Time and date
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTORY
UK Construction News Archive for January 2014
31/01/2014
City leaders are set to consider a formal framework for the regeneration of Anfield which could pave the way for planning applications to deliver a proposed £260m scheme to breathe new life into north Liverpool, according to the Liverpool Express. Local residents and businesses are to be asked for
31/01/2014
E.ON and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust have announced a 15-year agreement to upgrade and manage the Queen's Medical Centre's (QMC) on-site power plant, as well as introduce an energy efficiency programme that will guarantee dramatic reductions in energy use and make guaranteed savings in
31/01/2014
Local councils have struck a £30m deal with the promoters of the first homes at the planned town of Northstowe, a planned new town to the north-west of Cambridge, for investment in community facilities – including funding for a primary and secondary school. The contributions agreed follow a deal be
31/01/2014
Robin Walker MP marked the start of work at Sanctuary Group's major new care development at the University Park site in St John's, by planting a commemorative tree. The £22m scheme, known as Sanctuary Grove, is funded by Sanctuary Group and the Homes and Communities Agency and is Sanctuary's larges
31/01/2014
Balfour Beatty recently staged a 'Meet The Buyer' event in Elgin for its local suppliers in the region. The company's Elgin-based construction business, which operates across the north of Scotland, is expanding its workload in the Moray area. Last year Balfour Beatty spent more than £12m in the are
31/01/2014
A scaffolder died when he fell eight metres through a fragile roof light while working on top of a chemical store at a creamery in Cornwall. Two companies were today sentenced over the incident at Dairy Crest premises at Davidstow near Camelford on 4 November, 2008. Truro Crown Court heard that Mi
31/01/2014
A county council pledge to back business could net local firms up to £60m as part of the biggest school expansion programme in Surrey's history. Around 30 primary school construction contracts worth £50m are set to be awarded through the BuildSurrey website over the next two years. On top of the s
31/01/2014
Construction union UCATT has warned that the Government's changes to the Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment (TUPE) rules are the latest attack on workers' rights. The TUPE laws protect employees' pay and conditions when they are transferred from one employer to another. Under the
30/01/2014
Developers have been given the green light to begin building the first new homes at Chobham Manor, an exciting new district for Stratford, east London, and the first new neighbourhood to be built on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The London Legacy Development Corporation and Chobham Manor LLP – a jo
30/01/2014
Oxford and the surrounding area will be given a cash injection to create thousands of new jobs, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will announce today as he signs the landmark Oxford City Deal handing power over to the region. The City Deal will see major improvements in local roads and public transp
30/01/2014
Derbyshire County Council has welcomed a £14.2 million funding boost to expand its flagship Markham Vale regeneration site with the potential to bring more than 2,000 more jobs to the area. The county council drew up a bid − submitted through the Sheffield City Region's Enterprise Zone −
30/01/2014
Launched less than a year ago, the Homes and Communities Agency's (HCA) Delivery Partner Panel 2 (DPP2) – comprised of leading house builders and contractors has already enabled speedy procurement of 12,500 homes. This number is increasing each week. The DPP2 is available free of charge to a wid
30/01/2014
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed BAM Construction's involvement with its new Headquarters building in central London. Jane Bond, Director of Property Services at the Metropolitan Police said: "We are pleased to confirm that BAM have been appointed to provide pre-construction services for the
30/01/2014
Staffordshire County Council has announced Amey as preferred bidder for its innovative, new Infrastructure+ contract. The deal is the first of its kind in the market, and will see Amey manage and maintain the county's highways infrastructure, but also allows the council to add a much wider range of
30/01/2014
Construction union UCATT have raised strong concerns that an organisation that has been endorsed by the CITB has been offering apprenticeships which requires the successful candidate to undertake unpaid work experiences. UCATT officials were recently alerted that Evolve Apprenticeships which operat
30/01/2014
More homes and businesses could soon be heated by a range of low carbon technologies, including energy from waste or heat taken from landfill, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey has announced. 26 local authorities across England and Wales have been awarded over £1.9 million to support
30/01/2014
If you can't wait for the main Protec Direct catalogue to land on your doorstep or in your mailbox in March, then check out this 16-page highlights catalogue for the New Year’s best deals on protective workwear, equipment and site consumables. One of the country's leading suppliers of PPE, workwear
29/01/2014
Housing Minister Kris Hopkins saw some of the first homes in the country being built especially for the private rent sector when he visited Aberfeldy estate in Tower Hamlets. The Government has backed the Private Rental Sector (PRS) as a major contributor of new homes to meet the UK's demand for ho
29/01/2014
An overhaul of guidance on working at height is being launched, as part of the government's long-term economic plan to abolish or improve outdated, burdensome or over-complicated regulations which waste businesses’ time and money. More than a million British businesses and 10 million workers are es
29/01/2014
Ealing Council has appointed world renowned architects HOK and John McAslan and partners to improve the design of the proposed Ealing Broadway and Southall Crossrail stations. For Ealing Broadway, HOK has been asked to review and amend plans drawn up by Crossrail. New designs will seek to improve t
29/01/2014
MITIE has been awarded a three year, £33 million facilities management contract with Four Seasons Health Care, the UK’s largest independent health and social care provider. MITIE will deliver all planned maintenance and call-out repair services to over 500 care homes, hospitals and specialist care
29/01/2014
182,000 construction jobs are set to be created in the next five years according to new research released today by CITB. Fuelled by demand for 245,000 new homes across the UK each year, CITB’s Construction Skills Network (CSN) forecast shows that housing will account for over a third (37%) of the
29/01/2014
More than £7m of Government investment is set to anchor growth and unlock development potential in the Gosport Waterfront area of the Solent Enterprise Zone. Following a successful bid by the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has announc
