Time and date
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTORY
UK Construction News Archive for February 2013
28/02/2013
The Minister for Housing, Regeneration and Heritage, Huw Lewis has announced that work is to start on the regeneration of the former Barry Butlins site at Nell's Point. Huw Lewis announced that work is to start on the regeneration of the former Barry Butlins site at Nell's Point. The total package
28/02/2013
Government can generate billions of pounds and support more than 20,000 jobs by investing in housing, according to the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH). CIH has written to Chancellor George Osborne ahead of next month's Budget urging him to adopt a four-point plan to deliver 100,000 new and re
28/02/2013
The Costain team working on the Dwr Cymru Welsh Water Framework has reached a commercial milestone as the turnover passes £100m. John Madden, Framework Director said: "To reach £100million turnover on the Welsh Water Framework is a noteworthy achievement. Since inception of the Framework, the team
28/02/2013
Schools are set to undergo extensive building work after Surrey County Council signed off investment of £15 million to provide more places and new facilities for pupils. The cash will be invested in new buildings and upgraded facilities at Weydon Academy near Farnham and De Stafford School in Cater
28/02/2013
Miller Construction, in partnership with Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, has been helping the children of some of the staff to put their stamp on the new £30 million emergency care centre. Miller Construction launched an art competition for the children to design new hoardings to go round th
28/02/2013
Demand for properties at East Grinstead's new retirement village, Charters Village, was unprecedented, with eight apartments and chalet bungalows were snapped up during a recent three-day launch event. Under construction by Kier, Charters Village is a purpose-built retirement community on the north
28/02/2013
Housing Minister Mark Prisk has unlocked a multi-million pound government fund to deliver up to 15,000 extra affordable homes. Affordable housing providers in England will be able to bid for a share of up to £225 million to deliver the additional new homes. Mr Prisk launched bidding guidance for t
27/02/2013
ISG has been awarded three primary school extension projects, with a combined value of around £5.4 million, in the London Borough of Redbridge. The schemes have all been procured through the highly-regarded Lewisham Modular Education Framework. The Lewisham Framework was designed to allow neighbour
27/02/2013
Homes by Skanska, the residential property arm of Swedish construction company Skanska, has received planning permission on its first Cheltenham residential development. The planning application was approved as part of Cheltenham Borough Council’s redevelopment of North Place car park, on the north
27/02/2013
Andrew Mackenzie is to step down as a Non-Executive Director of Centrica with effect from 10 May 2013. He joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in September 2005. Andrew Mackenzie was appointed group executive and chief executive of Non Ferrous at BHP Billiton in 2008. BHP Billiton annou
27/02/2013
Northampton Borough Council has awarded Mears Group a new contract to deliver its Phase 3 Decent Homes works. The works are for both internal and external refurbishment of homes in and around Northampton and include rewiring, heating and the installation of new kitchens and bathrooms. This will b
27/02/2013
E.ON and TAG Energy Solutions has today announced that TAG has been awarded a contract to manufacture 16 monopiles and transition pieces for E.ON's Humber Gateway offshore wind farm. The contract will see the Teesside based manufacturing firm become the first UK manufacturer to secure a substantial
27/02/2013
A long term plan to ensure the government's renewable heat scheme for commercial, industrial and community organisations stays within budget has been set out by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). DECC is also making a number of other improvements to the scheme following consultation
27/02/2013
Environment Minister, John Griffiths, has outlined how the community energy scheme, Ynni'r Fro is providing intensive support to 24 community renewable projects that embrace hydro, wind and anaerobic digestion technologies. Ynni'r Fro is an European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Welsh Govern
27/02/2013
McLaren Construction has been shortlisted as 'Contractor of the Year (over 300m)' for the Building Awards 2013. Despite stiff competition and tough trading conditions this year McLaren is among the nominees for this category. The awards ceremony is to be held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London
27/02/2013
Kier Partnership Homes has celebrated the start of work on the redevelopment of Seymour Court in Cambridge with a bricklaying ceremony attended by Cllr Catherine Smart. Part funded by the Homes and Community Agency, the new development will provide much needed housing in the area, delivering 34 new
27/02/2013
While ambient air pollution is being successfully monitored throughout the EU, the situation for indoor air pollution is not nearly as positive. This is of particular concern, as studies conducted by the WHO- World Health Organization, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others, show th
26/02/2013
Freebridge Community Housing has chosen Lovell to deliver a four-year, £20.5 million estate regeneration programme in King's Lynn, Norfolk. Lovell was selected through a detailed competitive tendering process after 13 companies expressed an interest in carrying out the scheme to transform Hillingto
26/02/2013
Costain has secured two engineering and procurement services projects at Total’s Lindsey Oil Refinery, which will further improve the environmental performance of the refinery located at Immingham on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire. The first project will allow the installation of a flare gas re
26/02/2013
Six Town Housing and Bury Council have successfully bid for government funding to bring empty properties back into use around Bury. Various estates across the borough have properties that are left empty and in some cases this can lead to houses falling into disrepair and becoming a problem for neig
26/02/2013
Two companies have been ordered to pay a total of £650,000 in fines and costs after a member of the public was killed in a collision in roadworks on the A50 near Uttoxeter. William Collins, 49, of Weston Coyney, Stoke-on-Trent, was driving along the westbound carriageway at around 4am on 25 Novembe
26/02/2013
E.ON is encouraging the local community to have their say on plans for its proposed Dalchork Wind Farm. The wind farm which is in the very early stages of development would be located to the north of Lairg. The energy company will be hosting public information sessions early next month, to give
26/02/2013
BAM Construction has secured a £26 million contract to design and rebuild a primary school and 80 residential units in North West London. The contractor was awarded the contract for Netley Street School by the local education partnership for Camden, as part of the borough's Community Investment Pro
