Time and date
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTORY
UK Construction News Archive for December 2013
20/12/2013
Watford Borough Council has received confirmation from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) that he has granted consent to appropriate the Farm Terrace allotment land for the benefit of the Watford Health Campus scheme. This upholds his original decision in May and con
20/12/2013
Westfield has announced it will unconditionally start construction works on the £260m Bradford Broadway development and has completed the sale of its interest to pan European retail real estate investment manager Meyer Bergman. Final site enabling works are being completed in December in preparation
20/12/2013
Kier Construction's rail team has been appointed contractor for the £8.5m Port Talbot Station Improvement Scheme by Network Rail in Wales. Port Talbot is the highest profile scheme Network Rail in Wales has put out to tender in the region in recent years. In addition to Kier's technical and innova
20/12/2013
Galliford Try has announced that S4B, the Equitix-led partnership that includes Galliford Try and Contour Homes, has reached financial close on the £100 million Brunswick regeneration scheme. Financial close follows the consortium’s appointment as preferred bidder. The regeneration programme will
20/12/2013
The Road Workers' Safety Forum (RoWSaF), a cross-industry group led by the Highways Agency and supported by Balfour Beatty and its joint ventures, has been recognised at the Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards for its innovative and collaborative approach to making roadworkers safer. Th
20/12/2013
An illegal gas fitter has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service and received a suspended prison sentence after a boiler he installed at a family home in Wirral was found to be 'immediately dangerous'. Janusz Potocki fitted the boiler at a house on Larch Grove in Prenton near Birk
19/12/2013
Terrace Hill has announced that Darlington Borough Council's Planning Committee has granted planning permission for Feethams Leisure, a £30 million project that will regenerate a 1.9 acre former bus station in Darlington town centre into a cinema, hotel and restaurant complex. As a result of the d
19/12/2013
Carillion Academies Trust has been named as the sponsor for two new primary schools in Tameside. The schools will be run through the charitable, not-for-profit trust and will draw on Carillion's strong commitment to communities, sustainability and investment in the development of outstanding skills
19/12/2013
An engineering firm in Kent has been fined after a worker lost the tip of a finger when his gloved hand got caught in an unguarded drill. The 62-year-old employee, from Sittingbourne, who does not wish to be named, needed the top joint of his left ring finger amputated after the incident at G & P M
19/12/2013
Unite has welcomed EDF Energy's cast iron protections against blacklisting at its proposed new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. EDF Energy is giving evidence to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee inquiry into blacklisting in employment to highlight best practice in relation
19/12/2013
Costain has announced that it has been awarded a contract by Lancashire County Council (Lancashire) to construct the M6 - Heysham link road, worth approximately £100m to Costain. The award follows on from a three-year Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) collaboration between Costain and Lancashire,
19/12/2013
Housing and low rise development ground beam supplier and manufacturer, Stent House Foundations, has been awarded its largest ever contract with a £1.3m development for Strata Homes in Hull. The Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering joint venture with GKPS will provide a full design and build package o
18/12/2013
Balfour Beatty has secured a £2.3m contract to fit out 27 luxury apartments and an historic bell tower at Audley Inglewood, the retirement village in Kintbury, West Berkshire for Audley Retirement. Amongst the modern facilities delivered as part of the work, new owners will benefit from under floor
18/12/2013
Work on a new shelter for homeless people is underway in Waterbeach in South Cambridgeshire. The leading housing and care provider Sanctuary Group was granted approval earlier this year to develop the new premises on the site of the former homeless shelter, Robson Court. Since then, Sanctuary has b
18/12/2013
Essential refurbishment to a Peterborough bridge will be completed on time and within budget, with road restrictions cleared in time for Christmas. Work began on Longthorpe bridge in August and is the last in a series of extensive bridge refurbishments on the A1260 Nene parkway that have taken plac
18/12/2013
The 'King's Lynn B Connection Project' proposal has been given development consent by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The development consent is for an overhead electric line, connecting the proposed King's Lynn B gas turbine power station to the transmission network. The deci
18/12/2013
Alice Flint has joined Tamworth-based affordable housing developer and regeneration specialist Lovell as sustainability co-ordinator. Lovell has its national head office at Marston Park, Tamworth. Alice graduated from York University this year with a first-class BSc honours degree with distinction
