Member News

On a crisp November evening at the Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, members of the business and construction community from Norfolk, London and beyond joined LSI staff in celebrating the career of Senior Partner David Thompson, who is set to retire at the end of the year.

On the 21st November this month, David reached the 20 year milestone at LSI and tribute was paid to the instrumental role he has had in LSI’s enduring success over the past two decades.

David Andrews, Partner at LSI, said “David’s legacy is one of great success with the practice this year named as an AJ100 Practice for the first time, as well as winning the AJ Award for the Best Employer in the Eastern Region…and shortlisted in the top 5 nationally. Locally we were delighted to win the EDP Design & Development Award just a couple of weeks ago. David should feel justifiably proud of the central part he has played in securing these accolades. David made it his mission to develop the education and healthcare sectors when he joined the practice 20 years ago, and today we have some fantastic projects in both sectors such as the UEA and UTC Norfolk, major teaching hospitals such as Addenbrooke’s, and work in the Capital at Guys & St Thomas’, as well as frameworks for Private providers that are taking us from the south coast to Scotland.”

The Partners at LSI would like to thank everybody who joined the practice on the evening and celebrated David’s distinguished career.

LSI was delighted to welcome a group of Year 1 and Year 2 students from City College Norwich into the Norwich office to learn more about what it’s like to work at an architectural practice. The students were given talks from architects, architectural assistants and architectural technologists, who have each taken different paths to arrive at LSI, to help students when making important decisions about their future careers.

Jordan Armstrong, Architectural Technologist at LSI, spoke to the students about his experience of studying whilst working at the Practice having been a City College Norwich student himself “It’s a great chance for young people to gain an insight into how an architectural practice is run and what it is like to work for one. It’s also nice to see young people paying an interest and constantly asking engaging questions. I know for a fact how valuable for the students these opportunities are as LSI provided me exactly the same opportunity only a few years ago.”

Chris Lappin took a slightly different route, studying full time at the University of Lincoln to gain his Masters before joining LSI as an Architectural Assistant this summer “It was great to be able to pass on my experience of the route I have undertaken to become qualified. Although I’m not a qualified architect just yet, it was good to impart knowledge to the students as an example of someone who is still training.”

James Johnston, course leader at City College, said “The links with LSI have been invaluable to students at CCN looking for careers in Architecture and Architectural Technology. Visiting the practice has given students an opportunity to get a real feel of what being an Architect is all about. When visiting the practice in Norwich students have been shown both a wide range of construction projects at different stages of design together with discussing diverse projects and career progressions. LSI have always been excellent in choosing employees to engage with students who have different backgrounds and are able to communicate their enthusiasm and professional approach to their work.”

Here’s what some of the students had to say about their visit to LSI;

“I learnt the working dynamics of a company full of creative people and how the work was disseminated and controlled.”Curtis

“It gave me an insight into a real architecture studio” Barhav

“I found the visit to LSI very beneficial, I got a clear image of how architects work and how their careers develop.” Filip

“It helped me decide on my future.” Ian

“It gave me the opportunity to see and understand what the real work consists of. By meeting the technologists who had done the Btec course then went onto become fully qualified gave me an awareness of which route I need to take and how hard I need to work in order to achieve my career goals and ambition. I was also able to meet different professionals and see how their work differed in the construction project.” Frank

SaxonAir have welcomed the first Nextant 400XTi light jet onto their operating fleet. The aircraft is operated under SaxonAir’s Air Operators Certificate (AOC) and will be available for commercial charter alongside flights undertaken on behalf of the owner.

This aircraft is the first of the latest 400XTi variant to be delivered into Europe, which sees it operating alongside six of the earlier successful XT variants, and the first of the type into the UK. The operation comes just months after SaxonAir were awarded the exclusive sales representation rights for Nextant Aerospace products throughout the UK and Ireland together with general coverage into many other areas of Europe.

The spacious feature packed cabin incorporating fingertip climate control, sculpted wide 4-axis lateral tracking club seats and an espresso machine has proven incredibly popular with passengers. Using the latest technology including modern Williams International engines enables the 400XTi to fly further and fastest then similar aircraft, yet offers a much quieter cabin and a significant reduction in operating costs.

“We’re really pleased to add the Nextant to our fleet alongside our already very popular Hawker 400XP. Our current customer base will be able to benefit from the Nextant’s outstanding range whilst also enjoying the same high levels of comfort. The Nextant has a charter range in excess of 1700nm opening up destinations such as Istanbul” says Lee McGahan, SaxonAir Charter Manager.