26/02/2013
Telford & Wrekin Council has awarded a £1.2m contract to construct new shop units at the centre of Brookside to Pave Aways Ltd. The development will see new shops built as the first phase of a £6m scheme to regenerate Brookside Local Centre after the estate was selected by the council as a key pilo
26/02/2013
It is now just a week to go to the opening of the largest global event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment, Ecobuild 2013 which runs from 5-7 March. This year three of the world's leading forest certification organisations will be sharing a stand to promote and educate v
26/02/2013
Celebrating over 30 years in the construction industry, CES Hire has announced it is attending the Concrete show this year at the Birmingham NEC on the 27th and 28th of February. The firm will be exhibiting the Giema TP2 110 volt hopper pump, which is a compact, yet versatile machine, with a multit
26/02/2013
While many companies are experiencing the effects of the economic downturn, Victoria Plumb, the UK’s leading online bathroom retailer, is proud to announce their best month of sales ever! January sales were almost £4m – their best result in over 10 years of trading, and continues their trend of stro
26/02/2013
The importance of saving energy has never been greater and where better a place to start than with your heating control. If you can reduce your domestic energy consumption by introducing more sophisticated heating controls then now is the time to act. HMRC have reduced the rate of VAT down to 5% for
25/02/2013
Interserve, the international support services and construction group, is demolishing a cinema building in Bournemouth which has become famous in the area as a too modern, too high eyesore blocking sea views. Locals have been complaining for years about the IMAX Waterfront Building, built approxima
25/02/2013
A major hospital project in the south-east has celebrated a significant construction milestone by hosting a topping out ceremony. The event marked completion of external structural work on the Kent Institute of Medicine and Surgery (KIMS), a £45m project which aims to transform acute and specialist
25/02/2013
The Mayor Boris Johnson is bidding to preserve London's key business districts and exempt them from proposals to allow offices to be turned into homes without planning permission. London is the beating heart of the UK economy which accounts for over a fifth of GDP. It is also a global centre for bu
25/02/2013
Nearly 300 firms have registered in under a month for a new website designed to help them win council contracts. BuildSurrey was created as part of Surrey County Council's pledge to ensure 60% of its spending on goods and services is with local businesses. The website – which can be found at www.b
25/02/2013
Owners of empty homes in Ealing could now get grants of up to £30,000 to renovate their properties before renting them out. Ealing Council's cabinet agreed a range of changes to the existing empty property grant scheme which aims to reduce the borough's housing shortage by bringing unoccupied homes
25/02/2013
Work has begun on a £2.6m scheme to build affordable homes on the site of a former mill. Twenty-five new houses are being constructed after plans for land on Acorn Street in Lees, Oldham, were drawn up by Contour Homes and Seddon Construction. The development of two, three and four-bedroom propert
25/02/2013
May Gurney and WSP, (MGWSP), has been selected as preferred bidder for Suffolk County Council's Highways Services Contract valued at up to £200m over five years, with the possibility of an extension to 10 years. The award is subject to approval by the County Council's Cabinet on 26 February 2013.
25/02/2013
The introduction of tax changes in the UK oil and gas sector has resulted in the highest investment for more than thirty years. According to Oil & Gas UK, which today published its 2013 Activity Survey, thousands of jobs are now being created across Britain and the production of UK oil and gas and
25/02/2013
A major rail infrastructure company has been fined after a man suffered serious hand injuries in two separate incidents less than a year apart. On 12 May 2009 Keith Hawley, 64, of Chaddesdon, Derby, was manoeuvring a large piece of rail track into a press at Balfour Beatty Rail Track Systems Ltd in
25/02/2013
Amey's parent company, Ferrovial Services, has today announced that it has reached an agreement with international investor 3i to buy Enterprise plc. The deal is now subject to European regulatory approval and is anticipated to complete in early April when Enterprise will be integrated into Amey. E
22/02/2013
IHP, a joint venture between VINCI Construction UK and Sir Robert McAlpine, has completed a £1.8m scheme to repair the Royal Liverpool University Dental Hospital in Merseyside. The contract was a one year project involving structural repairs to the façade of the 1960s building, whilst working in a
22/02/2013
Work to upgrade the inner safety barrier on North Cross roundabout will get under way on Monday 25 February. This will be done in parallel with works already under way to improve the pedestrian and cycle facilities in the centre of the roundabout. While the inner barriers on the roundabout are be
22/02/2013
Mayor George Ferguson has launched a new scheme to help Bristol householders and small businesses save money on their electricity and gas bills by joining together to switch energy providers. Bristol Switch & Save is a new not-for-profit collective buying scheme where residents and small businesses
22/02/2013
Denne, part of Bouygues, is pleased to announce it has handed over 17 new affordable homes in the village of Goldhanger, near Maldon, Essex. Replacing eight prefabricated homes previously on the site, the new properties, which were built on behalf of Moat, are now available for shared ownership and
22/02/2013
Integrated support services provider Carillion has gained a leading and internationally-recognised standard for collaborative working. BS11000 is the first world standard for collaborative business relationships and has been developed to help companies work together more closely, and thereby genera
22/02/2013
Ministers today approved the appointment of Robert Spedding to the Coal Authority, and announced the selection of the first Electricity Market Reform Panel of Technical Experts. The panel will provide independent scrutiny of the analysis which will inform the Government's first Electricity Market R
22/02/2013
Construction union UCATT have welcomed the news that the Metropolitan Police is to conduct a major investigation into allegations that the police colluded with the blacklisting of construction workers the investigation is to be supervised by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The decisio
22/02/2013
An industrial property owner has been prosecuted for exposing untrained workers to dangerous asbestos fibres following a series of failings at a building in Newport. In a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Abergavenny Magistrates' Court heard that Mr Nasimul Karbani, from
22/02/2013