18/12/2013
The Chrysalis Fund has committed £3.5m to enable the redevelopment and expansion of a production facility for an Italian cable manufacturer in Knowsley, helping to create more than 100 jobs in the process. Tratos UK already operates from Knowsley, supplying mainly low voltage cables to the power d
18/12/2013
Leeds Metropolitan University and BAM Construction have announced a new pioneering partnership this week which will give students access to a range of work experience, graduate traineeships and real-life projects to prepare them for their careers. The formal partnership was established at an event
18/12/2013
Finance Minister, Jane Hutt and Health Minister, Mark Drakeford were in Swansea to see how a £130.5m Welsh Government investment is helping transform Morriston Hospital into a 21st century healthcare facility. The multi-million pound transformation is part of HealthVision Swansea, a multi-phased pr
18/12/2013
Galliford Try has reached financial close on the £100 million Brunswick regeneration scheme. Financial close follows the consortium's appointment as preferred bidder. The regeneration programme will transform the Brunswick area of East Manchester, providing 522 new homes as well as new community
18/12/2013
Centrica's North American subsidiary, Direct Energy, has agreed to sell its Texas gas-fired power stations to Blackstone for $685 million (£420 million) in cash. The three units, located in Paris, Bastrop, and Mission, have a combined capacity of 1,295MW. As part of the transaction, Direct Energy
17/12/2013
Building work is set to begin on a new extra care scheme for older people in Widnes. The £6million Halton Housing Trust development will offer 50 apartments - 32 will be allocated for social housing rent, 12 for shared ownership and six for outright sale, whilst five supported bungalows will also b
17/12/2013
Energy company E.ON has been awarded the 'Best Diversity and Inclusion Recruitment Strategy Award' at the FIRM Awards in London. The honour recognises companies who have shown exceptional creativity and innovation in the development and delivery of their diversity and inclusion recruitment strategy
17/12/2013
A new leisure, community and youth complex plus new homes in Preston move ever closer after the Council's Executive agreed to sell the current Banstead Leisure Centre site to Croudace Homes to help fund the development. The Executive also agreed a budget of £11.85m for the Preston regeneration sche
17/12/2013
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) will bring forward enough public land by March 2015 to support delivery of over 2,000 more homes than originally anticipated, according to new figures published today. The Agency's Land Development and Disposal Plan (LDDP) sets out how the HCA will use its exp
17/12/2013
Balfour Beatty has been awarded a place on the National Capital Works Framework for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) to design and build up to £400 million worth of large-scale Ministry of Defence construction projects across the UK. Balfour Beatty joined a special ceremony at the DIO
17/12/2013
Carillion has been selected by Shell, the global energy company, for a Global Framework Agreement covering the delivery of facilities management services. Initial awards under the framework include three facilities management contracts in the UK, Qatar and Dubai. The contracts follow Carillion's 20
17/12/2013
A £15million contract for the construction of a new home for St Hilda's Church of England High School in Sefton Park is set to be awarded by the Mayor's Cabinet, the Liverpool Express reports. Under the proposal, Morgan Sindall will build a new four storey building on land at Sefton Grange on Croxt
17/12/2013
Work has started on a £3 million project being carried out by Clegg Construction at the University of Birmingham. The Nottingham-based construction firm is fast developing a reputation as experts in education buildings and has been asked to construct a new biomedical centre on the university's scie
17/12/2013
Northamptonshire shoppers were forced to run for safety as a scaffold collapsed and fell some 20 metres towards them, a court has heard. Nobody was hurt, but several people required treatment for shock as a result of the incident at the Willow Place Shopping Centre in Queen's Square, Corby on 17 Au
17/12/2013
Despite the well-publicised decrease in UK students learning practical skills in schools such as working with resistant materials and engineering – the demand for places on furniture design and production courses in the country's universities is higher than ever. Students from all around the world
16/12/2013
Following Carillion's announcement on 2 May 2013 that it had been selected as the preferred bidder for the £335 million Royal Liverpool University Hospital project, Carillion has announced that it has achieved financial close on this project. The new Royal will be one of the biggest construction pr
16/12/2013
Councils have received over £2 billion through the New Homes Bonus for helping deliver 550,000 more homes, new figures show. Housing Minister Kris Hopkins published details of the latest New Homes Bonus payments being made to England's 353 councils, in recognition of their contribution to building