The project to gain approvals in the operation of the Nextant has come about from a collaboration of various departments and specialists within SaxonAir’s group of companies. In excess of 6,000 hours go into the remanufacturing of each aircraft and the type has now proven its capabilities on a global scale – with the combined fleet reaching a 50,000 flight hour milestone.

SaxonAir’s private charter fleet now consists of the Citation Mustang, Hawker 400XP, Nextant 400XTi, King Air 350 and two Hawker 900XP aircraft alongside various Eurocopter helicopters.

SaxonAir held their first showcase at their Business Aviation Centre on November the 20th. The Luxury Lifestyle & Travel event was held to present some of SaxonAirs latest services and aircraft and familiarise SaxonAir and SaxonAir core values.

The showcase also featured other bespoke luxury brands including Bell Helicopters, Kahn Design, Stratton Motor Company, Textron Aviation, Balblair Whiskey, Gillian Weir, Peter Watts Wines and many more. SaxonAir were delighted with solid attendance throughout the day, and were delighted with the positive feedback received by numerous individuals and organisations.

We are grateful to our luxury partners for providing such wonderful items on display and fantastic catering. Naturally, we extend our sincere thanks to all visitors and look forward to hosting a similar event in the future.

You can view pictures from the event on our Facebook Page.

Thomson and First Choice are doubling capacity at Norwich International airport throughout the 2015 winter season with the addition of a second weekly flight to Tenerife.

The move to introduce the extra flight is part of the UK’s largest tour operator’s strategy to ensure customers across the UK can fly from their local airport and stay at the best hotels in some of the most exciting destinations. This follows on from the recent announcement of the introduction of a weekly service to Menorca every Saturday for summer 2015.

This second weekly flight to Tenerife means local holiday makers will have the opportunity to choose varying durations including 3, 4, 10 and 11 night stays in addition to the traditional 7, 14, 21 and 28 nights which have been available for many years.

Tenerife is home to some of Thomson and First Choice’s most highly scoring flagship hotels including; the five star Thomson Sensatori Resort Tenerife, which gives customers a luxury holiday experience, featuring world class spas and gourmet dining and the First Choice Holiday Village Tenerife which delivers everything a family could want in one place – great entertainment, food, kids clubs and lots of activities to keep the whole family occupied.

Andrew Bell, the airport’s Chief Executive, said “We are thrilled that Thomson and First Choice have announced the additional flight to Tenerife next winter. This decision further demonstrates their commitment to the airport and reflects the high level of demand from customers wishing to fly from Norwich.”

Karen Switzer, Director of Aviation Planning said of the move: “Increasing our capacity from Norwich Airport demonstrates our commitment to the region. Following the success of the introduction of the Menorca route from Norwich this summer and similar routes across a number of regional airports, we know that the demand is there. “Expanding access to our portfolio of destinations and hotels as well as offering more frequent flights and flexible durations is a key part of our overall strategy. We hope that by adding an extra weekly flight to Tenerife it will enhance the holiday experience for our customers who will now have greater access to some of our key properties.”

ENDS

Springwood High School in King’s Lynn has been awarded the British Council’sprestigious International School Award in recognition of its work to bring the worldinto the classroom.

The International School Award is a badge of honour for schools that do outstanding work ininternational education, such as through links with partner schools overseas. Fostering aninternational dimension in the curriculum is at the heart of the British Council’s work withschools, so that young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they need to liveand work as global citizens.Springwood High School’s international themes include working with its partner school inGhana, running exchange programmes with Germany, France and Australia, andresidential visits for the whole of Year 7 to the Battle Fields in Ypres.

On hearing the news that Springwood High School had received the Award, KarenWilliams, International Co-ordinator, said “This is excellent news for the school, and isrecognition of all the hard work that we have undertaken in the past few years to achieve thisaward”.

John Rolfe, from the British Council, said: ‘The school’s fantastic international work hasrightfully earned it this prestigious award. The International School Award is a great chancefor schools to demonstrate the important work they’re doing to bring the world into theirclassrooms. Adding an international dimension to children’s education ensures that they aretruly global citizens and helps prepare them for successful future careers in an increasinglyglobal economy.’2013/14 saw more than 500 schools receive International School Award accreditation.

Thisincludes a wide range of schools from a variety of different backgrounds and areas acrossthe UK. The British Council hopes to build on this success throughout 2014The Award is now available worldwide in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Egypt,Lebanon, Cyprus, Pakistan and Nigeria as part of the British Council’s ConnectingClassrooms programme. Around 5000 International School Awards have been presented tosuccessful schools in the UK since the scheme began in 1999.