Two special schools in Liverpool are set to benefit from a £2.1 million investment to provide extra classrooms. A report to the Mayor's Cabinet on Friday 22 February recommends that Palmerston and Abbot’s Lea in Woolton are extended to cater for increased demand for places. Palmerston, which teach
22/02/2013
Award winning visitor attraction Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster South. Yorkshire, has gone from strength to strength since its opening in April 2009. It is one of the fastest growing and innovative attractions of its kind, not least with its new addition this February 2013 of a brand new 'Mo
22/02/2013
UK households could be saving a huge 90% on their lighting bills by simply replacing their traditional light bulbs with eco-friendly LED alternatives. By making the switch, people will not only make staggering savings, they will also cut their energy use and carbon emissions - all whilst enjoying
22/02/2013
A Surrey carpentry firm has been fined for safety failings after a worker fractured his skull when he fell through a roof light at a construction site in Cobham. The 21-year-old, who does not wish to be named, also suffered soft tissue damage to his right hamstring in the fall on 7 June 2012 at a d
21/02/2013
An £18.6 million programme of improvements to council homes has been approved by Chesterfield Borough Council. The work will keep plans on track to achieve the Decent Homes Standard - which ensures properties are warm, protected from the weather and have reasonable modern facilities – for all counc
21/02/2013
New plans have been put forward to bring 179 homes back into use in the Kensington, Granby and Picton areas of Liverpool. The Mayor's Cabinet will be asked to approve proposals on Friday 22 February to breathe new life into the vacant properties in Granby Four Streets, Arnside Road and Webster Tria
21/02/2013
The deadline for residents to accept offers on a city council scheme to save money on their energy bills has been extended following a short delay in emails and letters being sent out. Householders who signed up for the Ready to Switch initiative are set to make some great savings on their yearly g
21/02/2013
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) estimates that total gross mortgage lending declined to £10.4 billion in January. This is 9% lower than December's gross lending figure of £11.4 billion and a 3% fall from £10.7 billion in January 2012. Commenting on market conditions in this month's market c
21/02/2013
New lock gates have been fitted on the Chesterfield Canal by Derbyshire County Council to improve the passage of boat traffic. As part of ongoing maintenance of the restored section of the canal the old worn out lock gates at Wheeldon Mill Lock, near Brimington were replaced after they had deterior
21/02/2013
Kier has been awarded the contract to redevelop the Grade II listed Midland Goods Shed and East Handyside Canopy at King's Cross for supermarket chain Waitrose. The Waitrose scheme, which is the latest project to come to fruition at the 67-acre King’s Cross development, will create a 29,000sq ft fo
21/02/2013
The Building and Allied Trades Joint Industrial Council (BATJIC) has agreed that there will be a 2 percent increase in pay following the successful conclusion of pay negotiations. The rise will be across the board except for the hourly rate for the Adult General Operative which is to increase by 3
21/02/2013
Environment Minister John Griffiths has approved a Welsh Government grant of £6m to fund the second phase of coastal protection works at Colwyn Bay. Once completed, this scheme will protect the town of Colwyn Bay, including over 180 properties, the A55 Expressway and North Wales Coast Railway. Col
21/02/2013
A West Yorkshire brick making firm has been prosecuted after safety failings at its factory led to a worker losing a thumb and having his hand almost severed in a poorly-guarded press machine. The 60 year-old man, who does not wish to be named, was taken to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield after
21/02/2013
Chairman of the Homes and Communities Agency, Robert Napier, today announced that Andy Rose has been appointed as Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of the Agency on a permanent basis. Currently a Partner at AgFe, a leading specialist European debt advisor and asset manager, Mr Rose has a stron
20/02/2013
Liverpool's £15m plans for the redevelopment of the Welsh Streets neighbourhood of Princes Park has taken a major step forward, following the submission of the official planning application. The plans would see over 150 new homes built in the area as well as the refurbishment of 37 terraced propert
20/02/2013
Construction workers at the Capenhurst construction project near Chester are demonstrating at the site from 6.00am today over attacks on terms and conditions by the site's owner Urenco and its contractor Jacobs. Jacobs the company at the centre of the Lindsey Oil refinery protests, which took plac
20/02/2013
Residents across Bristol are being urged to apply for home energy improvement grants to help them cut their bills before this Friday's, February 22nd, deadline. The scheme was launched in December last year and has received over 200 enquiries. Money is still available from the £2 million Bristol Ho
20/02/2013
Kier Construction has started work on a new build and refurbishment programme to provide a new University Technical College (UTC) for 14 to 19-year-olds in Reading. UTC Reading's principal Joanne Harper and chair of governors, Lee Nicholls, broke the ground with MP for Reading East, Rob Wilson, and
20/02/2013
E.ON has today (Wednesday) announced that all eight caverns at its Holford Gas Storage facility are now fully operational. The final two caverns came into operation earlier this month, completing the final phase of development at the site. With a capacity of 160 million cubic metres and injectio
20/02/2013
The Budget must include measures to make Britain's homes more energy-efficient, boosting the construction industry and helping householders protect themselves against rising fuel bills, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has warned in a letter to the Chancellor. Brian Berry, Chief Executive of
20/02/2013
The successful redevelopment of King's Cross is set for a boost as Waitrose announces plans to open a cookery school and Waitrose shop in one of the development’s listed buildings. The multimillion pound scheme, which will create up to 170 jobs, will include a 21,000 sq ft supermarket, as well as a
20/02/2013
Social housing regeneration specialist, Forrest is supporting the development needs of its clients by extending its award-winning training programme to suppliers. Forrest Learn, as the initiative is called, will offer training placements to customers and sub-contractors in its supply chain on a ran
20/02/2013
Technicians at local calibration laboratory AMECaL have been given a late Christmas Present with the opening of a brand new, state-of-the-art, environmentally-controlled workplace. After a six-figure redevelopment of an outlying building on the company’s site in Walker Riverside, Newcastle, Techni
20/02/2013
MGWSP, a partnership between May Gurney and WSP, has been selected as preferred bidder for Suffolk County Council's Highways Services Contract valued at up to £200m over five years, with the possibility of an extension to 10 years. The award is subject to approval by the County Council's Cabinet o
