THING OF THE WEEK

SWEET(CORN) SUCCESS… Topping out and groundbreaking ceremonies are pretty familiar to most in the property and construction world, and companies are now going to great lengths to make them that bit more memorable. Take BCEGI and Scarborough Group, which this week reached the highest point on the first phase of Salford’s £700m Middlewood Locks. But this wasn’t any ordinary topping out ceremony: those at the top were treated to a rather strange spectacle of property developers and Chinese dignitaries sprinkling sweetcorn, oil, and salt onto a potted plant, apparently a ritual to bring good luck to the future development. With BCEGI set to sign a contract on the second phase of the project – not to mention Scarborough chairman Kevin McCabe planning a 50-storey tower for the development – it sounds like there will be plenty more sweetcorn-pouring to come. Time to buy shares in Green Giant?


EWG Pr Cotton Square Sod Cutting 10.17

DIG THIS… Not to be outdone, Eric Wright Group decided to bring along its largest, and surely most impractical, spade to its groundbreaking ceremony on the 22-home Cotton Square development in Ancoats. The scheme will also restore the Edinburgh Castle pub, which has been derelict for around 15 years. Presumably the giant spade wasn’t left behind by previous contractor Harbur Construction, which entered administration in April this year. The project is due to complete in November 2018, with 75% of the homes already sold.


Zebra Poo Thing

POO SCIENCE… What can zebra poo tell you? According to a team of scientists from Chester Zoo and the University of Manchester, plenty. The team has been monitoring cape zebras in South Africa and analysing their reaction to climate change and habitat destruction through their droppings. To measure the zebras’ stress levels, scientists have analysed hormones in their droppings, which show how “fight or flight” stress responses are measured in animals. Dr Sue Walker, head of applied science at Chester Zoo, said: “This project is a fantastic example of how we can use these knowledge and skills to also help the conservation of wild animals threatened with extinction.” Probably not an experiment to try at home.


Western Approaches Launches In Liverpool

GOING UNDERGROUND… Liverpool’s World War II bunker, Western Approaches, has reopened after a two-month restoration by Big Heritage. The bunker under Exchange Flags, where the Battle of the Atlantic was masterminded, has opened to the public as a museum, with guided tours available six days a week. The initial phase of the relaunch includes a restored underground street, while Big Heritage plans to restore further areas of the bunker in the coming years. Big Heritage founder, Dean Paton, said: “The launch was a wonderful celebration of the team’s hard work for this initial phase, but also, an acknowledgement to the courageous women and men who worked here during WWII.”


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