Members and keep real journalism in Gloucestershire alive.
As a £45m housing scheme for Gloucester collapses the county's construction sector counters with positive news
Planning and skills, the two big challenges facing construction. As Gloucester's decision to reject a £45m investment underlines the former in red ink, the sector reveals a potential solution to the latter.
A lack of skills seems a refrain now commonly associated with the construction sector, but a mammoth effort is afoot in Gloucestershire to tackle that - and those involved may have hit on a simple silver bullet.
Chatting to some of those who put their heads together recently at a Constructing Excellence conference at the University of Gloucestershire, it’s clear the picture is complicated – but many big foundation stones are already laid.
And the more people talk, the more solutions reveal themselves. And not ones that necessarily cost money either!
“I think one of the things that has become apparent is the need to be clearer about career paths,” said Andy Bates, chief financial officer of Gloucestershire College.
Bates was one of those on the panel of the Constructing Excellence event, taking questions from the 80 delegates from building companies, architects, legal practices, surveyors, accountants and more that make up the organisation and the sector it represents.
“A lot of construction companies need staff as and when, but they do not actually employ anyone of the tools. They subcontract that out. The career paths might be harder to see as a result,” said Bates.
Which means that although the numbers being trained in the trades are rising in Gloucestershire, those firms concerned about skills are not necessarily benefiting directly. And they’re not necessarily concerned about the trades.
“Many of those training (in the trades) currently will go on to do apprenticeships with very small firms – maybe one-man bands – and then when they are skilled enough, they will start out on their own.
“They are generally very savvy. They will do well, but it doesn’t solve the problem for the bigger companies.”
Part of the reason numbers are able to rise in this area in Gloucestershire is because the college invested £5 million in an additional construction school at its Cheltenham campus.
The new school opened last year, an addition to the training schools at its Gloucester and Forest of Dean campuses, significantly adding to capacity. And showing how much demand is out there.
“We are going to be full this September and will have waiting lists. It will mean that across the three sites we have about 500 people training – in carpentry, plumbing, bricklaying, groundworks and electrical,” said Bates.
“I would advise anyone who would like to enrol for September to do so immediately.”
Of course, construction is about more than just about ‘the trades’. And this is where we begin to get closer to the real challenges.
And it is why there is a need for the sector to tell better stories about its many and varied career paths. Yes, tradespeople can rise through the ranks of big firms to become managers and board members and earn sizeable salaries, but there are many other roles and pathways, and this is where the real concern is.
Although work is being done to provide training opportunities here too, helping the next generation of talent understand what it could all mean for them is the challenge.
“We do also offer a Level 3 in construction management and HNC (Higher National Certificate) in construction management too (a Level 4 qualification),” explained Bates.
Adding that if potential candidates know nothing about the jobs these qualifications can lead to, universities with exciting options are also calling.
“It is not good enough to tell people the names of some of these jobs and a description of what they are and then expect them to say ‘that’s the career for me’,” said Bates.
“It is far more powerful to hear from those who are doing the job, and this is where the companies have to step up too.”
Jonathan White, chairman of Constructing Excellence Gloucestershire, was also on the skills panel and shares the view. Plans are already underway, he said.
“We are talking about doing a lot more of that sort of work. We can’t just rely on schools to do it for us.
“We plan to go into schools a lot more than we are and to talk directly to students,” said White, also a partner at Gloucester-based Quatro Design Architects.
“The apprenticeship route is valuable, but it is not the whole answer. Without doubt the sector needs talent coming through across the professions.
“We had a panel member, Emma Brown (from Ward Willams and G4C), who is a quantity surveyor.
“She said that when she was coming through school, she really didn’t know anything about the role. But she has recently qualified.
“We clearly need to do more to communicate.”
In January Gloucestershire College announced Kevin Harris, a long-standing face of construction in Gloucestershire and CEO of Constructing Excellence South West, was appointed as its associate construction lead.
Harris’s role is to support the college’s construction management and green skills curriculum, as it aims to bridge the gap between skilled workers and the demand in the construction industry.
Amie Nutbrown, head of school, now oversees the college’s ‘construction management’ courses and Gary Henderson the ‘construction trade’ curriculum, including multi-skills, plumbing, groundwork, electrical installation, carpentry and dry lining.
The team also has Alan Mulrooney on its books, a business consultant looking after construction employers in the county helping explain to firms just what the college and apprenticeships can do for them.
Mulrooney joined the college in 2022 with the challenge of forging partnerships between the college, businesses, students and championing the potential of apprenticeships.
“It is about bringing all sides together,” said Mulrooney, whose career has always had a strong focus on workforce development and skills strategy.
“The first thing I do is try to get to understand the business before we start advising on anything.
“It’s about fact-finding. So, it’s a cup of coffee and a conversation.
“The more we learn, the more we can do as a college. There is a clear benefit for both of us there.”
He added: “I work with businesses to shape apprenticeship strategies that are tailored, future-focused, and commercially valuable—not just for bringing in new talent, but also for upskilling existing teams in areas like digital, leadership, and sustainability.
“One of the main challenges—particularly for SMEs—is that the apprenticeship system can seem complex and time-consuming to navigate.