19/02/2013
A heating installation scheme aimed to help tackle fuel poverty across East Durham has reached the milestone of improving 500 homes in 2012/13. East Durham Homes and contracting partner Kier started the project in 2011 and, as it nears completion in March 2013, almost 1,300 homes will have benefitt
19/02/2013
The Consulting arm of Interserve Construction, part of the international support services and construction Interserve group, has won a five-year project management contract with the London Borough of Lambeth with an option to extend by a further two years. The contract is the culmination of approxi
19/02/2013
Willmott Dixon Interiors has been appointed by Legal & General Property (LGP) to refurbish 4 The Square, an office building in Stockley Park, near Heathrow. The refurbishment is part of LGP’s strategy to modernise the building’s interior and increase its rental proposition to tenants from all indu
19/02/2013
A new housing allocations policy which gives preference to people who need housing the most will be discussed by Peterborough City Council's Cabinet on Monday 25 February 2013. Currently anyone over the age of 16, who has the right to live in the UK and has no previous convictions that could make t
19/02/2013
BAM is partnering on a pioneering research project to bring building information modelling (BIM) into facilities management. Buildings across the UK, from offices to universities, stand to benefit from a significant step forward in the use of technology. A ground-breaking research and development
19/02/2013
Costain, one of the UK's leading engineering solutions providers, has announced that in Joint Venture (JV) with Skanska it has been awarded a Crossrail contract to construct the main station works at Bond Street Station, worth approximately £110 million. The project will involve the main constructi
19/02/2013
A new training course for would-be scaffolders is to be launched. Astra Access Safety Training is offering unemployed people in the Yorkshire area the opportunity to build a future in the scaffolding industry. The project will recruit trainees for a diploma level 1 scaffolding course which provide
19/02/2013
Liverpool’s planning policies are being streamlined to drive forward the city's economic growth. It is to adopt a system in which it will develop a Local Plan to deliver the housing, business, industrial units and infrastructure the city needs over the next 15 years at least. Under the government'
19/02/2013
Construction union UCATT are warning all construction workers to make sure that their protective equipment is genuine, following fresh concerns that fake safety equipment is being distributed. Recently there have been a series of warnings about fake Personal Protective Equipment especially hard hat
19/02/2013
Plans for a brand new £11.6m retirement village in the Doxford Park area of Sunderland have been announced by Gentoo thanks to over £1m investment from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). Included in the plans is a state of the art Extra Care facility as well as 40 Extra Care apartments, 40 old
18/02/2013
Bishop of Jarrow and members of the church Kier made a wish come true by providing vital refurbishments to St Cuthbert’s Church in Peterlee. The refurbishments, including a new kitchen, were unveiled in front of members of the Church and The Right Revd Mark Bryant, Bishop of Jarrow, at an event on
18/02/2013
Seven foreigner nationals working for construction company Setraco are being held hostage after being kidnapped from a site in Bauchi state, in the north of Nigeria. Among them is at least one British citizen. An FCO spokeswoman said: "We are aware of the reports and are making inquiries with loca
18/02/2013
RICS Honorary Secretary Rob Mahoney and Senior Vice President Louise Brooke-Smith have hosted a senior delegation of surveyors from the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS) at RICS in London. The delegation, led by GhIS President Daniel Kyere FGhIS, comprised representatives of each of the institu
18/02/2013
Keele-based BMA has noted manufacturers and media queuing up to join the recently restructured association. "We are all really pleased with our start to 2013," delights Yvonne Orgill, the Bathroom Manufacturers Association Chief Executive. "After a very solid 2012 with sustained development and gr
18/02/2013
Unsafe practices on construction sites are to be targeted as part of a national initiative aimed at reducing death, injury and ill health. During a month-long drive to improve standards in one of Britain's most dangerous industries, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will visit sites where refur
18/02/2013
Flood-hit communities in County Durham will benefit from improved defences following the announcement of more than £4 million of investment. It means residents and businesses in the Bishop Auckland, Stanhope, Staindrop, Greta Bridge and Seaham areas will see improved flood or coastal defences insta
18/02/2013
Building on the success of the recent Wood Awards competition, TRADA is organising a new series of site talks and visits of some of the award-winning and shortlisted projects from 2012. Aimed at architects, designers, engineers, and in fact anyone with a general interest in excellence in building
18/02/2013
VPS has welcomeD the final reading of a Bill that could help curtail the 1000 metal thefts that occur every week in the UK. VPS, responsible for managing over 90,000 vacant properties in the UK and abroad, has welcomed the final stage of the Scrap Metal Dealers Bill through the House of Lords on
15/02/2013
Wandsworth Council has been given the green light to build its next wave of affordable 'Hidden Homes'. Planning permission has been granted for six new flats in Nightingale Lane which will be offered at low cost rent to people on the council's housing waiting lists. Five of the new homes will be p
15/02/2013
Morgan Sindall has been appointed by Monmouthshire County Council to build a new £5 million livestock market at Bryngwyn, near Raglan. The livestock market, to be constructed on a 27-acre site, will hold 300 sheep pens and 150 cattle pens. The building will comprise a steel frame with timber-clad
15/02/2013
Kier has been awarded the design & build contract for a hotel project in Haiti that is seen as a pivotal scheme in the island's reconstruction following the devastating earthquake that struck in January 2010. The 175-bedroom hotel in Port-au-Prince is being financed by mobile phone provider Digicel
15/02/2013
British Gas customers are set to benefit from an energy account check-up every six months. British Gas has introduced 'Tariff Check' – a personalised half-yearly review for each customer, using their actual energy consumption. Customers will be told if they could save money by moving to a differe
15/02/2013
A £1.35 million scheme to improve the homes of tenants living in sheltered accommodation is now underway. Salix Homes is working alongside contractors Forrest and Emanuel Whittaker to overhaul more than 100 homes at the Springbank, Heraldic Court and Broomedge sheltered complexes. Contractors Forr
15/02/2013