29/01/2014
Lovell joined Milton Keynes Council to celebrate the start of construction at a ceremony for the first council homes to be built in Milton Keynes for 18 years. The Housing Association Orbit Group Limited won the competitive tender to build 13 new wheelchair accessible bungalows. Once completed, t
29/01/2014
A traditional topping out ceremony has been held to celebrate a landmark in the construction of the £25 million Carmelite Riverside development on London's Victoria Embankment. Morgan Sindall hosted the ceremony to mark a key milestone in the 135,000 sq ft development for Orion Capital Managers and
28/01/2014
Willmott Dixon has been awarded a £19 million design and build contract to construct the University of Bedfordshire's new library in Luton. Spread over seven floors, the iconic building will become a landmark in the town centre incorporating 7,400 sq meters of space that will connect to the rest of
28/01/2014
A major milestone in the clean-up of the most polluted site in Western Europe was reached recently when the specially designed plant for removing toxic waste was switched off for the last time. The Thermal Desorption Unit (TDU) which uses extreme heat has made over 402,000 tonnes of the most pollu
28/01/2014
Kier Construction design manager Matt Burley has been short-listed for a Duke of Gloucester Young Achievers Award The Scheme, now in its third year, is organised by the Construction Youth Trust charity and celebrates the accomplishments of professionals under the age of 30. The judges look for youn
28/01/2014
Galliford Try has announced that its Partnerships business has been selected for new affordable housing and Extra Care contracts worth a combined £55.2 million. Partnerships has been selected by long-term client the ExtraCare Charitable Trust to build the £32 million Earlsdon Park retirement villag
28/01/2014
Specialist contractor Cemplas Waterproofing and Concrete Repairs Ltd were called in by Urbanworthy Property Management Ltd to inspect the podium car park level of Cavendish House which had been subject to water ingress causing leakage and salt damage to cars in the basement below. Following a surv
28/01/2014
Bracknell Forest Council are advising residents that Southern Gas Networks will be carrying out work in the Yorktown Road area of Sandhurst from Monday 3rd February. The company will be working at various points along Yorktown Road as part of a 10 week project to ensure continued safe and reliable
28/01/2014
Construction union Ucatt have blamed the latest fall in construction output on Government policies that have led to a failure of investment in the industry. The Office of National Statistics has reported that overall the economy grew by 0.7% in the final quarter of 2013 but the construction industr
28/01/2014
A self-employed building contractor from Chippenham has been fined for exposing workers to serious risk of injury after they were seen working on a barn roof with nothing to guard against a fall. Ian Pitman, 56, exposed three workers to the risk of falling some eight metres from the roof but the da
27/01/2014
Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering (BBGE) has invested in one of the most technologically advanced piling rigs in the world so that it can continue to offer a leading large diameter piling service to its customers. The Bauer BG30 which costs £1.15 million and weighs 106 tonnes is capable of installi
27/01/2014
Housing refurbishment and regeneration specialist Lovell has been appointed to three major housing framework agreements in the North West and North Wales. In Salford, the company has been appointed to City West Housing Trust's contractor framework. Lovell will be eligible to carry out a wide range
27/01/2014
The pace of growth in private housing slowed in the last three months of 2013 according to the latest economic survey from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Commenting on the results of the FMB's State of Trade Survey for the final quarter of 2013, Brian Berry, FMB Chief Executive, said: "De
27/01/2014
Warrington Borough Council is proposing to lend £90 million to a housing association to fund the building of 1400 social and affordable homes over the next five years. The proposed beneficiary is St Helens-based Helena Partnerships Ltd, one of the largest developers of affordable new homes in the N
27/01/2014
E.ON has submitted a planning application for the Quantans Hill wind farm development, to the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit. The wind farm, located near Carsphairn in Dumfries and Galloway, 15km South of Dalmellington could feature up to 19 turbines which could generate up to 57 megawa
27/01/2014
Housing Minister Carl Sargeant has visited a housing development in Wrexham to congratulate the first new home buyers taking advantage of the Help to Buy - Wales loan scheme. With a Help to Buy - Wales shared equity loan, Daniel Jones and Rebecca Lawrence are buying their first home together from B
27/01/2014
Construction union Ucatt has reminded workers that they need to consider their own safety and should refuse to place themselves in danger at work. Ucatt made the call following a fatal accident which occurred on Manchester Road, Heaton Norris. Work was being undertaken demolishing an industrial uni
27/01/2014
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has launched the prospectus inviting housing associations, councils, developers and others to bid for a share of up to £1.7bn of grant funding for delivery of new affordable housing outside London. Homes delivered with this funding will contribute to the Gove
24/01/2014
Focus Consultants and architects Purcell have been appointed to draw up designs for a multi-million pound heritage museum and learning centre dedicated to aerospace. The Bristol Aerospace Centre will become a permanent home for Concorde and will feature refurbished, listed World War One aircraft ha
24/01/2014
Heathrow's new £2.5bn Terminal is to open on 4 June 2014. The Queen’s Terminal, designed by Luis Vidal + Architects (LVA), will open to meet a United Airlines flight from Chicago scheduled to land at the new building in the early morning. Over half a century since Heathrow’s original Terminal 2 wa
24/01/2014
Representatives from the business and tourism community came together this week, for the official unveiling of the final designs for The Sill, Northumberland’s proposed £11.2m national Landscape Discovery Centre. Following a public consultation and refinement led by partners Northumberland National
24/01/2014
Ancon, the UK’s leading manufacturer of stainless steel masonry support and restraint fixings, is to team-up with the country’s largest brick manufacturer, Ibstock, to present a range of sustainable and low energy construction solutions at this year’s Ecobuild exhibition, running 4 - 6 March 2014 at
24/01/2014
Osiris Subsurface Detection Systems Ltd (OSDS) has been named the January winner of the 2014 Merseyside Innovation Awards. The Woolton firm has devised a revolutionary new way to dig up road surfaces to repair cables and pipework underneath which reduces the likelihood of potholes and the time and