16/12/2013
The Environment Agency has issued an environmental permit to Wolf Minerals UK Ltd to operate a mining waste facility at Hemerdon in Devon. The decision follows careful and thorough consideration of the permit application. The Agency has consulted widely and sought comments from many organisations
16/12/2013
Work to install a new safety barrier on the North Bank Road will start today, Monday 16th December. The decision was confirmed at a meeting held last night between officers from Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, and representatives from Fenland Road Safety Campaign, to di
16/12/2013
The first families have moved in to their new home at the former Caerphilly Miners' Hospital site and have been officially welcomed by Carl Sargeant, Minister for Housing and Regeneration. In a special ceremony, Tom Williams and Nadia Steer received the keys to their brand new home developed by hou
16/12/2013
Quintain's 85-acre Wembley Park scheme is poised to enter its second phase of development, with unanimous planning permission granted by London Borough of Brent for 475 new homes, 433 of which will be privately owned. The development was designed by Grid Architects and will consist of a series of s
16/12/2013
Members of construction union UCATT, based at the Tata Steel works in Scunthorpe, will take strike action tomorrow, Tuesday 17th December. The refractory workers who are employed by Tube City to undertake the maintenance of the furnaces and refractory work on torpedoes, ladles and vessels, at the s
16/12/2013
In a bid to save energy costs and cut carbon emissions; the UK's two most populous urban areas are switching to LED lighting. London and Manchester have put plans in place to replace their current streetlights with energy-efficient LED technologies to help lower costs of lighting the streets and hel
13/12/2013
Willmott Dixon is taking Passivhaus in the UK to new heights after being appointed by the University of Leicester, one the UK's leading Universities, for the largest non-residential project to meet the ultra-energy efficient building standard. Willmott Dixon will construct University of Leicester'
13/12/2013
Clegg Construction has started work on a £3.1m project to transform a derelict city centre landmark. The major refurbishment project in Derby will give a new lease of life to the city's former magistrates' court. The work is being carried out on behalf of Wilson Bowden Developments Ltd for Derby Ci
13/12/2013
A teenager from Upwell in Norfolk has secured a plumbing apprenticeship with local housing regeneration specialist Lovell. Nineteen-year-old Billy Smith will learn his trade working on a £30m estate regeneration programme which Lovell is undertaking for Freebridge Community Housing at Hillington Sq
13/12/2013
Balfour Beatty has completed a £2.4m winter ward at Basildon University Hospital in Essex for the Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The new 28-bed ward is designed to increase capacity for emergency patients during the winter period and also includes a nurses' station
13/12/2013
Construction work to transform an area of Beswick into a world class sport and community hub reached its first milestone as project leaders celebrated the topping out of the Connell Sixth Form College. Connell College is part of Bright Futures Educational Trust, which is bringing quality education
13/12/2013
Centrica has reached an agreement to sell its Race Bank offshore wind farm project to DONG Energy Power (UK) Limited for £50 million. With Centrica having taken the project through the planning and Front End Engineering Design phase, DONG Energy will now take forward the project’s development. Rac
13/12/2013
London's festive season once again kicked off in sustainable style with the lighting of the iconic Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree on 6th December. The traditional annual gift from Norway to the UK will be the 67th in the series of trees donated by Oslo to London that symbolises the good relations
13/12/2013
The National Painting and Decorating Show is celebrating a record year, with visitor attendance up by 20% over 2012 - higher than ever before! Wondertex exhibited for the first time and received a warm and busy welcome! The exhibition was held at the Jaguar Hall, Ricoh Arena, Coventry with more e
12/12/2013
Wates Construction has been awarded a £1.75m contract to deliver a multifunctional warehouse facility for Bury-based plastics manufacturer, Thumbs Up Bury Ltd, on Dumers Lane. Standing alongside the organisation's existing manufacturing and distribution centres, the new 2,700 sq m building will be
12/12/2013
Plans for a new £11.3m station in Kenilworth have been given final approval under the government's multi-million pound New Stations Fund. The Department for Transport has approved the allocation of £5m from the fund following confirmation that the station can be built without adversely impacting ot
12/12/2013
Major improvements in the resilience and safety of the A55 will be carried out over the next three years as a result of capital investment of £25m by the Welsh Government announced in last year's budget and a further £17m announced in October this year. The first phase of the works will be carried
