Branches

Welcome to the Greater Manchester Centre Home Page!

Click below to view or download a pdf of the new season North West Diary of Events for 2012 - 2013....

http://www.ciob.org.uk/sites/ciob.org.uk/files/2012-2013_nwest_diary_pdf_5.9.12.pdf

Read all about our recent star event Question Time held at the Digital World Centre Salford Quays - an interesting debate was had by all

The government should focus less on London and put investment in the North, panellists said at a Question Time-style debate organised by the CIOB North West region in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Marketing. The event took place in at Digital World Centre in Salford Keys, now home to the BBC, in November.

Over 100 people turned up to put questions to the panel on a variety of topics including the North /South divide, what can be done to help get construction  moving again and  whether current employment laws were working against the industry. On the panel were the local MP and former cabinet minister Hazel Blears, Denise Chevin, acting editor of Construction Manager, Professor   Ghassan Aouad, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation), Salford University/Vice President of CIOB, Mr Martin Perryman, Director Turner & Townsend, Mr John Joyce Director, Ramboll Buildings & Design. It was chaired by Jess Deacon, Director of the Chartered Company Building Scheme.

Much of the focus of the debate was on the economy with many in the audience voicing their concern over future prospects for the industry, and the government’s lack of concern by the damage it was doing by slashing public spending so sharply. Hazel Blears said that it would have been far more sensible for the government to have made cut backs over two parliaments rather than one. Denise Chevin said that even if the government could get spending the money it was promising to spend by speeding up planning reforms and ensuring the green deal was incentivised, that could provide a kick- start.  

The plight of graduates was also debated. Audience members were concerned by the high number of unpaid internships; or that graduates were suffering because they could not get a work placement at all, let alone a job.

Eric Stokes, Director of undergraduate programmes at the University of Salford said that in previous years employers had queued up to offer jobs to construction students. But of those that graduated in September, nearly a third had yet to find a job.

Michael Pye FCIOB is the Chair of CIOB Greater Manchester Centre.  Michael is available to answer any queries regarding your involvement with the Centre. Please contact him on 07956 351003 or email: mpye@pyeassociates.com

Barbara Brown, Centre Administrator, is available to discuss any events advertised and helps co-ordinate and promote events that are being organised by the branch. You can contact Barbara on Tel: 0845 0263721 or Email: bbrown@ciob.org.uk or 07715627620, CIOB North West, GM Centre, Englemere, Kings Ride, Ascot, Berskhire, SL5 7TB.

Chairman’s Report 2010 – 2011 Greater Manchester Centre

Dear Members

I am now coming to the end of another exciting year as chairman of this Centre. The theme over the past year has been to join resources with other leading construction institutes and as an organisation we have achieved that by some margin. The committee has worked tirelessly and as a team in leading this Centre, making important decisions and putting together numerous presentations of top quality. My thanks go to all members of the committee in meeting targets and in raising the profile of the Institute generally. My thanks as always also goes to Hazel Yorke our North West Branch Manager without whom none of this would be possible and to her assistant Barbara Brown, who has recently joined us. It really has been a job well done.  Membership has increased in the Greater Manchester area and in the North West generally and it is rewarding to know that more guests are now attending events than at any time in the past. I need therefore to briefly list those presentations and acknowledge with gratitude those who have been involved.

Last September we held a Mock Trial at the Old Courtroom in Bolton. I believe this is the first time that such an event has been staged by the CIOB and indeed probably by any other construction institute in the region. Deputy District Judge Edward Bootland presided while barristers from No 6 Chambers of Leeds represented the parties in a typical construction dispute. The event was jointed with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and was a big success in terms of numbers attending, content and of most interest to members.

In November we were privileged to have Michael Hopkins from the Manchester law firm Pinsent Masons together with Alan Whitaker, an expert in construction delays, giving a talk on concurrent delays and the recent ‘landmark’ case of City Inns v Shepherd Construction of which both were involved. This event was jointed with the Institution of Civil Engineers.

More recently, in February 2011 Professor Ghassan Aouad and his colleagues from Salford University gave a talk on the subject of 3D Technology in their now-famed Think Lab. This is what you might imagine it to be, a large state-of-the-art capsule equipped with gadgets and electronic wizardry which would not look out of place on the flight deck of the Star Ship Enterprise! Our thanks go to the professor and his team.

Staying on the subject of construction contract law, we are kicking off next year’s events in September with a talk by Eric Mouzer, a Birmingham adjudicator, and Simon McKenny, a barrister from Knowles, on the new Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. This will not be one to miss particularly for those members involved with contracts or tendering. It will be, quite simply, essential to attend. Later, in November, we are holding an open debate on a construction related topic with panel members Hazel Blears MP and the editor of the Construction Manager. Look out for this one, it’s promises to be lively!

Our annual dinner this year, jointed with the Association of Women in Property, was, on the whole, a success. Most people thought it was generally an improvement on previous years because it was less formal. A full appraisal however needs to be made and feedback properly considered. As with all the events held at the Lowry, the venue costs are not modest but the dinner was well attended and figures broke-even. Our next event on 19 May 2011 is the last in a series booked at the Lowry and is being presented by Parker-Wilson Consulting, sustainability specialists. All members are urged to support their Centre and attend with guests if possible – remember this is your Institute and success depends on your support. The subject will be of particular interest to developers and designers as well as general contractors.

North West Novus – 2010 saw the launch of the young construction professionals group in Manchester, which has grown from strength to strength, during which time they have engaged with Students from Universities and Colleges around the region, offering social networking and events suited to a younger audience, giving advice and mentoring where appropriate. We look forward to their continuing success in 2011.

And so, to conclusion, we can look back over the past year with a considerable amount of pride and satisfaction in the knowledge that we are members of an even faster growing construction institute than has been in latter years – an institute whose profile and appeal is earning respect not just here in Greater Manchester, and not just here in the UK but throughout the world. Thank you for your continuing support and best wishes to your all for the year ahead.  

Michael Pye FCIOB

Chairman

CIOB Greater Manchester Centre