“There’s often uncertainty around eligibility, funding, compliance, and how to choose the right training provider or programme.
“On top of that, there can be a mismatch between the off-the-shelf qualifications available and the specific skills employers are looking to develop within their teams.
“That’s where my role comes in. I work closely with employers to demystify the entire process, from helping them identify skills gaps and future workforce needs, to advising apprenticeship solutions that are genuinely aligned to their business objectives.”
“I advise on everything from Levy strategy (a reference to the apprenticeship levy) to co-investment options and programme selection, making sure employers are aware of the funding available and how to use it effectively—often unlocking support they didn’t know existed.”
He added: “It is not that businesses don’t want to develop, it’s that they often don’t know how to or what opportunities there are for them.
“My role is to explain that, and to make it easy for them to benefit.
“I think the Government has said we need an extra 2.5 million skilled workers in the sector by 2030.
“Yes, we need to encourage more schools to champion apprenticeships, but we also need to make everyone aware there is no age limit to apprenticeships now.
“And that there are different levels of apprenticeships too – including leadership and Level 5.
“These can be really cost-effective ways of developing the skills people need for their businesses.”
According to Government figures, construction is one of the largest sectors in the UK economy.
Its turnover is £370 billion and it contributes £138 billion in value added to the UK economy and employing 3.1 million people (nine per cent of the total UK workforce).
“If you look at the infrastructure coming our way – like the Golden Valley Development, there is so much that is about construction,” added Mulrooney.
“We have invested in a strong presence in the Forest of Dean, in Gloucester and in Cheltenham, to enable people to reach us more easily to do everything we can to deliver.”
Constructing Excellence also invited along Dr Polly Pick, principal business lecturer at Hartpury University.
Pick spoke to Raikes about why she feels it important to be involved in the conversations taking place about training and development in the sector.
“I think Constructing Excellence has been a real force for good. It brings people together. There are connections there from all over the sectors and different industries. I think it is very positive,” she explained.
Although Hartury is not competing with the likes of Gloucestershire College when it comes to training tradespeople, it is expanding its provision of qualifications to support business more generally.
In March this year its undergraduate and postgraduate business management degrees received the sought-after dual accreditation from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
It means students enrolled on the BSc (Hons) business management now also gain the CMI Level 5 diploma in management and leadership, while those studying the MSc business management and enterprise will receive the CMI Level 7 diploma in strategic management and leadership practice as part of their programme.
“I think leadership training can get a bad press, but leadership and management are essential to productivity and to develop people.
“All organisations have finite resources. They are trying to do more with less and leadership and management are at the heart of that.
“Hartpury has opened the doors to an undergraduate and post graduate business programmes. This will be the start of the second-year intake of the BSC in business management and we hope to start MBA top up and an MSC in business management and enterprise later in the academic year.”
She added: “Hartpury has always been about wellbeing, productivity and performance – for the last 80 years – whether that’s its sports courses, equine, or veterinary. Business is a perfect fit.
“We are developing really strong courses in terms of personal and professional development. And we will have strong themes of enterprise and entrepreneurship.
“There are approximately 35,000 small businesses in Gloucestershire, so that is our business community. We are always looking to work with businesses.
“The one thing limiting the future of all businesses is finding the right staff.”
In a near mirror of what Constructing Excellence is seeking to up the ante on, Hartpury is also developing how it can bring students closer to businesses in Gloucestershire – to benefit businesses by getting them closer to the best new talent, and showing those students the many possibilities in the county they might otherwise miss – and leave for good.
“We don’t have lots of businesses here who have HR teams and massive resources to develop their staff teams.
“And we know that a lot of students simply don’t know what businesses we have here in Gloucestershire.
“So, what we did last year was bring a lot of businesses together, and we got them to come in and share a challenge they were facing with the students, who then set about solving it.
“The result was some truly exceptional work from our students, who worked with businesses and charities and delivered solutions for them.”
The lure of the big cities is strong, said Pick, who agreed that making students aware of what was here - many exciting, ambitious, growing businesses - could be transformative.
“There is a lot of uncertainty around apprenticeships still, but we would encourage businesses to get involved there too and to work with local colleges as well as work with us.
“If they don’t do that, and we don’t build these relationships, the talent will go somewhere else.”
It was also, she said, about how businesses presented themselves.
“The young people don’t just want a job, they want a rewarding job, they want a job with an organisation that is ethical, somewhere they can be proud to work and where they can further their career.
“We are fortunate that the businesses we work with fit that mould. The trouble is, often students do not realise they are there.
“There are real differences in the way students see the world of work than people did a few years ago, and if businesses don’t meet them halfway, they will go elsewhere.
“It’s not that they have more chances than we had. They have been through Covid, they saw their parents working at home and began to understand what their parents did.
“They have seen the importance of a work-life balance. But they want a job that is engaging. And that is one of the challenges for us as trainers, to show them those roles.
“Almost half of students here at Hartpury, I would say, have a side hustle, something else they are doing to help them make money.
“They are savvy. They see possibilities. They will be okay. But we want them to realise they can be better than okay, right here in Gloucestershire.”