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During this unusual time where we are advised to stay at home where possible, families are spending much more time together. As a result we are all using the internet at once in order to work, study and play.  Here are some ways to maximise your internet speed:

Check your speed

A good broadband speed has never been more important, so the first thing to do is to check your speed. You can usually do this yourself using your broadband provider’s website. Check the speed you are paying for and check the speed you’re receiving. Sometimes there are quick fixes that your provider can carry out remotely to improve things.

Is your router in the correct position?

By placing your wireless router in the incorrect spot in your home can make a huge difference to its performance. If it is placed next to an electrical appliance, a window, a mirror, on the floor, in an extension or at the top of the property it can have significant interference and slow your speed right down.

Try and position your device near the centre of your home and close to the place that you rely on it the most – either close to your television or home office. Talk to your provider to make sure you have the latest model as this can also have an impact.

Don’t turn your router off

Make sure it’s on all the time unless you are going on holiday. If you keep turning it on and off you may find that it becomes slower because the local exchange will think your phone line is unstable and cannot deal with the high speeds.

Give it a kick start

If you find that it sometimes drops in speed, try turning it on and off again. It sounds obvious but this can make a difference.

Fit a microfilter

A microfilter is a small box that stops services interfering with each other – this is important if you use a home phone line.

Check your router settings

Talk to your Internet provider and find out how to remotely access your router settings. This will have settings that will enable you to make your router more efficient.

Change your username and password

Change your router name and password to something recognisable and memorable otherwise you could find it time consuming connecting to different devices throughout the home.

Make sure you’re on the fastest channel

Your wireless router will have several channels and some will be faster than others. If your neighbour has the same channel then you may find this slows yours down. Try different channels until you find one with a better speed – it’s trial and error with this one!

Use a booster

You can get hold of a wifi extender which boosts and carries your internet connection through your wiring and taking it to all corners of the home where the signal is otherwise weak. This is especially true for those with an extension. You can use these to create your very own wifi hotspot.

Use an ethernet cable

If you want a quick fix for a strong signal straight to your computer, use an ethernet cable from your router.

Check your data limit

A data cap limits your internet usage which can cause a slow-down in your broadband speed. To find out what this is and if you’re close to the limit, contact your broadband provider.

Check how many devices you’re using

Turn off any devices that aren’t being used as these can slow your internet speed considerably. Media pop ups can also be a culprit so make sure applications that aren’t being used are turned off.

In the war against COVID-19, it’s not just our hands and surfaces that need to be cleaned properly. It’s also important to wash your clothes especially as, at present, there’s no solid evidence about how long the virus can live on fabrics.

We have all been advised to stay at home where possible, so if you’re not a key worker you will at home and limiting your contact with the world outside your household. The advice is to take one walk a day within walking distance of your home, shop for food just once a week and use deliveries to minimise contact with people.

This is having a serious impact on our daily life, so we thought we’d offer some advice on how to ensure your clothes are clear of all germs and bacteria to help you get through this difficult time without getting ill.

Clean everything

Make sure you thoroughly clean all bedding, towels, sportswear, soft furnishings and sportswear to be on the safe side. While it’s important to use high temperatures to kill germs, it’s not always necessary to use the highest temperature especially as this can be harmful to the environment. Tests have shown that washing your clothes at 60°C, with a good detergent, is sufficient.

Check the instructions carefully

Check the label to ensure clothes can be cleaned safely at 60-degrees otherwise you could cause damage or shrinkage. If they can’t be washed at 60-degrees in a washing machine, check guidance on the label of each item to be washed and make sure you use a good quality and quantity of laundry

Wash as you go

Make sure you regularly clean clothes without letting them pile up otherwise it’s tempting to use a quick wash and if you wash things straight away it’s better than having clothes with germs hanging around within the home.

Outerwear is just as important

Don’t forget outerwear, as these items can be neglected when it comes to washing and can still have germs present as they are usually worn every day. Make sure your hats, scarves, coats and jackets are cleaned regularly too. If items are dry clean only, use an antibacterial spray in the interim.

 

 

Our Response to COVID-19

In response to the current situation regarding COVID-19 we wanted to take this opportunity to reassure you that Urban Union is continuing with business as usual.

The health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, customers, consultants, supply chain and those who come into contact with our business is of the utmost importance to us and we are complying with Government guidelines whilst ensuring that we continue to operate as normally as we can.

We wanted to share with you some of the steps that we are taking to ensure that we can continue to operate and deliver whilst managing any risk associated with COVID-19.

• Business Continuity Plans are in place for each part of our business
• All business-related travel has been put on hold; this includes travel to other locations within our business
• All meetings are being held via audio and video technology
• We are restricting the visitors to our premises
• All social functions and corporate entertaining have been suspended until further notice
• Home working has been enabled, with our office teams being split 50/50 with each alternating between a week home working and a week in the office
• Increased deep cleaning at all Urban Union premises as appropriate.
• Site activities are being staggered to eliminate large gatherings, this includes start, stop and break times
We are monitoring the situation daily and amending any current plans accordingly.  If we feel that these will have an impact on the work that we are doing with you,we will notify you at the earliest opportunity.

Our teams are available on email and telephone as before and we look forward to continuing to work with you through this period of uncertainty.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to email info@urbanunionltd.co.uk

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Urban Union hosts bespoke workshops to inspire pupils to consider a career in construction

Over 450 pupils from St. Francis Primary School have taken part in a series of bespoke workshops at an award-winning development in the Gorbals area of Glasgow.