24/01/2014
The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) has appointed social housing regeneration specialist Forrest, as an "apprenticeship ambassador". Forrest's learning and development manager Paul Rigby, will join organisations including Unilever, BAE Systems and Bentley Motors, in an effort to promote and e
24/01/2014
Kier Living has 'topped out' the first phase of the £200m Cardiff Pointe development. A sustainable residential scheme, Cardiff Pointe forms part of a multi-million pound development at Cardiff Bay, launched in May 2013. The project will include a new Olympic-standard, twin-pad ice arena. Kier is
24/01/2014
Scotland's 124-year-old Forth Bridge has been put forward as a world heritage site by UK Culture Secretary Maria Miller. UNESCO will announce its decision next year on Britain's latest nomination for world heritage status. The bridge spans the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh and Fife would add to
23/01/2014
Wates Construction has been awarded the contract to build the Victoria and Albert Museum’s (V&A's) Exhibition Road Project, designed by architects AL_A. Forming part of the Museum's 'FuturePlan', the major development works will provide a large column free underground exhibition gallery, transformi
23/01/2014
Renewable energy firm BIOGEN, a 50/50 joint venture between Kier and Bedfordia, has secured £22m of funding from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) under a fully flexible arrangement to support the continued expansion of the business. BIOGEN designs, builds, owns and operates food waste anaerobic di
23/01/2014
A Dorset construction firm has been prosecuted for serious safety failings after a worker was buried under a large quantity of fallen earth at a building site in Poole. Kevin Richards, 46, of Abbotsbury Road, Weymouth, was checking preparatory work for a basement retaining wall at a property in Lil
23/01/2014
Minister for Natural Resources and Food, Alun Davies has announced an additional £2m to fund emergency repairs to flood defences that were damaged in the recent storms. In a statement to Assembly Members, Alun Davies said: "I am determined to help those authorities who face significant costs to rep
23/01/2014
Bam Construction is to build a £29 million school of veterinary medicine for the University of Surrey. The contractor will deliver three buildings on the university’s Guildford campus that will allow teaching of veterinary medicine as well as clinical research. The 7,150 sq m academic building wil
23/01/2014
Housing developer Keepmoat has officially unveiled two new show homes at its Trinity South development in South Shields. The two three-bedroom homes were officially unveiled by Andy Rose, Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), and Councillor Ed Malcolm, Lead Member for Resource
23/01/2014
Skanska is working with Barts Health NHS Trust to help significantly reduce its energy usage. Skanska's energy performance contract (EPC) will help the Trust reduce its energy consumption by 21 per cent and carbon emissions by 34 per cent from year one at three of its London hospital sites - Whip
23/01/2014
The Southwark Council cabinet will meet on 28th January to discuss the selection of a preferred partner to work in partnership with them in delivering the Aylesbury Estate regeneration project. The partner will be the lynchpin in one of the most historically exciting and large-scale projects the ca
23/01/2014
JCB has celebrated the production of its 10,000th Teletruk forklift in patriotic style – by producing the milestone machine in the colours of the Union flag. The red white and blue machine was snapped up by one of the UK’s best-known waste management companies, Biffa, who run one of the largest fl
23/01/2014
The Mace Group who operate as project managers on behalf of the NHS Trust called in specialist contractor Cemplas Waterproofing and Concrete Repairs Ltd to survey a 25m high redundant external concrete chimney which had been subjected to years of carbonation resulting in the re-enforcing steel to r
22/01/2014
Kier Property has unveiled The Light Cinemas as its operator partner for its new Waterfront leisure-led Walsall development. The Light Cinema will bring a radically new approach to entertainment in Walsall; their concept of cutting edge design combined with high levels of customer service and commu
22/01/2014
Londonewcastle and Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) have been awarded resolution to grant planning permission by LB Hammersmith & Fulham for a high-quality, riverside residential-led mixed use development in Fulham. The prime riverside site is situated between Hurlingham Park and the Harbour Cl
22/01/2014
The Green Deal has been given a lukewarm verdict, scoring just two out of five in a one-year anniversary 'report card' from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), which says the Government must try harder to broaden the appeal of its flagship energy-efficiency policy. Brian Berry, FMB Chief Execu
22/01/2014
A Balfour Beatty employee has won the 'Most Inspiring Innovation Leader' prize at the National Engineering Foundation (NEF) annual awards which recognise the best of UK innovation in science, engineering and technology. Engineering Manager for Balfour Beatty on the M25 'smart motorway' projects, Ca
22/01/2014
The Economy Minister, Edwina Hart has the figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which show the construction industry in Wales is outperforming the UK as a whole. The longer term trend for the Index of Construction for Wales shows a 8.7 per cent increase when comparing the latest four
22/01/2014
Sunderland-based marine engineering firm has been sentenced for safety failings after a teenage apprentice was crushed and killed by a piece of machinery weighing almost a tonne. Jason Burden, 19, from South Shields, was in his fourth year as an apprentice engineer at Tyne Slipway & Engineering Co
22/01/2014
Bam Construct is to build a significant new office block for Cornwall Council in Bodmin. The contractor, which has a local office in Exeter, will create the three-storey building for council staff at Beacon Technology Park. It is the first project Bam has won under the Cornwall Council framework,
22/01/2014
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has agreed to step in and speed up a planning application that could lead to the construction of almost 700 much-needed homes on the site of the iconic Mount Pleasant postal sorting office. Royal Mail Group want to build 683 homes as well as shops, offices, restau
22/01/2014
A new team member has been welcomed to the rapidly expanding marketing team at Soft Surfaces Ltd in Wilmslow, Cheshire. The company, who specialise in the construction and maintenance of recreational sports and play area surfacing, have employed 18-year-old Becca Honeybill who will be responsible f
22/01/2014
