EG’s must reads: 15-19 July

Here’s a wrap-up of some of the top stories on EG from the past week. AXA Investment Managers Alts has set plans in motion for an office tower on St Mary Axe in the City of London. The investment manager had already launched a virtual consultation over the future of Camomile Court and 63 St Mary Axe, EC3, a pair of 1980s office buildings close to Liverpool Street station. Now, an environmental impact assessment report lodged with the City of London Corporation has revealed fresh details of what the likely new scheme will be: a 46-storey mixed-use tower with close to 100,000 sq ft of office space.AXA IM plans 46-storey City of London tower The property industry has given a broad welcome to measures outlined in the King’s Speech. The speech, which set out the new government’s legislative agenda for the coming months, had housebuilding and infrastructure high on its list of priorities, in the form of the proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill, through which the government believes it can unlock the building of 1.5m homes across the UK. It also introduced proposals to give more powers to metro mayors and combined authorities through the English Devolution Bill, with the aim of supporting local growth plans that bring economic benefit to communities.Starmer vows to ‘get Britain building’ in King’s SpeechIndustry welcomes Labour’s legislative agenda When chancellor Rachel Reeves said the new Labour government will form a task force to “accelerate stalled housing sites”, she pointed to four projects that she wanted the initiative to start with: Liverpool Central Docks, Worcester Parkway, Northstowe and Langley Sutton Coldfield. The local authorities and developers behind those four schemes – which have the potential to deliver more than 14,000 homes – tell EG the message is “music to our ears”, but add that greater clarity is needed on the scope and breadth of the task force.‘Music to our ears’: masterplan maestros welcome Labour’s new tuneDevelopers picked for 3,000-home scheme near Cambridge British Land is drafting proposals for its first life sciences scheme in Oxford. The proposed 300,000 sq ft development will sit on the 23-acre Botley Road Retail Park. Amber Morley, development manager at British Land, told EG: “We’re trying to do something a bit different compared with what I would call a typical science park building.”British Land reveals its first lab scheme in OxfordLondon risks oversupply of costly lab space Three years after CBRE bought a majority stake in project manager Turner & Townsend, chair and chief executive Bob Sulentic is ready to spend more. “We see a lot of opportunity for growth across multiple dimensions of project management, cost consultancy, programme management,” Sulentic told EG in an exclusive interview. “We have got a lot of capital to invest in direct growth. In the last year we probably invested about $1.5bn-$2bn (£1.1bn-£1.5bn). We want to push capital into this business to do acquisitions, if they are available.”CBRE global boss says firm has capital and is ready to spend Other stories you mustn’t miss: Fusion’s curriculum for rethinking student digsBTR completions hit record highHome REIT to be wound downNew rail station means all change at Liverpool’s Baltic TriangleNod for £400m King’s Cross service station-to-lab conversionPR firm takes chunk of the Cheesegrater from AonQuintain’s London Designer Outlet signs new brandsFinding the best framework for sustainability For your listening pleasure from EG Property Podcasts: Want a life-changing experience? Better become an EG Future LeaderEG Future Leaders: Getting uncomfortable, building connections and making a difference Photo © Victoria Jones/Shutterstock