12/12/2013
Benson Elliot and Stanhope have secured planning consent from Reading Borough Council, to start work clearing the £500m redevelopment site of Station Hill in Reading. The first elements of the phased scheme will commence in 2014. A temporary public event space is expected to be delivered by the e
12/12/2013
Lovell has recently made it compulsory for all sites to use Wavin's new Recycore Technology. The new technology has been used to create 110mm and 160mm soil drainage pipes, whilst utilising as much recycled material as possible. By making its use compulsory, Wavin's new products will help Lovell's
12/12/2013
Seddon has been appointed by Rooftop Housing Group to build a 49-home, £5.9m specialist housing scheme for older residents in Coleford, Gloucestershire. Construction work has just started on the development which will create a dementia-focused housing with care complex made up of 28 one-bed apartme
12/12/2013
MP Mark Lancaster has officially opened a new underpass linking Oakgrove Secondary School to the Oakgrove Village community. Providing direct access underneath Brickhill Street in Middleton, the underpass has been designed for use by both pedestrians and cyclists who previously struggled to cross t
12/12/2013
There has been a recent, welcome new addition to St Benedict’s School in Bury St Edmunds, as their new sports pitches have come to fruition. This outstanding school boasts 6 acres of playing fields, which includes a block of 4 multi-sport courts. Over the years these courts have been well utilised
11/12/2013
Skanska and the Highways Agency have finalised the contract for M1 junction 19, with full construction works due to start in early January 2014. The contract is worth £128.5 million with target completion of the project set for autumn/winter 2016-17. The announcement marks another major milestone f
11/12/2013
A Shropshire businessman who supplies workplace vehicles and lifting equipment has been fined for falsifying a safety document for a forklift truck. Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court was told that Stuart Jeavons intentionally made a false entry on a Report of Thorough Examination for the truck, a st
11/12/2013
Costain is recognising safer working at its Severn Trent framework sites through the launch of a 'green cards' initiative. Part of the Costain Behavioural Safety (CBS) programme, the initiative follows on from the introduction of yellow and red cards for site staff demonstrating risky or unsafe beh
11/12/2013
Lovell has recently adapted its Site Manager Development Programme to include visits to the ACT Construction Simulation Centre in Coventry, providing employees with an innovative training opportunity. Lovell's Site Manager Development Programme aims to develop a pool of competent people ready to fi
11/12/2013
Galliford Try has been appointed preferred bidder by Kent County Council to its 'Excellent Homes for All' scheme. The £38m construction contract will involve the provision of seven schemes of supported housing across the county. Approximately 240 homes are anticipated to be built by Galliford Try
11/12/2013
Balfour Beatty's UK and Ireland construction business has announced the appointment of Mark Cutler as Managing Director of its regional construction and civil engineering business. Mark will join Balfour Beatty at the end of January 2014 at a time when the ongoing recovery in the market has begun t
11/12/2013
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has welcomed £1bn of new investment under the Local Infrastructure Fund, announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement. The Local Infrastructure Fund accelerates the delivery of locally supported, large scale housing schemes by investing in upfront works
11/12/2013
A large drywall system installed in the Volkswagen car showroom in Huntingdon has been prepared by D Hetherington Tape and Jointing using Wondertex Joint Filler, Joint Finish and Metal Angle Tape. British Gypsum plasterboard was used to build ceilings and walls in the showroom, offices, kitchen an
10/12/2013
Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering (BBGE) has launched the UK's first driven precast pile cutting system which has the potential to reduce piling waste to zero. The new system, which has patent-pending, works by cutting precast concrete piles above the ground with diamond tipped blades and then usin
10/12/2013
The Welsh Government's programme to create a new generation of 21st century schools across Wales will now aim to be completed in 2018-19, two years sooner than expected thanks to a £200m funding boost, Finance Minister Jane Hutt has announced. The £1.4bn 21st Century Schools programme, which comple
10/12/2013
The Government's new fair payment rules will make a real difference to construction SMEs by helping finance flow down through the supply chain, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: "The Government's new approach to ensuring 30-day paym
10/12/2013
Gloucestershire County Council has announced Amey as the preferred bidder for a contract to deliver highways services across the county. The contract, which will run for five years with possible extensions up to 11 years, will be worth between £130m and £450m. Amey will take responsibility for m