Liverpool-based Total Glass is celebrating the success of its 31 employees who achieved their National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) Level 2 and Modern Apprenticeships through the company's comprehensive in-house training scheme during 2013. Representing nearly 17% of the 185-strong workforce, it
21/01/2014
Interserve has completed a £2.3 million refurbishment of a historic locally listed city centre hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne to create extra student accommodation for Newcastle University. The Grand Hotel was built in 1902 and bought 56 years later by the university to accommodate students from acr
21/01/2014
Having already committed more than £180m in developing its estate and learning facilities, Birmingham City University has unveiled plans for a further £58m improvements to consolidate to two campus locations from 2017 – transforming the University's environment. Following approval by the Board of G
21/01/2014
The Whitemoss Landfill Limited for the Whitemoss Landfill proposal in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, has been accepted for examination. The application was submitted on 20 December 2013 and the decision to accept the application to proceed has been made in accordance with section 55 of the Planning Act
21/01/2014
Public sector construction procurement, design and consultation specialist Scape has awarded a share of a £133 million contract to two leading contractors. Wates Construction and Morgan Sindall have been announced as the successful contractors who will receive the third £100m+ contract to be awarde
21/01/2014
Two former miners have pledged their support for the regeneration of Cinderford Northern Quarter in the Forest of Dean, saying it would breathe new life into the town. 87-year-old Les Ruck and 75-year-old Dave Harvey are eager for plans for the proposed Gloucestershire College Forest of Dean campus
21/01/2014
JPG has completed works for a multi-million pound, purpose designed headquarters campus at Trafford Park in Manchester for Think Money and has subsequently been retained to provide engineering design services for the office fit out contract. JPG was appointed by site owner Marshall CDP to provide
21/01/2014
Dorset County Council's planning committee has granted planning permission to the Dorset Waste Partnership (DWP) to build a combined household recycling centre (HRC) and waste transfer station at the Broomhills Nursery site off the A35 west of Bridport. The committee approved the application on the
21/01/2014
The major home makeover programme being carried out by housing refurbishment specialist Lovell for West Lancashire Borough Council has reached a milestone with the completion of the 500th new kitchen being installed. Council representatives joined the Lovell team at the home of Mrs Doris Griffiths
21/01/2014
Balfour Beatty has been recognised as a leading supplier by its customer, the Highways Agency, at its third annual Supplier Awards recently. The event, held in Birmingham, highlighted the contribution made by Balfour Beatty's joint venture suppliers to the Highways Agency in managing and improving
21/01/2014
Plans to create a vibrant new multi-million pound university campus in Swansea are underway following an agreement by the Welsh Government to sell six substantial development plots on SA1 Swansea Waterfront to the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), formerly Swansea Metropolitan Univers
20/01/2014
A network put in place to address the shortage of affordable housing in rural Wales is making a difference in many rural communities, according to a report published. Evaluating the effectiveness of the Rural Housing Enablers (RHEs), the report concludes that they have helped deliver 186 affordable
20/01/2014
New migrant jobseekers from the European Economic Area (EEA) will no longer be able to get Housing Benefit (HB) from April, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith announced today. The government is determined to cap welfare and reduce immigration as part of Britain's long-term economic plan
20/01/2014
Planning consultancy Turley Associates, acting on behalf of Whitbread, has secured planning permission for a new 61 bedroom Premier Inn and a 180 cover Brewers Fayre restaurant at Llanfoist Farm in Abergavenny, Wales. Permission was granted by Monmouthshire Council's Planning Committee. The develo
20/01/2014
A Devon company has been fined after a man was seriously injured by a reversing vehicle at a recycling centre in Exeter. Exeter Magistrates' court heard that Leases Limited hired the telehandler in September 2012, but did not have it fitted with a reversing camera. This failure to ensure that the d
20/01/2014
Kier Construction has started on the first of its school developments under the Mayor of Liverpool's Liverpool Schools Investment Programme. Holly Lodge Girls' College is one of 12 new hi-tech secondary, primary and special schools to be delivered under the scheme. Mayor Joe Anderson attended the
20/01/2014
Costain has won another award for innovation, this time for its novel use of a new scanning instrument. The 'Most Innovative Use of New Survey Technology' award, presented at the London Survey Dinner in Mayfair, attracted a large group of senior surveyors from major projects, such as Crossrail and
20/01/2014
Adrian Belton has been appointed as the permanent CEO for CITB, the Construction Industry's Training Board. He will begin his post from the start of April 2014. Adrian is currently the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer for the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera). He has led Fera sin
20/01/2014
One in five of UK construction SMEs has been forced to abandon plans for growth and investment because they are unable to raise sufficient funds from banks, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has revealed. Brian Berry, FMB Chief Executive, said: "In our latest FMB's industry survey, 19% of our
20/01/2014
A hotel will be constructed at the north end of the new three hall exhibition venue, both of which are located at ACC Liverpool, home to BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena. ISG is set to deliver over £50 million of construction projects at the new Exhibition Centre Liverpool development, after add
20/01/2014
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has begun its search for a partner to develop and operate a new 400 berth marina and surrounding waterfront area at East Cowes, Isle of Wight. The opportunity includes the freehold of the Columbine Building which has the world’s largest Union Flag painted on i
17/01/2014
Willmott Dixon has delivered the first major construction project in the world to achieve PEFC Project Certification. The seven-storey Kingsgate House on the King's Road in West London provides 43 affordable residential units and it is the use of cross laminated timber (CLT) that has made it a worl
17/01/2014
Amey has been awarded a £24 million contract to provide 'Hotel Services' to the South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT). The five year contract which begins in February 2014 will see Amey deliver services such as catering, cleaning, portering and security at Warwick and Stratford Hospitals.