The ISA encourages and supports schools to develop:

• An international ethos embedded throughout the school
• A majority of pupils within the school impacted by and involved in international work
• Collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools
• Curriculum-based work across a range of subjects
• Year-round international activity
• Involvement of the wider community

Norwich, 24 November 2014 – HitFilm 3 Pro, the latest video editing and visual effects software from FXHOME, is available to order today from hitfilm.com for just $299 (£229).

HitFilm 3 Pro is a post-production revolution, combining high quality editing tools, 3D compositing, 3D object rendering, an industry leading particle simulator and an expansive toolkit for advanced colour correction and grading, all in a single product. Over 180 fully customizable visual effects are included plus 130 plugins for use in Sony Vegas, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X and Motion.

From films to documentaries, commercials to music videos, HitFilm 3 Pro has features for beginners and experts alike, combining depth and complexity with an intuitive simplicity. Modern filmmaking requires you to be an editor, VFX artist and colorist at the same time; HitFilm 3 Pro gives you everything you need.

New features include a redesigned editor and interface, 3D textures for particles, auto-tracking masks, OpenFX support, 3D fractal particle shapes, 3D camera projection and professional de-noising, along with over 20 new effects, background proxying for complex VFX and a 16-bit OpenEXR pipeline. This makes HitFilm 3 Pro an exciting choice for rapid, high quality post-production work.

There is a redesigned editing timeline to give users access to all the tools they need for fine control. Filmmakers craft projects in the fast, non-linear editor and can switch between multiple 3D compositing timelines as easily as changing tabs in a web browser.

HitFilm 3 Pro includes Academy Award-winning planar tracking from Imagineer Systems, providing mask tracking and 3D camera solving. Sony Vegas users can render HitFilm projects directly on the Vegas timeline. 64-bit architecture and GPU acceleration ensures the best performance across a wide range of hardware. There’s also fully customizable particle generation and a 3D compositing environment, with all elements rendered accurately in relation to each other, making it easy to construct incredible scenes inside a single application.

“HitFilm 3 Pro is the best product we’ve ever created and is the result of two years of intensive development. Since we set up back in 2001, FXHOME has stood for supporting the next generation of filmmakers,” explained Joshua Davies, FXHOME founder and CEO. “With HitFilm 3 Pro, we have created a compelling combination of power and price, putting professional visual effects and editing software in the hands of students, indie filmmakers, educational institutions, VFX studios and YouTube creators; in fact, anyone wanting power, choice and value in one package.”

HitFilm 3 Pro costs $299/£229 and is designed for indie filmmakers. Upgrades are available from $199/£159. It is available today at hitfilm.com for both Mac and PC. Minimum requirements are:

Mac OSX 10.7, 10.8 and 10.9 64 bit Windows Vista, 7, 8

One HitFilm 3 Pro license contains three separate activations, and includes the HitFilm Plugins package launched earlier this year. Visit hitfilm.com/ now for more information.

We have opened our new office in Norwich to compliment the Great Yarmouth HQ. The new office on Pottergate will be headed up by Andrew Clarke with a team of Architectural Technologists seeking to work with clients in and around the City.

The expanison comes as we celebrate 40 years in Practice, helping to extend our reach across Norfolk. The ethos of the Practice continues on from Paul Robinson who is now retired, maintaining that architecture should be about buildability and practicality. You can contact the Norwich office on: 01603 397057 or by email: norwich@prparchitecture.com

As from the 4th of December 2014, the stamp duty for the majority of homebuyers has been given a fair and significant cut.

The old rules attracted wide criticism as being outdated and simply unfair. Until today, stamp duty in the UK would have been charged based purely on the total purchase price of the property. The rules meant that the total price would be placed into a stamp duty tax band and any increase in the price, even a fluctuation as small as a £1 rise, could cross the threshold and cause the stamp duty to automatically jump up significantly, incurring potentially thousands of pounds more in charges because of that £1 rise.

The changes today have made the system more comparable to the familiar income tax structure in that you will now only pay the higher rate of tax on the part of the price that has gone into the next tax band. For example if you were buying a property for £185,000 you won’t have to pay any tax on the first £125,000 and 2% on the remaining £60,000 – a saving of £650. A further example is that someone buying a home as from today for £275,000 would pay £3,750 in stamp duty, rather than £8,250 under the old rules – that’s a saving of £4,500!

Please see the HM Treasury statement which includes a useful link to a reliable online calculator. The statement clearly and simply sets out the new rules and we suggest that you may wish to use the same as a point of reference. Clearly the new rates will give a significant boost to the property market and benefit the majority of people preparing to purchase their homes. If you need any further details please do not hesitate to contact us on 01603 610911.