Derbyshire County Council has made a good start towards meeting a target of cutting its carbon emissions. The council made a commitment to cut its CO2 emissions by 25 per cent between 2011 and 2015. In the first year levels have been reduced by over 5,000 tonnes (6.5 per cent). If similar reducti
15/02/2013
Paradigm Housing Group has signed a four-year contract with a Yorkshire-based kitchen manufacturer that will help achieve annual savings of approximately £200,000. Following a mini-competition tender process using the London Housing Consortium, Rixonway Kitchens will supply around 500 new kitchens
15/02/2013
Housing, Regeneration and Heritage Minister Huw Lewis has announced that two Swansea projects have been awarded more than £500,000 of Welsh Government Regeneration Area funding. The Waterfront Connections project, which is run by the City and County of Swansea (CCS) with the aim of strengthening th
15/02/2013
Interserve, the international support services and construction group, is to deliver a new £7.5 million renal dialysis unit at Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest in west Wales on behalf of Hywel Dda Health Board as part of the Designed For Life: Building for Wales framework. The solution from Inters
15/02/2013
Plans for a £30 million new Sheffield Hallam University building in the city centre have now been submitted to the Council for planning permission. If approved, the new building will be situated on the corner of Charles Street and Arundel Gate. It will provide a home for parts of the University's F
14/02/2013
Willmott Dixon has been chosen to complete construction of a £40m development in central Nottingham that will provide 237 residential apartments as well as office, restaurant, leisure and retail facilities. Previously known as Southreef, the development is already structural complete and partly occ
14/02/2013
Carillion, the leading integrated support services company, will be supporting the UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC)'s Big Tent at this year's Ecobuild - providing 20 'must see' sessions throughout the three days. As a Gold Leaf UK-GBC Member, Carillion's own environmental commitments, set out wit
14/02/2013
Gatwick Airport has today put forward a new deal that would allow Gatwick and its airline customers to develop bilateral, tailored contracts through a legally-binding Contracts & Commitments framework. The new framework – designed to replace the current system of regulation – would deliver better
14/02/2013
The Mayor of London has announced his intention to create the world's first Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London, in a move that he believes will deliver dramatic benefits in air quality and provide a major spur for the further development and mass take-up of zero and low emission vehicles. He
14/02/2013
Salford's planning chief has called on housing developers to build on brown field sites - not green field. The city's Assistant Mayor for Planning, Councillor Derek Antrobus, has asked for developers to avoid building on local green field sites and look at "removing the eyesore of brown field sites
14/02/2013
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) today reports a fall in the number of properties taken into possession by first-charge residential mortgage lenders from 8,200 in the third quarter of 2012 to 7,700 in the fourth quarter, maintaining a repossession rate of 0.07%. This is the lowest quarterly n
14/02/2013
Balfour Beatty Construction has been selected to perform demolition and new construction work for Charlotte School of Law's new uptown campus. As the general contractor on the project, Balfour Beatty Construction's work will include 10 floors in the 27-story, Class A Charlotte Plaza building, repr
14/02/2013
A construction firm has been fined for exposing workers to risks of falling from height and other safety failings at a site in Newcastle city centre. Stoneforce Ltd, of Hertfordshire, was the main contractor hired to carry out work on the refurbishment of a new retail store in Northumberland Street
14/02/2013
Sheffield City Council has set out its goal to build more homes to meet people's needs as part of a new ten year strategy. The strategy, which will go before a Cabinet meeting later this month, will look to increase housing supply and make development more cost effective. The strategy sets out a r
14/02/2013
Sika Sarnafil has contributed to a series of school re-roofing projects on behalf of Northamptonshire County Council. Financed by county council capital funds, the multi-million-pound investment in remedial works included bringing the school roofs in line with current building regulations for a bet
13/02/2013
Plans for a major regeneration of the Dollis Valley housing estate in Chipping Barnet have been submitted to Barnet Council by Countryside Properties. The proposed new development will involve the construction of 616 new affordable, private and rented homes in a wide range of designs and sizes to s
13/02/2013
A cluster of run-down, boarded-up properties in East Manchester will be given an overhaul in a new strategy to bring empty homes back in to use in the city. Manchester City Council has identified 27 properties in East Manchester that will be transferred to building contractor Rowlinson Construction
13/02/2013
Nearly 400 bus shelters will be fitted with state-of-the-art LED lighting which will save money and reduce energy bills and carbon emissions. Derbyshire County Council is funding the £75,000 scheme through its carbon reduction initiatives fund. By replacing existing fluorescent tubes with LED tech
13/02/2013
Construction union UCATT have welcomed Labour’s decision to hold a Commons debate on the lack of investment in public sector infrastructure projects. The motion argues that investment in infrastructure projects is essential to the economy’s recovery and that work is yet to start on many of the majo
13/02/2013
NHBC has announced that it is freezing fees on all its key services in a move aimed at supporting Britain's house-building industry. The firm will be holding fees at their current levels until at least 31 March 2014. The freeze applies to all key services including warranty products, building contr
13/02/2013
The Forest of Dean will gain hundreds of new jobs and millions of pounds in investment after plans to transform two key employment sites were backed by councillors on Tuesday 12th February. The district council's planning committee has approved two proposals to bring new modern employment space and
13/02/2013
Soft Surfaces Ltd is pleased to announce the appointment of Zac Taylor as their new Business Development Manager. In an interview Zac Taylor said: "I have joined Soft Surfaces because they are a market leader in Play and Sport Surfaces, I was very impressed with the attention to detail they pay to
13/02/2013
The West Coast Main Line Railway is being kept in good operating order thanks to the use of Timbermat Ltd's temporary roadways being used while work is carried out to stabilise its embankments. Ground protection solution providers, Timbermat Ltd, supplied SFI certified (Sustainable Forestry Initiat
13/02/2013
With the cold snap well and truly here it's a good time to remember the importance of Professional Installations.