17/01/2014
NG Bailey's Engineering division has been awarded a £5m contract to design and install all mechanical and electrical (M&E) services at a new leisure centre in Huddersfield. Working for main contractor, BAM Construction, NG Bailey will install all LV distribution, lighting, security systems, domesti
17/01/2014
Minister for Housing and Regeneration, Carl Sargeant was in Haverfordwest to see how the Welsh Government's Housing Finance Grant is helping to fund affordable housing in the area. The 12 affordable homes proposed for the site are the first to be developed utilising the innovative grant, and sees t
17/01/2014
Liverpool homes are to be made more energy efficient with fuel bills being cut in a new initiative. According to the Liverpool Express, under the Government's Energy Company Obligation (ECO), energy suppliers are legally obliged to deliver energy efficiency measures to domestic energy users. Althou
17/01/2014
Plans for a new Atkins-designed rail station at Cambridge Science Park have been unanimously approved. The new station will link Cambridge's main business areas to London with journey times of 30 minutes, including the Science Park, St John's Innovation Centre and the Cambridge Business Park. Thi
17/01/2014
Network Rail today starts its search for a new director to lead one of the biggest project and construction portfolios in the country following the announcement that the company's managing director of infrastructure projects, Simon Kirby, is to join HS2 Ltd as CEO for the project's construction phas
17/01/2014
Dominvs Hospitality has been granted planning permission by Manchester City Council for a 306-bed hotel on Aytoun Street in Manchester City Centre. The hotel will be developed on the derelict employment exchange in Piccadilly, between Aytoun Street and the Rochdale Canal, adjacent to the Malmaison
17/01/2014
Alliance Leader David Ford and Antrim Councillor Neil Kelly have expressed sadness at the news that 100 workers have been made redundant at Mivan. The firm announced it had entered administration last Friday and it is believed the 100 job losses announced have come from across the company. David F
17/01/2014
Balfour Beatty this week welcomed the Roads Minister, Robert Goodwill, to the launch of the South West's first smart motorway scheme. The infrastructure company completed the £88.6 million scheme to improve traffic flows on budget and two months ahead of schedule for its customer the Highways Agenc
16/01/2014
Lakesmere is set to be involved in two of London's most exciting regenerations schemes after securing contracts to complete work as part of the large-scale redevelopment of the King's Cross and Greenwich Peninsular areas of London. Working with main contractor Carillion for client Kings Cross Centr
16/01/2014
Erewash Borough Council has granted planning permission for the two platform station between Coronation Road and Millership Way. Work on the station is set to start in the summer − in line for opening in December 2014. The building of the station will make it much easier for people to travel
16/01/2014
Developer Unite has celebrated the topping out of their new central London property, 'St Pancras Way', in a joint celebration with construction partner Balfour Beatty. Camden Town is a popular location for students and the 571 bed property will provide a home right at the heart of a culturally ric
16/01/2014
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has indicated that he supports plans to redevelop the Southbank Centre – but only if the skate park which is based in the building's undercroft is retained. The Southbank Centre hope to extend the building by Waterloo Bridge and construct a ‘Festival Wing’ and gla
16/01/2014
Bristol City Council has been fined for safety failings after a park keeper suffered serious injuries when she was thrown from a tractor as it overturned. The 51 year-old worker, from Bristol, who does not wish to be named, broke her pelvis and badly damaged an Achilles tendon in the incident in Ne
16/01/2014
Property developer Vita Ventures has appointed Create Construction to develop a £14m six-storey student scheme in Bristol city-centre. Once completed the 33,000 sq. ft development will have 132 studio rooms, including 17 penthouses. It will also feature communal leisure, study and relaxation areas.