Leathes Prior’s David Clarke – Partner and Head of The Conveyancing Team comments:

‘The profession has, for many years, been asking for changes to the stamp duty levels to reflect substantial increases in property prices since the previous levels were imposed. The changes are very welcome to make a fairer system, whereby previously the rate was paid at a single rate on the entire property price, now it is paid only on the part of the property price within each tax band – very much like income tax. By way of example, when purchasing a property at just over £250,000, under the previous rules duty rose from 1% to 3% of the whole price leading to stamp duty on a property at say £260,000 of £7,800. Under the new system, duty would now be payable in the sum of £3,000.’

Please note: The content of this article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Specific legal advice should be taken in any specific circumstance.

South Cambridgeshire District Council has announced that planning permission has been approved for LSI’s new Arthur Rank Hospice. The hospice will replace the existing hospice on the Brookfield site, Mill Road, Cambridge and will have 24 beds, double the number of beds currently available with 16 single rooms plus en-suite facilities and two, four bedded bays. Plans include a commercial kitchen which will be able to provide freshly cooked food for patients, staff and visitors – this will be a significant improvement on the current cook/chill facilities and super new educational facilities to enable the hospice to train other healthcare professionals in good end of life care.

The setting at Shelford Bottom is green, leafy and tranquil and the building has been designed to fit sympathetically into the landscape. Dr Lynn Morgan, CEO of the charity said “the new hospice is light, airy and modern. We were hoping to get a hospice which would raise people’s spirits and I believe LSI has definitely achieved this. The lead architect, Louise Knights, has worked closely with all of our staff to ensure that the hospice really meets our needs and will function very well”.

Louise Knights, Associate at LSI, said “Receiving planning permission is a significant milestone towards providing Arthur Rank Hospice with the building that their fantastic hard work deserves. The new Hospice will provide every patient and visitor with a direct connection to the outside, with the external space being treated as equally as important as the internal environment.”

The hospice is designed to cater for the increasing population of Cambridge and the surrounding area and also the rise in the number of people who will live longer but at the end of their life have multiple medical conditions which will make their care more complex.

The building work will begin in January 2015 and will be completed in summer 2016. The build will cost in the region of £10 million, £5.5 million has already been raised.

The charity stressed that they are very keen for people to donate to this very worthy cause and hope that when people see the new hospice going up they will be encouraged to contribute. Cambridgeshire County Council has agreed an interim loan to enable the charity to start building. More detail of what the hospice will look like can be seen on https://www.arhc.org.uk .

Global-leading energy services company Proserv has secured a major contract win worth in excess of $20 million, underpinning the company’s fast-evolving international footprint and market-leading status in the subsea arena.

This latest award by Hess Corporation is for the provision of a 12-well subsea control system along with associated topside and subsea interface equipment for the deepwater Stampede development, situated in the Gulf of Mexico.

Work for the project will be carried out in various Proserv subsea service centres and technology hubs around the world, reinforcing the company’s strong inter-regional capability. The design and manufacture of the subsea electronics modules (SEMs) and subsea control modules (SCMs) will be carried out by Proserv’s team of subsea experts in Great Yarmouth, UK, with Proserv’s Trondheim facility in Norway providing technical support. Final testing, servicing and the integration of equipment will be carried out at Proserv’s new dedicated controls facility in Houston, USA.

The systems will be delivered to the client in a phased approach throughout 2015 and 2016 in line with key project milestones.

Proserv, which is headquartered in Westhill, has a long-standing relationship with Hess Corporation and over the past three years has secured work with the operator which, including this latest award, is estimated to be worth around $35 million. These activities included providing subsea controls equipment and services for Hess Corporation’s Tubular Bells field, a fast-track project that has just announced first production, and Hess GoM brownfield projects.

David Lamont, Proserv CEO, said: “This is a significant win for the company that highlights the strength of our technical and engineering expertise as well as our market-leading status in the subsea controls and communications field.

“Proserv has already worked with Hess Corporation on several projects and the award of this contract is testament to the strength of our relationship and their trust in our ability to deliver robust technology solutions and services on time and to the highest standards. We look forward to working with Hess Corporation in the successful delivery of this project and would also like to congratulate them on the expeditious production of first oil from the Tubular Bells development.”

Proserv, which operates worldwide across several regions, has a 40-year track record in delivering bespoke solutions for the energy industry, particularly in the drilling, production, subsea and marine market sectors.

The latest contract award builds on Proserv’s high-profile portfolio of clients and projects, and mirrors the company’s global success through contracts with major operators in other international provinces.

It also comes just weeks after Proserv was acquired by Riverstone Holdings LLC, a major US private equity investor with an impressive track record of backing independent operators and energy service companies.

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