We created a series of workshops and site visits designed to give pupils at a primary school close to our Laurieston Living development an insight into a variety of career paths construction offers and demonstrate the skills needed to work on a busy site.

Our team held two sessions every Thursday over a seven week period, with pupils taking part in a range of activities – from games, site tours and interactive workshops linking subjects taught in schools to different construction job roles to Q&A sessions on the regeneration project and construction more generally.

Mr Kerlin Principal from St Francis Primary School, said: “The workshops held by Urban Union provided us with the opportunity to take our pupils out of the classroom and give a fresh perspective on why the skills they’re learning in the classroom are so important. Urban Union have provided us with the opportunity to inspire the next generation, in line with the work been done on “Developing the Young force” in St Francis.

“By giving behind the scenes access to the development, pupils are better able to understand how this will transform the area around our school and highlights the varied roles the construction industry offers that many would not have been aware of.”

The Urban Union £140m revitalisation of the Gorbals area forms part of the wider Transforming Communities: Glasgow programme that aims to regenerate eight key neighbourhoods across the city.

173 homes are currently being developed as part of Phase 2 of the Laurieston Living development and is due to be completed by autumn 2021.  In partnership with New Gorbals Housing Association, Urban Union have also delivered 364 affordable and private homes in the first phase of development.

Neil McKay, Managing Director of Urban Union, said: “We place great importance on embedding Laurieston Living into the local community, from partnering with the likes of key cultural institutions such as the Citizen’s Theatre to engaging with local community groups.

“Not only do we want to keep people up-to-date with the progress of the development, we want to look at other ways the work we’re doing can benefit the community.

“By welcoming young people onto our construction site, we hope to have inspired some to think about a career in construction and demonstrate how the important skills they’re learning every day at school can one day be put into practice.”

Find out more about Laurieston Living,

 

We are thrilled to have been named finalists in the 13th annual Scottish Home Awards!

These awards celebrate new build housing in Scotland and this year there was a record high volume of entries from 109 housebuilders, housing associations and support businesses across Scotland.

The awards aim to reward placemaking and the creation of new home communities in Scotland and the finalists were carefully chosen by a judging panel of experts during an all-day session in Edinburgh which took place in February.

Urban Union has been announced as finalists for three of the categories:

  • Community Contribution Award – Pennywell Living
  • Affordable Housing Development of the Year (private sale) – Laurieston Living
  • Housing Regeneration Project of the Year – Laurieston Living

Chair of the judging panel, Dan Macdonald, CEO of Macdonald Estates, commented;

“The Scottish Home Awards celebrates the massive contribution that our residential development industry makes to our national economy, our wealth, our self being and our future generations.  The phenomenal growth in entries this year is testament to the health of the sector and the continued impact that it has in placemaking and the creation of new homes across Scotland.  I would like to thank the judging panel for their contribution in debating the merits of each and every entry and I congratulate all of the worthy finalists in this year’s competition.”

Andrew Cunningham, Managing Director at Ross & Liddell and a judge on the panel, commented;

“It is encouraging to see the continued growth of the Scottish Home Awards competition.  We have welcomed a record number of entries and firms this year which is testament to the credibility of this now well established and highly regarded awards programme.  We are proud to continue our support of the programme and extend our congratulations to all the finalists for their achievements.”

The winners will be announced at the annual celebration and awards ceremony on Thursday 11th June 2020 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Glasgow.  The awards are operated in support of ‘It’s Good 2 Give’ and The Ripple Retreat a luxury residential retreat on Loch Venacher in Loch Lomond.  The award-winning respite home is gifted to young cancer patients and their families for short stay visits.

Find out more about Laurieston Living and Pennywell Living.

 

Scottish Property Growth Outstrips the UK

Scottish House Prices Rising!

House prices in Scotland rose at twice the rate of those in England last year, at 1.4% to £154,000 compared to the 0.5% increase to £249,000 south of the border. Overall, the UK as a whole saw the slowest average price growth since 2012 last year, 0.7% to £233,000. The other UK nations fared better, with Wales seeing a rise of 3.3% to £166,000 and Northern Ireland prises rising by 4% to £140,000.  The UK Price Index figures were released last December by The Office for National Statistics.

In a more detailed view, house prices rose faster in Scotland than the UK average, during every month bar three since December 2017, demonstrating how different the picture is here than south of the border, in England in particular which continues to see market stagnation.

However, commentators still note an overall decrease in sales volumes. Interest and borrowing rates are still low and so the issue remains to be lack of available housing across the board, with demand outstripping supply in most areas. Property professionals therefore are calling on governments to accelerate the number of new-build schemes to help more people onto the market.

There is a similar level of decrease in terms of sales numbers between Scotland and England in fact, with a 4% decrease in transactions in Scotland and 4.1% in England, with many accounting this to the political uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the general election late last year. It is predicted that, with a new government in place and resulting Brexit momentum, buyer confidence will gradually be bolstered again in 2020, however. With prices remaining affordable and on the rise, buyers appear to have faith that investment in Scottish property is still secure.

Those thinking of selling in Scotland should perhaps take stock at present, keep an eye on how their local market is performing and, with possible political uncertainty in the future, strike whilst the Scottish seller’s market remains strong.

Whether you’re a property investor, first time buyer or looking to move close to the city, take a look at our developments in Glasgow, Perth and Edinburgh, designed around the area’s community and its specific requirements.

Discover the beauty of you and your family living in a brand new Urban Union home at Laurieston Living Glasgow, Pennywell Living Edinburgh and Muirton Living Perth. Start the next phase in your property journey with Urban Union. Visit any one of our sites below for latest pricing, availability and to view a selection of our home styles in video.

 

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