10/12/2013
Carillion, has won the category of Sustainability as a Marketing Strategy at the Construction Marketing Awards 2013. The STN website has been running for over a year and provides a portal for sustainability content. Lisa Benbow, Head of Corporate Communications, at Carillion said: "This award reco
10/12/2013
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has welcomed £1bn of new investment under the Local Infrastructure Fund, announced by the Chancellor. The Local Infrastructure Fund accelerates the delivery of locally supported, large scale housing schemes by investing in upfront works – such as installing ut
10/12/2013
An investigation by construction union UCATT has revealed that the number of construction deaths in Kent has increased dramatically. There were a total of four construction deaths in Kent in 2012/13 compared to just one in the previous reporting year. The figures are particularly disturbing as ther
10/12/2013
Heskins have yet again added to their already vast and impressive product range with a new non-abrasive anti slip material; coarse resilient lean. The new material allows the already popular coarse resilient material to be more flexible and conformable, with the same slip prevention qualities as Hes
09/12/2013
be:here has taken another major step forward in its ambition to develop over 5,000 homes for private renters by completing contracts with Development Securities PLC and Cathedral Group PLC for The Gatefold Building, part of The Old Vinyl Factory The Gatefold Building, which will enable be:here to c
09/12/2013
Harworth has gained outline consent for a major industrial scheme in the North West. The Logistics North development was approved by Salford City Council and Wigan Council, ratifying the approval given by Bolton Council. Due to the development's size and impact on the region, it had to be approved
09/12/2013
Kier Construction has been awarded a £121m joint venture contract to build a new technical training college on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Working through a 50:50 joint venture (JV) named 'Hercules' with Balfour Beatty, Kier will deliver the MoD's new Defence College of Technical Train
09/12/2013
E.ON has announced that from 18th January 2014 its energy prices for existing standard variable dual fuel customers will be on average 3.7% higher. For the second year running, E.ON has announced an increase later than any other major supplier and has once again shown it is working hard to limit th
09/12/2013
Celebrations are underway in Hull following the start of construction work at the Ganstead Grove site, off Preston Road. Sanctuary Group is developing 54 new homes on the site in partnership with Hull City Council in a £5m project with £1.4m investment from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). T
09/12/2013
A scheme to create 43 new council homes for Ealing Council in Northolt, west London, is helping a 23-year-old from Greenford kick-start her construction career. Saja Al-Batat's six-month placement with developer Lovell has been organised through housing association Notting Hill Housing's Constructi
09/12/2013
Costain has announced that it has been appointed by Severn Trent Water to its 2015 – 2020 investment programme ('AMP6' - Asset Management Period number six). The appointment marks confirmation of a continuation of Costain's involvement in Severn Trent's AMP5 programme through to AMP6, and is worth a
09/12/2013
Plans for Wolverhampton's £6m Youth Zone have been approved - as young people show 'The Way' they want their new facility to look. Wolverhampton City Council has now given the green light to the planning application for the state of the art centre. At the same time, members of the Youth Zone Develo
06/12/2013
GB Group has secured public and private sector funding for a £32m exclusive hotel development at the heart of Leeds city centre, the closest to the newly opened flagship Leeds Arena. GB Building Solutions will start work this month on the £21m building contract to create the 206-bedroom, 14-storey
06/12/2013
The Housing Investment Fund is a ground-breaking home building model that uses available development land owned by Manchester City Council while an investor finances the build, delivering 241 homes. The aim of the joint venture, financed by the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, is to stimulate home
06/12/2013
JCB has announced plans to invest £150 million to expand its operations in Staffordshire and create an additional 2,500 jobs by 2018, which will in turn add a further 7,500 jobs in the UK supply chain. To mark the announcement, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP will vi
06/12/2013
The Minister for Housing and Regeneration, Carl Sargeant, saw for himself the good work being done by Rural Housing Enablers (RHEs) in Wales. During a visit to Broadstone in Trellech, a development of six semi detached, sustainable properties, the Minister was keen to point to the role RHEs play in
06/12/2013
Southwark Council has appointed construction company Morgan Sindall to deliver four affordable housing schemes worth £20 million in the south-east London borough. More than 90 new homes are set to be built in Southwark by Morgan Sindall's sister company housing solutions specialist Lovell. Awarded