16/01/2014
Less than five years after works began on Crossrail, Europe's largest infrastructure project today reached the halfway point of its construction. Prime Minister David Cameron, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Crossrail Minister Stephen Hammond marked the occasion by visiting the £14.8bn project, g
16/01/2014
Carillion has been appointed by London mid-market residential specialist HUB Residential as the contractor for its landmark residential development, located at the entrance to London's Royal Victoria Docks. Carillion was chosen after a competitive tendering process for the scheme which will provide
16/01/2014
UCATT members employed at the Tata Steel plant in Scunthorpe have narrowly voted to accept an improved pay offer. The 50 refractory workers are employed by contractor Tube City to undertake the maintenance of the furnaces and refractory work on torpedoes, ladles and vessels. Members took strike act
16/01/2014
A man from Willenhall has been sentenced to 80 hours' worth of unpaid work for carrying out illegal and dangerous work on gas boilers at two Stourbridge properties. The work Paul Creswell carried out at a flat in Hanbury Court was of such poor workmanship that it meant there was a realistic and pro
15/01/2014
ISG has been awarded a £13.5 million project to construct new offices in Chelmsford for international insurer Amlin plc. The project will enable Amlin to consolidate a number of existing office locations in Chelmsford within a single, purpose-built centre. ISG has already carried out a complex pr
15/01/2014
The Barnstaple-office of Morgan Sindall has been chosen to build the new £2.2 million chemotherapy and day treatment unit at North Devon District Hospital (NDDH). The new single-storey unit will replace the outdated facilities located in the existing hospital and will treat around 15,000 north Devo
15/01/2014
Derelict hospital buildings in Muswell Hill are set to be turned into more than 160 new homes after Haringey Council approved plans to renovate a historic site. The former St Luke's Hospital, in Woodside Avenue, will be transformed into affordable housing and homes for older people after proposals
15/01/2014
More than 250 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have had a chance to bid to be involved in the construction of a new prison for north Wales. Image of prison fence For the past two days business representatives from across North Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire have had an opportunity to present to
15/01/2014
Increasing the number of small house builders is the key to delivering the number of new homes this country needs, which is why Labour's call for an "army of small builders" is the right step forward to help address the housing crisis, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). In a spee
15/01/2014
Plan to deliver tens of thousands of new homes and jobs in the capital through the creation of new opportunity areas have been announced by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. The Mayor wants to create four new opportunity areas in the London boroughs of Southwark, Bromley and Harrow to help boost
15/01/2014
Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, recently visited the Eade Road site of National Grid's London Power Tunnels (LPT) - a Costain project - and saw first-hand how investment in UK infrastructure is helping to meet future electricity demand in London. National Grid's Chief Executiv
15/01/2014
Passengers at East Worthing station can look forward to more space and reduced congestion after Network Rail engineers started work to widen both platforms. The investment has been welcomed by East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton, who visited the station ahead of the start of work. Parents an
15/01/2014
Plans for a new market town near Plymouth have taken a major step forward following the formation of a group of housebuilders and the formal consolidation of the land into that consortium. Planning permission was granted in November for the new 5,500-home Sherford community five miles to the east o
15/01/2014
A new 5-star coastal resort in Cornwall, one of the biggest developments of its kind in the UK, with backing from a multi-million pound real-estate fund has gone live. Frogmore, renowned for its Westfield shopping centre success in west London, is investing more than £16 million in this 20-acre sch
14/01/2014
Willmott Dixon has secured a £4.6 million contract to create a new home for Mill Green School, a co-educational day special school and college for pupils aged 11 – 19. Working with Aedas, architect, M&E consultants Beverley Clifton Morris and engineers Mott MacDonald, Willmott Dixon will begin on
14/01/2014
Wates Construction is preparing to commence construction of a brand new £4.2m leisure centre in Coleshill following its appointment to the project by North Warwickshire Borough Council. The new 2,178 sq m Coleshill Leisure Centre will be built on The Coleshill School site on Packington Lane and wil
14/01/2014
Costain is undertaking a new contract for Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the latest in a series of projects for MAG stretching back for almost a decade. The new project is the 'spine road' for an extension to the Airport's existing cargo centre, on ground immediately adjacent to the Airport itsel
14/01/2014
A building contractor has been fined for ignoring asbestos safety rules after the potentially deadly material was discovered in a basement area at the independent Woldingham girls' school in Caterham. Buxton Building Contractors Ltd, which was carrying out refurbishment work at the school in 2011,
14/01/2014
Construction union UCATT has added its voice to criticism of the Government for delaying a decision on the future of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). The Government undertakes triennial reviews of all non-departmental public bodies. The reviews are in two stages, firstly whether the
14/01/2014
Work has now been completed on Kingsgate House, a seven-storey residential project in West London that is the first major construction project in the world to achieve PEFC Project Certification. Located on the King’s Road, Kingsgate House provides 43 affordable residential units. Designed by Horden
14/01/2014
Maria Eagle, MP for Garston and Halewood, carried out the official opening of a brand-new Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) in Belle Vale, Liverpool. Local affordable housing developer Lovell helped convert the former One Stop Shop into the new advice centre. A construction team from the company create
14/01/2014
Balfour Beatty has lifted a new bridge into place over the M54 motorway as part of a £12 million project to connect a new high-tech business park to the road network and to provide access for the new Jaguar Land Rover plant. The bridge, which will serve the i54 business park in South Staffordshire,
14/01/2014
News that LED lighting for tennis courts is becoming more and more affordable demonstrates perfectly how the technology could improve sporting events and help address the lighting problem that some may face. Tennis is naturally one of the most pertinent sports that will be affected by poor light a
14/01/2014
