Construction News
26 January 2012
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£3.7m railway station for Stratford-upon-Avon
Warwickshire council advertises design and build contract -
April start for Mace on Broadgate
Main construction work on British Land and Blackstone’s 5 Broadgate £340m development will begin in April after the developers announced they had satisfied UBS’ outstanding conditions on a pre-let tenancy agreement. -
Atkins breaks into Alcatraz
Contractor to manage repairs of San Francisco’s famous island prison -
Balfour moves for court injunction after sparks vote to strike
Balfour Beatty Engineering Services has made an application to the High Court for an injunction restraining Unite from proceeding with a strike voted for by 295 staff today. -
Bam Nuttall wins £76m Olympic legacy contracts
Bam Nuttall has won £76m of contracts to integrate the Olympic Park into east London once the 2012 Games are over. -
Bids go in for 21-storey Paddington tower
Mace, Sir Robert McAlpine and Sisk all in the running -
Blacklist brings dark days for everyone
It has been known for several years that major contractors supplied information to the Consulting Association’s blacklist of construction workers - but not that union representatives might have done so, too. -
BRE submits defence of BREEAM for schools to government
BRE group chief executive Peter Bonfield has said the organisation is looking forward to ‘continuing to work with the Department for Education’ on BREEAM. -
Business leaders call for third runway at Heathrow
The government is wrong to rule out expansion at Heathrow Airport, according to a new report by business leaders including the head of the Green Investment Bank. -
Call for evidence into rented housing investment to launch in coming weeks
A call for evidence will launch in the next month with housing minister Grant Shapps determined to break the “institutional belief against institutional investment” in the UK rented housing market. -
Chris Huhne resigns as energy secretary following charge of perverting the course of justice
Criminal Prosecution Service concludes there is “sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges” against energy secretary Chris Huhne for perverting the course of justice after claims he asked his wife to accept penalty points over a speeding case in 2003. -
Civils work enters positive territory
The number of infrastructure contractors reporting increased workloads finally entered positive territory at the end of 2011 after more than three years of pain. -
Construction output up in January
But rate of growth slows as housing and civils work falls -
Construction professionals using BIM up 18pc since 2010
The number of construction professionals using BIM has more than doubled in two years – but 4 out of 5 people believe the industry doesn’t yet understand its meaning. -
Crossrail rethinks underwater tunnel repairs
Team to drain part of Royal Docks after hunting for WWII bombs -
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Ed Davey replaces Chris Huhne as new energy secretary
The government has confirmed that Ed Davey has been named as the new energy and climate change secretary, following Chris Huhne’s resignation this morning. -
Energy offers hope for 2012 but concerns mount over infra funding
Energy and power will provide the best opportunities for global revenue growth over the next 12 months, but a lack of government leadership is still a barrier to encouraging private investment in infrastructure, according to a global survey out today. -
Eurozone crisis weighs heavy on commercial market
Commercial property markets in Europe struggled to keep pace with other parts of the world in the last three months of 2011, according to research by RICS. -
Final day to enter the Construction News Awards
Today is your last chance to enter the most prestigious awards in the construction industry. -
FMB confirms departure of director general Richard Diment
The Federation of Master Builders has confirmed that director general Richard Diment has left the organisation. -
Four in frame for £100m Magnox FM contract
Interserve, Mitie, EC Harris and Carillion are bidding for a Magnox facilities management contract worth up to £100m. -
Fraudsters jailed for £700,000 VAT scam
Pair used building company to submit false VAT claims -
From Torbay to Tees Valley: 32 bid to be home to the GIB
Bids have flooded in from 32 UK sites vying to be the home of the Green Investment Bank. -
Green Construction Board details revealed
Communities minister Andrew Stunell briefed members of the Green Construction Board on proposed changes to building regulations almost a week before they were published on Tuesday. -
Green construction takes shape
When CN revealed last week the government was looking to scrap BREEAM requirements for schools there was consternation within the industry. -
Green Deal takeup set for boost under proposed new building regs
Building owners carrying out extensions and conversions to their properties could be forced to add energy efficiency improvements worth 10 per cent of the value of the initial improvements under new building regulation proposals. -
Greening launches consultation on local control of major transport projects
An eight-week consultation into proposals to give local communities control of decisions and budgets for major local transport schemes was launched today. -
High Speed 2 names 13 firms on £350m consultancy framework
High Speed 2 has named 13 companies for its £350 million professional services framework. -
Hinkley Point C prep work to start within weeks
EDF Energy has confirmed it hopes to start preparatory works on site at Hinkley Point C within weeks, with earthworks to start later this year. -
Industry braced for tender price pain
Aggressive bidding and eurozone uncertainty will see tender prices hit harder and longer, piling the pressure on UK suppliers, it was claimed this week. -
ISG wins £100m Santander data centre deal
ISG has been awarded a £100 million deal to build a new Santander data centre in the East Midlands. -
Jobs go at Marshalls street furniture division