06/12/2013
A new initiative has been launched to find ten of the UK's leading social entrepreneurs who are working to tackle energy challenges, and making real, sustainable change in their communities. Established by Ignite Social Enterprise, a social investment fund focused on energy-related businesses and
06/12/2013
A Lincolnshire timber company has been fined after an employee severed three fingers in an unguarded roller conveyor. Shaun Newcomb, 30, of Bourne, required extensive treatment and was unable to work for nine months as a result of the incident at Sewstern Timber Services Ltd in Gunby Road, Sewstern
06/12/2013
The SEPA deadline will mean changes to your accounts management software. Discover what’s required in our concise guide. Every now and again, a new piece of legislation comes along that will affect the way in which your construction firm does business. Since 2002, Ireland has been one of the 32 EU
05/12/2013
£6.7m funding has been announced for phase two of Erith Park regeneration in Bexley. The scheme receives funding from the Mayor of London and represents one of the largest projects of its type in London. The second phase of the regeneration at Erith Park in Bexley has been confirmed with the annou
05/12/2013
New measures will speed up the delivery of homes by cutting down unnecessary planning processes and providing more certainty about where sensible development should take place. Proposals outlined will boost housebuilding and support businesses keen to expand by removing delays from the planning sys
05/12/2013
Construction union UCATT has given a cautious welcome to the Chancellor's announcement in the autumn statement that the Government, "will amend existing legislation to prevent employment intermediaries being used to avoid employment taxes by disguising employment as self-employment". Steve Murphy,
05/12/2013
A roofer has been fined for putting workers in danger after they were photographed on top of a North West London home without any protection against falling. At least two men working for Amarjeet Singh, 35, from Southall, were spotted by a passing council official as they worked on the property in
05/12/2013
Route One has beaten six other contractors in the race to join Aone+ in 'the Collaboration Hu' for delivery of Bridges and Structures Maintenance and Renewal works across MAC Area's 14, 12 and 7. Works involve Bridge Expansion Joints, Waterproofing and other associated Structures Maintenance for a
05/12/2013
Hitachi, Horizon Nuclear Power Wylfa Ltd and HM Treasury have signed a co-operation agreement to promote external financing for a new nuclear power station on Anglesey. The agreement was signed ith the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP, at the launch of the Government’s
05/12/2013
Kier Group has won the Heavy Construction category at Britain's Most Admired Companies (BMAC) Awards 2013. The BMAC Awards are run by Management Today in association with business standards company BSI, and comprise a peer review of corporate reputation in which the opinions of 200 of the UK’s larg
04/12/2013
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has today welcomed the Chancellor George Osborne's pledge in the National Infrastructure Plan to support the creation of a major new higher education and cultural district on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The 'Olympicopolis' project is destined to create ten thous
04/12/2013
Additional investments of around £40 billion are expected in renewable electricity generation projects up to 2020, following updated contract terms and strike prices published today and wider reforms to the electricity market. Sixteen renewable generation projects also reached the next stage of Fin
04/12/2013
Crossrail has completed construction of an emergency access shaft in Holborn almost nine months ahead of schedule. Crossrail's western tunnels contractor BAM, Ferrovial, Kier (BFK) and their subcontractor Barhale, has been excavating and lining a 15m diameter emergency access shaft in Holborn; kno
04/12/2013
Balfour Beatty has completed a £14.5 million scheme to construct a new teaching block and sports building at the Ipswich Academy for Suffolk County Council and The Learning School Trust. At a ceremony the new facility, which will serve over 900 pupils, was formally opened to parents, students and t
04/12/2013
To help address the current skills gap in the West Midlands, Solihull College has made a significant investment in state of the art facilities for both construction and engineering disciplines to ensure it can train work ready employees. The commitment to both students and local industry was solidi
04/12/2013
Plans to redevelop Swansea University's Hendrefoilan Village moved forward as the preferred bidder, St. Modwen subject to planning permission. Located in one of Swansea's most affluent areas, the 52 acre Hendrefoilan site provides an opportunity to create a high quality development of around 300 ne
04/12/2013
Plumber Liam Gurney has been ordered to pay nearly £4,000 after putting residents' lives at risk by inadequately installing a gas boiler. Gurney failed to adhere to building regulations when installing the gas boiler at a property on Mauldeth Road, Burnage. Faulty boilers, or those with blocked or
