Pro Installer January 2017 - Issue 46 | Page 21

PRO INSTALLER JANUARY 2017
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PRO NEWS

BLACKPOOL BONUS FOR CHILDREN IN NEED

When the BBC’ s famous DIY SOS team headed to Blackpool for one of the programme’ s biggest ever challenges, Fleetwood-based VEKA fabricator Express Trade Frames knew it had to help. For the programme’ s Children in Need‘ Big Build’, Nick Knowles and the team called in the support of tradespeople throughout the area to transform a Blackpool-based young carers’ centre from a run-down and tired Victorian property, to a bright, fun, safe space for
‘ making the property warmer, safer, more secure, and more energy efficient’
these young people to find support and enjoy their own childhoods. Scott Law, managing director of Express Trade Frames, explained:“ Apparently this project is one of the most ambitious that the DIY SOS crew have ever taken on, due to the scale and disrepair of the building. We were absolutely thrilled to
be able to help with such a valuable enterprise.“ We actually came to be involved in the project via Facebook, where we read that the original window supplier had pulled out and they required a company to step in at short notice.“ The property, Blenheim House, is owned by a charity called Blackpool Carers
Centre, which receives funding from BBC Children in Need to provide respite and support for more than 100 young people with caring responsibilities.“ We used VEKA’ s Fully Sculptured profile to manufacture 22 casements plus four vertical sliders, which would replace the building’ s neglected wooden windows, making the property warmer, safer, more secure, and more energy efficient. Of course, they also happen to look fantastic.“ Time is always‘ of the essence’ on the programme
and we were able to arrange eight of our trusted, local installers to fit the windows in just one day.” MD of The VEKA UK Group, Dave Jones said:“ It’ s
great to see local businesses come together as a community and support voluntary projects like this.”
www. vekauk. com

Backlash against palace renovation costs

The Treasury has announced the‘ essential’ £ 369m renovation plans for Buckingham Palace. To fund this ten-year endeavour, the Queen has been given a 66 % pay rise which will last for the entirety of the project. However, this news has caused a backlash from the general public and has left the UK questioning who should be paying for this refit. Consequently, a petition asking the Queen to pay for this refurbishment herself reached its target in a matter of days, attracting over 140,000 signatures. Now, home services marketplace, Plentific. com, has found that two out of three UK taxpayers feel unhappy with the costs. Ultimately, 68 % of UK taxpayers feel unhappy with the £ 369m price tag. As the home of Buckingham Palace, Londoners appear more supportive of the final price with only 61 % feeling unhappy with the costs. This may be due to Londoners being more aware
As a taxpayer, are you happy about the £ 369m home improvement bill to update
Buckingham Palace?
National Average
London
Scotland
Happy with costs
32 %
39 %
19 %
Not happy with costs
68 %
61 %
81 %
and accepting of higher costs in the capital, making them less surprised by the level of funding needed for the renovations. Similar to the referendum and Brexit, Scotland has taken a distinctly negative stance and has proven to be the most unsupportive country in the UK, with 81 % of respondents claiming they are unhappy with the costs. 82 % of respondents in Edinburgh disapprove of the costs, whilst Glasgow appears to be the slightly more sympathetic with 77 % feeling unsatisfied. With only 54 % feeling unhappy with the £ 369m investment, Bristol shows the highest level of support for the price tag in the country. Brighton, too, shows more understanding for the costs with 59 % feeling unhappy. The results also show that Liverpool( 73 %), Leeds( 70 %), Nottingham( 78 %) and Sheffield( 72 %) are the least happy of all locations in England.

Crowning Glory For Gloucestershire Business

Customade has been crowned as the Aluminium Company of 2016 in the National Fenestration Awards.
The NFA win comes just months after Customade launched its industry-leading aluminium solution,‘ REAL Aluminium’. REAL Aluminium was created by the Gloucestershire-based fabricator to cut aluminium lead times to just two weeks and make pricing, quoting and promoting aluminium easier. Customade beat off competition from other well-known aluminium fabricators to take the title in the annual independent awards. Claire Miller, Customade Group’ s marketing manager, said:“ When we launched REAL Aluminium earlier this year, we set out to really shake up the industry and revolutionise the supply of aluminium. We are thrilled to win this award, which celebrates the terrific impact that REAL Aluminum has had on our industry in such a short time.
“ The NFA winners are decided by the industry, so it means a great deal to us to be nominated by the people who rate the contribution that we’ ve made in helping to unlock the massive potential of aluminium.”
Call 01453 826884 or visit www. real-aluminium. co. uk