13/02/2013
The director of a Nottingham building firm has been fined after unsafe work on an asbestos cement roof. Russell Lloyd's company, Lloyd Home Improvements Ltd, now in liquidation, had been contracted to replace the roof of a factory in Willow Road, Lenton, Notttingham in order for solar panels to be
12/02/2013
The scheme to protect Leeds city centre from the risk of flooding was given the green light after government funding of £32.5million was confirmed. The funding to provide flood protection along the River Aire was granted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) today follow
12/02/2013
Ecotricity's wind turbine at Chewton Mendip had another great year in 2012, producing enough clean, green electricity to power the equivalent of 1,250 average homes. The single turbine produced over 5 million units (kWh) of electricity last year, with the wind resource down only marginally on 2011'
12/02/2013
The number of housing transactions continues to grow across the UK property market, says the latest RICS housing market survey. During January, chartered surveyors across the country reported a further increase in the number of newly-agreed sales with a net balance of 15% more stating that levels r
12/02/2013
Skanska has secured a £0.75 million government grant to develop near-site fabrication of low-carbon buildings in modern flying factories. The Technology Strategy Board, the UK's innovation agency, is providing funding to rethink building processes in the UK, helping to deliver zero and low-carbon b
12/02/2013
The final modular units have been craned into position on site at Cambourne Village College as part of Kier Construction’s major project to build the first new secondary school in Cambridgeshire for 30 years. The scheme, for Cambridgeshire County Council, is currently the only one in the UK to be u
12/02/2013
Heathrow today announced £3 billion of investment in Heathrow airport in addition to the £11bn that has been invested since 2003. The announcement forms part of the airport's business plan for 'Q6' – the regulatory period which covers 2014-2019 – and it represents one of the largest private-sector
12/02/2013
A self-employed scaffolder has been fined after a member of the public suffered head injuries after walking into an unguarded metal pole. Rothesay Sheriff Court was told that Thomas Hannen was contracted by Argyll and Bute Council in January 2011 to erect scaffolding around the disused Royal Hotel
12/02/2013
Galliford Try plc, the housebuilding and construction group, announces that its Partnerships business has been named as preferred bidder for several projects in the affordable housing sector which together total in excess of £60 million. Housing association Affinity Sutton has named Partnerships as
12/02/2013
A scheme which aims to promote and reward landlords by offering accredited status has been launched at an event in Peterborough. The Landlord Accreditation Scheme, run in conjunction with the National Landlords Association (NLA) and Peterborough City Council, gives private landlords the recognition
12/02/2013
To mark the first loan under the Custom Build programme, Fairgrove Homes is holding an exhibition in Morton, Derbyshire, this Saturday, 16 February, to explain the way people can own a home through Custom Build– the first of its kind in the country, thanks to financial support from the Homes and Com
11/02/2013
A new affordable housing development in Wrexham, which is supported by £6.6m from the Welsh Government's Social Housing Grant Programme, will provide much needed affordable homes and is a boost for the economy of the town, Finance Minister Jane Hutt said. The scheme at Kingsmills Road and Rivulet R
11/02/2013
Plans for up to 22 windmills at Heckington Fen in Lincolnshire have been approved by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. Ecotricity, has spent four years of research, planning and consultation to gain approval for their largest wind park to date, which will produce enough green el
11/02/2013
Willmott Dixon has published Transforming Communities, a report setting out how public authorities and Registered Providers can leverage construction and housing repairs contracts to deliver additional social value to local communities. The publication reflects new legislation that came into force
11/02/2013
A Trafford firm has appeared in court after workers were spotted taking down scaffolding without safety measures to prevent them being injured in a fall. They were witnessed working on the outside of a row of terraced shops on Ripponden Road in Oldham on 4 September 2012 by a passing inspector from
11/02/2013
JCB today announced it had signed a long-term agreement to supply engines for a new range of rotating telescopic handlers to be launched by an Italian manufacturer. MAGNI Telescopic Handlers, headed by Riccardo Magni, will produce up to 1,000 machines a year from a new 6,000m² production facility
11/02/2013
Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, has been appointed preferred bidder for Aberystwyth University's £45 million student accommodation project. The 32-year concession contract involves the design, build and maintenance of student accommodation facilities for Aberystwyth Universi
11/02/2013
Two of Leeds' most deprived communities are in line to benefit from a major a programme of investment in their homes and the local environment. Leeds City Council's executive board will be asked to agree the project proposals for Cross Green and the Nevilles and invest £5million from the capital pr
11/02/2013
Kier Stoke is furthering its commitment to staff and enhancing customer service through a new training initiative. The innovative scheme will train craft technicians to become multi-skilled, enabling additional repairs on residents' homes to be completed more efficiently. As well as holding full
11/02/2013
Children attending the new school at the former Olympic Sailing Village in Portland will benefit from improved playing fields, thanks to partners' investment in the development. Work will start soon to turn the 7,500 sq m site at Officer's Field, Osprey Quay, where the athletes' dining quarters wer
11/02/2013
Sir Adrian Montague will be standing down as Deputy Chairman of the UK Green Investment Bank plc (UK GIB) in April 2013. Sir Adrian has played a pivotal role in the creation of the Green Investment Bank, chairing Vince Cable's Advisory Group and agreeing to take up the position of Deputy Chairman
08/02/2013
New regulations on security at civil nuclear sites undergoing construction have been laid before Parliament. The new regulations extend the scope of security regulation set out in the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 (as amended) and are due to come into force on 28 February. Baroness
08/02/2013
Contracts have been signed by Lovell and social housing provider Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd Cyf (CCG) for the delivery of £17 million of housing improvement works in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The contracts will see Lovell complete the remaining two years of the housing association’s four-year, lar
08/02/2013
Ecotricity have been granted permission by Government to construct a 66MW wind farm in East Heckington, Lincolnshire. The developer estimates that the turbines will provide enough electricity to power the equivalent of as many as 39,700 homes a year. A Department of Energy and Climate Change spoke
08/02/2013
Construction union UCATT are calling for urgent action to tackle false self-employment in the construction industry after new figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed a major increase in self-employment. The ONS found that since 2008 the number of self-employed workers across all ind