04/12/2013
Seddon has been chosen by the Sanctuary Group to build a major housing regeneration scheme worth £14 million in Stoke-on-Trent. Construction work has just begun on the project: an 80-flat extra care housing development for over-55s for rent or shared ownership and 28 new-build two-, three- and four
04/12/2013
Miller has won another major health project on the ProCure 21+ framework, taking the value of contracts secured on the national framework for new build and refurbishment of NHS facilities to £50m this year. The latest contract award for The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital [RNOH], Stanmore, is t
03/12/2013
As part of the post Games transformation of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the iconic Aquatics Centre is being transformed by main contractor Balfour Beatty to reveal its intended architectural design. But with this came the sustainable challenge of recycling 50% and reusing 50% of the material
03/12/2013
CITB Wales, the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) to encourage more joined up working between Welsh Government, partners and employers, to provide a complete skills solution for the Wels
03/12/2013
Laing O'Rourke has announced the appointment of Stephen Trusler as its new accommodation sector leader for the Europe Hub, reporting to Roger Robinson. He takes up his post in the New Year and will be responsible for developing and building the Group's sector strategy in the private residential home
03/12/2013
Forrest has agreed up to a £120m three-year residential solar power generation funding agreement with global investment bank Macquarie Bank. Under the terms of the deal, Macquarie Bank will fully fund the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems over the next three years, providing free dayt
03/12/2013
The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index® (PMI®) for the construction sector showed a sharp increase in both new orders and employment. Registering at 62.6 in November, up sharply from last month's 59.4, residential construction growth was the strongest for ten years. Commenting on the report, D
03/12/2013
The Government needs to take bolder measures to boost the Green Deal, including slashing VAT on renovation and repair work and funding a high-profile communications campaign to market the scheme to the general public, said the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) as the Department of Energy & Climate
03/12/2013
Sutherland memorial park in Burpham Guildford have recently upgraded their sports pitches with Playrite products, after their previous courts, built in the 1980s, had literally come to the end of their life span. The Park is a prized and highly used resource to the people of Burpham with nearly 40 l
03/12/2013
Growth is a great sign for the construction industry and the economy as a whole, but is your construction company prepared to take on more business? It's unlikely to have escaped your attention that the construction industry is currently undergoing a period of rapid and encouraging expansion. For t
02/12/2013
Papworth Hospital has announced intention to appoint preferred bidder for New Hospital. The first images illustrating what the New Papworth Hospital will look like have been unveiled, as Papworth Hospital announces its intention to appoint Skanska as the preferred bidder to lead the project. Follo
02/12/2013
The second phase of Sheffield Housing Company's £250m investment in the City is underway. Design and development work for a project in Fir Vale is about to commence and consultation with local residents could begin early next year. The two hectare Earl Marshal site - between the A6135 Barnsley Ro
02/12/2013
The Mayor of Lewes, Councillor Ruth O'Keith, has cut the ribbon on the 'topping out' ceremony for Clayhills, marking the completion of a successful housing collaboration between the private and public sectors. In the spring of 2014, developers Blue Sonic Limited will be launching Clayhills into the
02/12/2013
Housing Minister Carl Sargeant has praised a scheme which is transforming a derelict former Youth Centre into nine affordable housing units in Flint. During a visit to the Prince of Wales Avenue site, the Minister saw first-hand how £531,000 of Welsh Government Social Housing Grant funding is being
02/12/2013
Two men have been fined after a worker suffered serious injuries when he fell through a fragile warehouse roof in Poole. Bradley White suffered four broken bones in the bottom of his back, a broken hip and pelvis, a shattered femur, four fractures to his left arm, a fractured right wrist and ligame
02/12/2013
Adjusting the Funding for Lending scheme to better support small businesses is welcome, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), but the Government must also stand behind Help to Buy and find new ways to incentivise more house building. Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: "Our membe
02/12/2013
Integrity Software's guide to auto-enrolment pension reforms will help to shed some light on an issue that continues to confuse construction industry employers. The auto-enrolment pension reforms continue to spread confusion throughout the construction sector, with many business owners and managers