Kier Construction marked the start of a major redevelopment project at Peterborough United Football Club with a ground breaking ceremony on Monday 13 January. The leader of Peterborough City Council, Cllr Marco Cereste, joined Peterborough United's chief executive Bob Symns and senior representativ
13/01/2014
Interserve will start work in April on the University of Birmingham's new £55 million sports centre, housing the first 50 metre swimming pool in Birmingham. The sports centre, which will be open to students, staff and the wider community, is being funded by a £2 million grant from Sport England, pl
13/01/2014
JCB is unveiling a new compact model at Conepxo 2014 to add to its growing Hi-Viz Loadall range for construction. The launch of the 525-60 brings full-size telehandler performance and features to the compact sector. With a maximum lift height of 6m and a load capacity of 2.5 tonnes, the 525-60 is j
13/01/2014
A new £250,000 fund to support small and medium sized businesses working in the construction sector across Wales was announced by Economy Minister Edwina Hart. The Construction Sector Development Fund is now open for expressions of interest and will provide grants up to a maximum of £50,000 or 50%
13/01/2014
Balfour Beatty has won a prestigious award for creating the best new school building in the UK for its work at a London school. The Education Business Awards recognise excellence in British education across 21 categories, with the School Building Award presented to the establishment that creates th
13/01/2014
A £51 million contract to build new homes in Stafford for soldiers and their families returning from Germany has been announced today by Defence Minister Andrew Murrison. The contract will see the construction of 346 homes for soldiers based at Beacon Barracks in Staffordand is a step towards estab
13/01/2014
UCATT have renewed their call for an end to the Right to Buy after a new report found that 36% of homes sold under the Right to Buy in London are now let by private landlords. The report written by Tom Copley the London Assembly Labour Housing Spokesperson, titled From Right to Buy to Buy to Let, f
13/01/2014
A prominent London developer has been sentenced for safety management failings after a worker was seriously injured when a temporary platform collapsed at a landmark site in south London. Noel Doyle, 32, from Hammersmith, suffered a shattered right elbow, broken vertebrae, fractured pelvis and ribs
13/01/2014
New properties are proving popular on a residential development in Tiverton, Devon, where local developer Devonshire Homes has already sold 12 homes at its town centre scheme. Devonshire Homes' development at Gilbert Scott Way on the former Belmont Hospital site attracted £2m in investment through
10/01/2014
Lovell has been selected by Monmouthshire Housing Association for a £3.27m scheme to redevelop a Monmouth sheltered housing complex with brand-new sheltered housing apartments and 12 houses for sale. The scheme will see the outdated Trevor Bowen Court sheltered housing block in Wonastow Road replac
10/01/2014
Construction union UCATT has criticised Government plans to make the Health and Safety Executive "become more commercial". The decision was announced by Department of Work and Pensions Minister Mike Penning following the publication of the Government's triennial review into the future of the HSE. W
10/01/2014
Wates Construction has been awarded the £133m empa contract, which runs for a total of four years from January 2014, following a rigorous OJEU procurement process. This is a regional framework for empa (the East Midlands Property Alliance) which is managed by Scape. The aim of empa is to improve
10/01/2014
Millions of pounds are set to be spent on repairing roads damaged by the Christmas floods as part of Surrey County Council's ongoing response to the recent severe weather. Since storms led to burst riverbanks and wider flooding over Christmas and the New Year, the county council has worked around t
10/01/2014
A Hertfordshire firm has been fined after a worker injured his knee during unsafe work to clean high level light fittings. The 22-year-old from Walthamstow, who does not want to be named, was unable to return to his normal duties for two months as a result of the incident at Kemlows Die Casting Pro
10/01/2014
Dr Wan Li Low who lives in Wolverhampton, has won a prestigious award for her drive to bring innovation to a Staffordshire-based company. Wan Li, who is an associate from the University of Wolverhampton, received her award at this year's Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) Awards 2013 which took p
09/01/2014
Simons Group have been chosen to create a complete new hospital for Nuffield Health on Trumpington Road in Cambridge. The project is valued at approximately £12.9m. The works will be comprised of 36 bed inpatient and day case wards, an outpatients' department with 16 consulting rooms, a day case o
09/01/2014
Housing Minister Kris Hopkins has visited Corby to see how the town is enjoying a boost from housebuilding thanks to government support to unlock a stalled housing scheme. The minister visited the Prior's Hall Park site in the town, a new development that will cover almost 1,000 acres and include 5
09/01/2014
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has visited the Kings Cross regeneration area, where Europe's leading real estate and property advisor is constructing its new British headquarters. In a major boost for London's position as a global financial powerhouse, French company BNP Paribas Real Estate is
09/01/2014
Construction union UCATT have described the Government's housing policies as creating misery for thousands of families. The union made their claim on the same day that the Labour Party held an opposition day debate in Parliament on the housing crisis. New research shows that despite the number of
09/01/2014
The owners of a Holmfirth business park have been fined after a local worker fractured an ankle in a fall from a ladder while carrying out work in disused premises nearby. The 68-year-old maintenance worker, who does not wish to be named, had been asked by Bridge Mills Ltd to remove several heat ex
09/01/2014
Turner & Townsend has been selected by Severn Trent Water Limited to support the delivery of its capital programmes. The company has been awarded a 10-year framework covering the remainder of the current AMP5 regulatory period, the five-year AMP6 period and part of AMP7. The framework, which is exp
09/01/2014
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has named Sapphire – a consortium of construction, housing, facilities management, property development and architect professionals – to build apartments in the area over the next three years. The villages will be created at three sites across the city for people over th
09/01/2014
Morgan Sindall, the construction, infrastructure and design company, has appointed Pat Boyle as Managing Director with overall responsibility for its construction and design businesses. Reporting to Graham Shennan, Morgan Sindall's Managing Director, Pat joined the company on Monday 6 January from
08/01/2014
Mayor Joe Anderson is to kick start construction of the new £7 million Holly Lodge Girls’ College in West Derby on Friday 10th January. According to the Liverpool Express,tThe scheme will see a new main teaching block comprising new humanities classrooms, new arts, music and drama spaces including