08/02/2013
O'Brien Contractors chosen for Nestlé UK’s £200m Tutbury Factory Extension Nestle Factory Ready for £200m Factory Extension O'Brien Contractors has been sub-contracted by new customer, John Sisk and Sons, to deliver services for Nestlé UK’s £200 million extension to its Nescafé factory in Tutbury,
08/02/2013
Two Castles Housing Association is furthering its commitment to delivering affordable homes for those in the greatest housing need, after work started on a new £1.8 million scheme in Bowness-on-Windermere. Built in partnership with developers South Cumbria Construction on a brownfield site on Biske
08/02/2013
Another prestigious project has been secured by BAM, marking both a return to the University of Oxford and a partnership with the renowned Zaha Hadid practice. BAM is to build a futuristic addition to the University of Oxford's Middle East Centre at St Antony’s College. The contractor is due to st
08/02/2013
A shortage of homes for sale is emerging as the biggest barrier to house hunters as the availability of mortgages and selling a home become less difficult according to the results of new research. The findings of the Barratt Home Buyers study of 2,275 homebuyers in Britain, has revealed a significa
07/02/2013
Two new schools will be built and three others expanded under plans unveiled by Surrey County Council to create 885 new places for pupils. The proposed investment, which is part of a programme to meet an increase in demand from surging birth rates, is revealed in a new report to the Cabinet. Durin
07/02/2013
The derelict site of a former city school is heading for a bright future, thanks to a proposed deal to deliver more than 160 new homes. Liverpool City Council's Cabinet will be asked to give the go-ahead, on Friday 8 February, to plans to breathe new life into the former site of Queen Mary High Sch
07/02/2013
Gas Training at Kier showed its commitment to providing ex-MOD staff with training and qualifications in gas engineering by taking part in a virtual training event run by the Career Transition Partnership (CTP). The event, the first of its kind for the CTP, was a fully interactive, 3D environment t
07/02/2013
Miller Construction has made two key national appointments. Jeremy Bowley and Nick Salt have joined the leading construction firm as Procurement Director and Director of Rail, respectively. Jeremy and Nick's appointments highlight the company's strategy to remain focussed on chosen markets and i
07/02/2013
MITIE, the FTSE 250 outsourcing company, has been appointed by the National Landlords Association (NLA) as its exclusive Green Deal installer. The NLA, the leading association for private residential landlords in the UK, awarded the contract to MITIE as the government officially launched the Green
07/02/2013
A metal manufacturer in Manchester has been sentenced after an employee was killed when a machine weighing half-a-tonne fell from a forklift truck. Bruce Dempsey, 25, from Eccles, was walking alongside the forklift as it moved the machine at Applied Fusion Ltd in Patricroft when it fell and struck
07/02/2013
Bellway’s site manager Gary Sidney has picked up the silver medal in the national finals of the NHBC Quality Awards at a ceremony in London. Gary from Worksop was judged as one of the best site managers in the country for his work at Bellway’s Poppyfields development in Nottingham where he manages
07/02/2013
Trafford Housing Trust (THT) has been awarded the highest possible rating by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) for its financial viability and governance. The vote of confidence by England's social housing regulator was made after detailed scrutiny of THT's financial performance, future busine
07/02/2013
Liverpool Housing Trust (LHT) has been successfully shortlisted for the 'Award for Staff Development' at the Women in Construction Awards 2013. LHT is in line for an award which recognises those who provide opportunities and skills to redress the gender balance in an otherwise male dominated indust
07/02/2013
JCB has unveiled a new single drum roller and two new compaction plates at the Executive Hire Show. All three machines have been designed and engineered by JCB to meet the needs of local authorities, hire companies and contractors. SD580 Single Drum Roller The SD580 is a compact 580mm wide sin
06/02/2013
Bristol City Football Club is bringing forward alternative plans to redevelop Ashton Gate, it has been announced. The newly-redeveloped multi-purpose stadium would be used by Bristol City FC and Bristol Rugby, both of whom are overseen by the same umbrella company, Bristol Sport. Bristol Sport wou
06/02/2013
In a deal between Kier Property and Kent County Council, work is to be started on over 150 new homes across the county offering a mix of market sale, new, rental and affordable housing to local people, creating new jobs and helping to ease the south-east’s chronic housing shortage. Bringing togethe
06/02/2013
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson is calling on the coalition government to allow London to retain all stamp duty receipts raised on its property sales, estimated to be worth £1.3 billion a year, to ensure it can build the million homes that London will need by the mid 2030s. Just as the UK econom
06/02/2013
Stanhope and the BBC have today launched their vision and outline proposals to open up and transform Television Centre into a mixed use development including office and studio space for the BBC, complementary entertainment and leisure facilities, public open space, offices, housing and a hotel. For
06/02/2013
Lovell has completed a £1.5 million programme to reduce carbon emissions and make environmental improvements to 212 Whitefriars Housing homes in Henley Green, Coventry. The company also completed work worth £1 million on a further 110 private homes in the area, which were not on the Whitefriars Hou
06/02/2013
House prices in the three months to January were 1.9% higher than in the previous three months according to the latest Halifax house Price Index. Commenting, Martin Ellis, housing economist, said: "The signs of improvement in the housing market towards the end of last year continued in Janu
06/02/2013
Young people in Bedford are being urged to consider becoming an apprentice with Network Rail as the company launches its 2013 advanced apprenticeship scheme. A total of seven places are available on the advanced scheme in Bedford to work in an industry which transports millions of people every year
06/02/2013
Balfour Beatty has announced that BK Gulf LLC, its joint venture in Dubai, has been awarded a £64 million mechanical and electrical engineering contract to work on a project that will help Dubai International Airport deal with millions more passengers each year. The contract, which has been awarded
06/02/2013
Whale has just delivered our two brand new tankers. The first tanker is a 32 ton Vacuum Tanker, which will be used for Wet waste Removal like septic tank emptying. This has the capacity to carry up to 3100 gallons of wet waste and 1000 Gallons of clean water with its 3/1 split tank. The Other Tan
06/02/2013
Condensation costs millions each year through damage to goods, litigation, accidents and premature corrosion of fixings and purlins, in some cases the roof fixings have failed in only 5-7 years. Grafo Therm specialise in the anti condensation treatment of hardened aircraft shelters for both interna
05/02/2013
