unLTD Article: Property Special

Wayne Fletcher, founder and director at professional consultancy firm Austin Fletcher, reflects on the most popular developments in South Yorkshire.

What are the most common type of developments you’ve been seeing in South Yorkshire?

Obviously the big one is the regeneration of Sheffield City centre as a whole and I include the developments being undertaken by Sheffield Hallam University as part of that. Collectively there is a lot going on in Sheffield right now and will be for a number of years based on the plans being set out at the moment.

From a business point of view, we have several live projects in the region in a number of sectors, including mixed use and hospitality. Most of which are in and around city centres.

Developments in the logistics sector are popular right now, not only in the South Yorkshire region but across the UK as a whole.

Are there any standout projects you’ve worked on in the region recently?

Possibly the one project that stands out, for a number of reasons, is the development of the building on Fargate which was previously occupied by Next. Unfortunately, the project hit a few hurdles and has been in delay for a while, but the team have now overcome those issues and it is moving forward. We should see some big changes on the site over the next few months and the finished building should be a standout feature on Fargate by the end of the year.

Have you noticed any trends in the types of projects you’ve been involved in post-COVID?

From a pre and post-COVID position, we have not seen a massive shift in the types of developments that
we have been involved in, albeit we are seeing more refurbishment work coming through where clients have decided to refurbish and maintain their existing assets in lieu of purchasing or developing new properties. Generally though, our large developer clients have maintained a healthy workstream of new build developments and we have seen an uplift of new, and repeat, business in this area.

The big difference is higher costs and reduced material availability which is a trend that has continued since COVID-19 restrictions eased. Materials are at a premium now and this hits a client’s budget hard. What they could afford to build prior to COVID-19 is different to what they can afford to build now, which is why sound cost management is vital now more than ever before.

What is your role in the development process and how can you help businesses in the region?

We are a multi-disciplinary construction consultancy, so we provide a variety of services which include project management, quantity surveying/cost management, contract administration and health and safety services, to name a few.

Generally, we aim to work with our clients right from the start of their development journey so we can help build the project team and ensure the client receives the right help and advice to be able to make informed decisions at the right time.

We work mainly in the commercial market; however, we have seen a large uplift in high end domestic work over the last 12 months which is possibly as a result of COVID-19 and a new found appreciation for ‘staying in’.