08/01/2014
NG Bailey has been awarded a £25m contract to complete all M&E works at the Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) Beacon Barracks base in Staffordshire, working alongside main contractor Lend Lease. The project – on behalf of the MoD's Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) – is being undertaken to incr
08/01/2014
Interserve has handed over the second of two new facilities in Plymouth that will benefit military personnel and veterans undergoing recovery. Help for Heroes is supporting the initiative with a £21m commitment. The project is part of HMS Drake's larger Naval Service Recovery Centre. The 'Endeavou
08/01/2014
Plans to construct a free school in an area of Bermondsey with a chronic shortage of school places have been approved by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Last June, Southwark Council rejected plans for the Southwark Free School, on Rotherhithe New Road, together with a sixth form extension for t
08/01/2014
Greater Manchester residents are being urged to banish the January blues and keep the chills away by applying for free boilers and insulation as part of an energy efficiency scheme. Residents are being reminded that they may be able to cut their bills – with some able to save more than £300 a year
08/01/2014
Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering (BBGE) has commenced piling works for the new O2 Arora Hotel in Greenwich. The 1,800 piles for the hotel are made of precast concrete and have been manufactured at the BBGE plant in Nottinghamshire to high levels of sustainability, containing 99% recycled steel and
08/01/2014
The recent cold weather has led to a sharp increase in indoor temperature as people turn up the heating. This increased temperature leads to one of the most common causes of damp: condensation. Reducing the amount of condensation within a property is essential, preventing a multitude of problems bef
08/01/2014
Replacing one of its Speedor range of high-speed doors after 21 years of service is, say Hart Door Systems, unusual but to get repeat orders for two doors with the same history of longevity is remarkable. "I haven't had time to calculate payback on both these doors but it has to be an impressive
07/01/2014
Housing Minister Kris Hopkins has welcomed a deal that will release £500 million additional funding to build new affordable homes across the country. This new investment, secured through an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB), will help deliver up to 4,300 new affordable homes to rent
07/01/2014
EM Highway Services Ltd (EM), a wholly owned subsidiary of international infrastructure and business services group Mouchel, has been awarded the prestigious Area 9 Asset Support Contract (ASC) by the Highways Agency. The appointment will see EM operate, maintain and improve the strategic road netwo
07/01/2014
Willmott Dixon's development business Regen has been chosen by Brentford Football Club as preferred bidder for the role of development partner on its ambitious regeneration master plan to provide a new 20,000 seat stadium and 910 homes close to Kew Bridge. This latest large-scale mixed-use developm
07/01/2014
Housing Minister, Carl Sargeant has announced that a new scheme designed to help buyers of new homes and provide a major boost to home builders across Wales is now open for business. The Welsh Government's £170m Help to Buy – Wales shared equity loan scheme will make home ownership easier for buyer
07/01/2014
Tata Steel has been fined for safety failings after a worker sustained serious injuries to his hand at the company's works in Llanelli, South Wales. Llanelli Magistrates heard the man, an employee for 34 years, was working on a production line at the Tata site in Trostre on 6 December 2012 when his
07/01/2014
It's getting easier to get a better energy deal as Ofgem's ban on complex tariffs begins. The changes are part of Ofgem's reforms for a simpler, clearer, fairer energy market. These reforms are the biggest changes to the retail energy market since competition was introduced in the late 1990s. Ofge
07/01/2014
Councillors have been handed the keys to Plymouth's historic Devonport Market Hall in a deal to restore the landmark building and create a fantastic future as a high tech 'play market'. Plymouth City Council, local regeneration agency Real Ideas Organisation (RIO), and Plymouth University have join
07/01/2014
Severn Trent Water will invest almost £100,000 to help protect Sheepy Parva customers' water supply. Working together with its partners, Laing O'Rourke, the company will lay more than 850 metres of brand new water pipes along Wellsborough Road. Work started on Wellsborough Road on Monday 6 January
06/01/2014
Elliott has scooped a £5 million contract at Peterborough City hospital for student nurse accommodation. The feature four storey building was designed by Elliott to incorporate their innovative off site manufacturing techniques and modular construction expertise which when combined offer the flexib
06/01/2014
Willmott Dixon has delivered the best possible start to 2014 for staff and pupils of Ashmount School in Loughborough by completing their new building seven weeks early, enabling them to move in sooner than anticipated. The completion will enable Ashmount School's 93 pupils from primary to senior sc
06/01/2014
Balfour Beatty has been appointed as lead contractor to carry out works to the Stadium in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The E20 Stadium Partnership, set up between the London Legacy Development Corporation and Newham Council, has awarded a £154m contract to Balfour Beatty to lead the transformation
06/01/2014
Balfour Beatty has announced that it has been awarded a £154 million contract to carry out the full transformation works to the London 2012 Olympic Stadium for its operator, E20 Stadium LLP, a joint venture between the London Legacy Development Corporation and Newham Council. This new contract enc
06/01/2014
Morgan Sindall is the first business in the UK to make use of the Mercedes Benz Arocs truck, the cleanest commercial vehicle in production. These new vehicles aren't your run-of-the-mill lorries. They have been built by Mercedes Benz to comply with 'Euro 6', a stringent new EU environmental standar
06/01/2014
BAM Construction, which has offices in Leeds, expects to start on the Leisure World facility in January after it was approved by planners at East Riding of Yorkshire Council. The facility will include a six-lane, 25m swimming pool, a smaller learner pool, a freeform pool with water features, two wa
06/01/2014
JCB's John Patterson CBE, who rose through the ranks from field service engineer to Group Chief Executive, has retired after 43 years’ service. His retirement sees Arjun Mirdha take up the position of President and CEO of JCB in North America, where John Patterson has led operations since 2008 as
06/01/2014
Planning approval has been granted for the extension of a main road which will open up the second phase of the development of the new community of Cranbrook in East Devon. East Devon District Council has approved the detailed plans for using £6m for roads and infrastructure needed to develop a new