Around 12 people have been made redundant by landscape supplier Marshalls after a strategic product review saw the group halt production of bespoke products in its urban engineering range. -
Keepmoat Apollo chief executive shakes up his board
The Keepmoat and Apollo board has been reshuffled a fortnight after Ian Sutcliffe was announced as the new chief executive officer. -
Kier in £100m deal to build 700 homes in Derby
Taylor Wimpey and Nottingham Community Housing Association will also work on former hospital site -
London housing association advertises £325m repairs deal
East Thames Group also seeks contractor for 60 other landlords -
Major project leaders to come from Whitehall under £6.7m academy
The government will train project leaders to come from within Whitehall as it attempts to grapple with a portfolio of 206 projects worth more than £400 billion of which less than half are performing on time and on budget. -
Mansell team rescue man from burning flat
Builders on Camberwell site save man stranded on windowsill -
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Middlesex Hospital revamp wins planning
Plans for a major mixed use development on the site of the former Middlesex Hospital have been granted permission by Westminster City Council. -
Miller wins £129m police PFI
Blue Light consortium to build and maintain four buildings for Avon & Somerset Police -
Ministry of Justice BIM project to go to market within weeks
The government will start procurement of a new-build BIM trial project this month as it gets set to trial four projects through the Ministry of Justice. -
Mitie to redeploy M&E staff into FM division
Mitie will retrain and redeploy mechanical and electrical staff into its facilities management division as it moves away from being an engineering services subcontractor on major projects, the firm has told CN. -
Morgan Sindall alliance wins National Grid contract extension
National Grid has extended a contract for a Morgan Sindall consortium to carry out major enhancements to the UK’s electrical transmission infrastructure. -
Morgan Sindall wins £28m Yorkshire Water bio-gas deal
A Morgan Sindall joint venture has won a £28 million contract with Yorkshire Water for the design and build of a new energy scheme. -
Network Rail boosts payments policy
Rail subcontractors could receive a payment boost after Network Rail said it would consider applying its new fair payment terms retrospectively to contracts signed before October 2011. -
Network Rail to use choppers in fight against cable theft
Network Rail will charter two helicopters during the Olympic Games this summer to help contractors receive maintenance equipment and to ensure cable thieves do not disrupt any train services. -
New energy secretary emphasises green growth on visit to BRE
Energy secretary Ed Davey today visits BRE’s innovation park in Watford in his first official appointment since replacing Chris Huhne on Friday. -
New energy secretary must immediately review the Green Deal
Consulting engineering firm Encraft’s managing director Matthew Rhodes on the steps Ed Davey should take as the new energy secretary -
OPLC launches Olympic stadium sponsorship search
The Olympic Park Legacy Company has begun a search for sponsors for the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Multi-Use Arena. -
Prince Charles slams glass, concrete and steel buildings
The Prince of Wales has attacked the use of “environmentally unfriendly” materials such as glass, steel and concrete in his inaugural address at the Institution ofCivil Engineers. -
Private housing offers beacon of hope amid weak forecasts
Last week the world’s leading economists, bankers and policy-makers were at the swanky Swiss ski resort of Davos to muse on what will happen to the eurozone and then what can be done with the detritus at the end of it all. -
RICS calls for tender flexibility and SME support on public procurement
The government’s focus on infrastructure must not lead to a lack of focus on SMEs winning work, the RICS has warned. -
Robinson Low Francis to launch project management business
New venture to be led by ex-Buro Four, Hornagold & Hills and Turner &Townsend staff -
Scottish cladding firm CDW in provisional liquidation
Staff dismissed from firm which worked on Burns Monument -
Sir Robert McAlpine wins £80m Aldgate tower
Contractor bags 17 storey speculative City office scheme -
Six line up for £38m Salford Uni arts block
Big names to fight it out for key part of £100m master plan -
Spurs commit to £400m Northumberland Park stadium
Tottenham Hotspur has announced it is committed to developing a new stadium at Northumberland Park. -
Surveyors sceptical about government construction initiatives
Surveyors are sceptical about government initiatives to support the construction sector, according to new findings from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors -
Terrace Hill signs Sainsbury’s for Sedgefield store
Property developer Terrace Hill Group has signed a contract with Sainsbury’s for the development of a 50,000 sq ft store in Sedgefield. -
Three days left to enter the Construction News Awards
It’s not too late to enter the most presigious awards in the construction industry - you now have until Friday 10 February to perfect your submission. -
Travis Perkins says OFT will investigate Toolstation merger
Builders merchant tells investors there is “no basis” for the probe -
UK contractors should export London 2012 expertise
International construction consultant McBains Cooper has urged the government to expand overseas work for UK contractors who have helped to deliver the Olympic Games. -
Union suspected of blacklist collusion
Evidence has emerged that suggests union representatives may have “liaised” with contractors to blacklist workers from construction jobs. -
University plans £12m refurbishment
Sheffield University seeks design and build contractor for student union job -
Vinci to clinch £80m BNP Paribas Real Estate Kings Cross HQ
Contractor to build new home for BNP Paribas Real Estate at Argent’s regeneration scheme -
Willmott Dixon wins £60m Greenwich scheme
Willmott Dixon has announced it has won a £60m contract for residential work on a Greenwich regeneration scheme.