New clauses to the Energy Bill to ensure that consumers get a better deal on their energy bills, and to press ahead with decarbonisation. Government tabled new clauses to the Energy Bill today, to ensure that consumers get a better deal on their energy bills, and to press ahead with decarbonising t
05/02/2013
A new Ipswich care home for older people and a wellbeing centre which will offer day care clubs and activities for older people who live independently in the wider community have been granted planning approval by Ipswich Borough Council. The new home and adjacent wellbeing centre will be built on t
05/02/2013
ISG has successfully completed the £38.8 million Wood Lane Studios scheme in London. Developed by Voreda and Imperial College London, the building provides high-quality and highly sustainable accommodation for students and key workers. Wood Lane Studios was constructed on the site of the BBC's fo
05/02/2013
Residents across Greater Manchester are to save more than £3m as part of the UK's biggest energy switching scheme. More than 35,000 people signed up for the GM Fair Energy scheme throughout January – more than applied to join any other energy switching project of its kind in the country – with some
05/02/2013
Nineteen trainees are celebrating completing a unique training programme with Kier North Tyneside. The trainees, all local employees of Kier's supply chain, have gained valuable experience of best practice and promoting safe and efficient work processes. The trainees completed the UK Asbestos Tra
05/02/2013
Housing Regeneration and Heritage Minister Huw Lewis has called upon mortgage lenders and homebuilders to sign up to deliver the NewBuy Cymru scheme at a special event to inform the industry of the details of the scheme. Plans for NewBuy Cymru, were announced in November last year, and since then,
05/02/2013
An architects' practice has been prosecuted after builders were potentially exposed to dangerous asbestos fibres during construction work at Aberystwyth Rugby Club in Mid Wales. Aberystwyth Magistrates heard that Dilwyn Roberts Penseiri/Architects Ltd failed to pass on vital information about the p
05/02/2013
Atkins is joining the Strategic Supply Chain Partnership for EDF Energy's Nuclear Generation business to provide additional expert engineering support as the company seeks to extend the life of its existing nuclear AGR fleet. EDF Energy recently announced its plans to seek to extend the life of it
05/02/2013
Essentials, AceCad Software's new steel fabrication shop production system, runs the whole company at a price less than a single CAD system seat, it is ready to use in no time at all with minimal training and can often be paid for within a month on material savings alone! The Managing Director at A
04/02/2013
Crossrail has announced its intention to award the last of the main construction contracts for the new central section stations. The C412 Bond Street station contract has been awarded to Costain Skanska JV. In line with European procurement rules the contract is subject to a ten-day standstill per
04/02/2013
Construction union UCATT has described the latest figures which show a 14.6% fall in construction apprenticeship numbers as "devastating". Figures released by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills have revealed that there were just 24,000 apprenticeship starts in Construction, Planning
04/02/2013
England's councils to share £668 million in 2013 to 2014 to help provide new homes, Housing Minister Mark Prisk announced. The minister published the final allocation of cash payouts worth £668 million through the New Homes Bonus, which will be shared by England's 353 councils. The funding will re
04/02/2013
In 2009, Centrica acquired a 20% interest in EDF Energy's eight operational nuclear power stations in the UK and also took an option for a 20% interest in the construction of new nuclear power stations at Hinkley Point and Sizewell. The acquisition was funded through a £2.2 billion Rights Issue, c
04/02/2013
Grainger, as development partner for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and the HCA, has submitted a major planning application to Rushmoor Borough Council for the 255 hectare former Aldershot Garrison site, known as Wellesley or the Aldershot Urban Extension (AUE). The outline planning appl
04/02/2013
Kier Property has secured a major planning consent to develop the first part of Test Valley Borough Council’s 168-acre Walworth Business Park site in Andover, which will act as a major catalyst to the wider redevelopment of the site. The project, worth £1.75 million, will see the refurbishment of
04/02/2013
Suffolk Resilience Forum is asking the public to have their say on proposed changes to existing emergency planning arrangements at Sizewell power station. These changes are a result of recommendations following the Fukushima incident in 2011, which will affect the precautionary safety zones surroun
04/02/2013
Work has started on the second phase of the regeneration of the Forches Estate in North Devon as the first tenants move into their new homes. The next phase of the project is worth more than £7.5 million and will deliver 80 additional new homes on the estate and improved open space. This latest wo
01/02/2013
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has unveiled a new masterplan for Kings Dock, Liverpool, which sets out a vision and development framework for a leisure-led, mixed-use quarter that is set to create up to 1,000 jobs. Working with Liverpool City Council and the Arena Convention Centre Liverpo
01/02/2013
Wates Construction has been appointed by the Department for Education to deliver an approximately £36m contract in Coventry, as part of the Priority Schools Building Programme. The contract will see Wates deliver the rebuild or refurbishment of four primary schools, one secondary school and a speci
01/02/2013
Kier and developer King's Cross Central Limited Partnership celebrated a construction milestone this month when the £42m ArtHouse, at the 67-acre King's Cross development in London, reached its full height. Kier Construction managing director Colin Lamb joined representatives from King’s Cross and
01/02/2013
Pinewood Shepperton, a leading provider of services to the global film and television industry, has announced it has submitted a planning application to South Bucks District Council for the expansion of Pinewood Studios, called the Pinewood Studios Development Framework (PSDF). This follows exten
01/02/2013
Red tape that affects house builders and landlords is cut, while the Red Tape Challenge focuses on planning administration next. Unnecessary technical regulations that are no longer needed will be removed, Planning Minister Nick Boles announced. The changes will have no effect on countryside or en
01/02/2013
Following the recent cold snap, British Gas is urging its customers to get in touch and take advantage of free help and advice about winter energy bills. There are a number of ways that British Gas is helping its customers this winter, including: •Tariff check British Gas will review a customer’s
01/02/2013
Hundreds of homes across the Liverpool City Region will be made greener after the city council and the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) won funding to deliver energy efficiency measures. £1.397 million has been awarded under the Government's Green Deal Go Early Pilot Program
01/02/2013
City householders signed up to Peterborough City Council's Ready to Switch? scheme stand to save up to £149 and an average of £122 on their energy bills. The collective switching scheme spearheaded by the city council was launched in November with the aim of using the combined buying power of resid
