Construction News
4 August 2011
View all stories from this issue.
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A procurement revolution for public construction
The Government Construction Strategy set out plans to introduce two new procurement models that would revolutionise the way public buildings are bought. -
Affinity Sutton: Green Deal ‘can be the next Decent Homes’
The Green Deal has the potential to turn small contractors into big players in the same way as the Decent Homes programme did after 2000, according to a leading social housing group. -
Ardmore to complete Croydon hotel started by Bowen
Ardmore Construction has been appointed as main contractor by Croydon Hotels to complete a new Hampton by Hilton hotel in Croydon. -
BAM appoints sustainable design guru
The architect behind the UK’s first commercial building using bricks made from hemp lime has been tasked with developing a sustainable design strategy for BAM Construct. -
Bam Construct lands £13m Stafford College scheme
Stafford College has awarded BAM Construct UK a £13 million contract to rebuild fire-ravaged facilities at its campus. -
Barratt confirms shared equity sell off plans
Housebuilder Barratt has confirmed it is in talks to sell off parts of its £170 million shared equity loan portfolio. -
Bellway completes 7 per cent more houses with margins set to rise
Bellway has announced it has completed an increase of more than 7 per cent on its completed houses in the current financial year. -
Bids invited for £100m of Northern Irish housing maintenance work
Contractors are being invited to bid for a multi-lot contract offering up to £100 million worth of social housing maintenance work in Northern Ireland. -
Big names lining up for £90m Center Parcs job
Some of the industry’s biggest names are lining up to bid for the chance to build a new Center Parcs holiday development in Woburn Forest. -
Big names on track to deliver savings for Network Rail £750m framework
Carillion, Balfour Beatty and Morgan Sindall are among seven contractors set to deliver 20 per cent savings to Network Rail under a new framework. -
Blackpool seeks £50m regeneration partner
Blackpool Council is seeking a development partner for a £50 million housing led regeneration project over the next ten years. -
Capita Symonds and Ineco joint venture formed for HS2 contracts
Capita Symonds has announced it will bid for proposed High Speed 2 contracts through the formation of a joint venture with Spanish engineering consultancy Ineco. -
Caterpillar makes grade with upgrades
Cat has rung the changes with overhauls to its wheel tractor scrapers and articulated trucks, as well as its next generation of motor graders. -
Chester £115m regeneration scheme goes to Morgan Sindall
Morgan Sindall’s urban regeneration division Muse Developments has been awarded a £115 million scheme in Chester city centre. -
Civils' era of dismal decline set to end
The UK’s infrastructure sector is showing early signs of a potential return to growth after three years of decline. -
Construction administrations drop by 15pc in Q2
The number of construction companies that entered voluntary liquidation or were placed into administration in England and Wales fell sharply in the second quarter of 2011, according to the Insolvency Service. -
Construction Parliamentary Update - 5 August 2011
A round-up of all the construction news from Westminster this week, brought to you by the Madano Partnership -
Construction to start on 20-storey Canary Wharf tower this autumn
Canary Wharf Group has announced plans to begin construction of a 20-storey tower this autumn. -
Contractor sought for £12m Sheffield graduate school
Sheffield University is seeking a contractor to build a new £12 million Engineering Graduate School. -
Contractors drafted in after riots wreck London
Councils have begun a major clean up across London after widespread rioting over the last three days has left buildings in the capital damaged and destroyed. -
Contractors warned against being complacent on environmental laws
Contractors are being warned not to be complacent about on-site pollution and waste despite Environment Agency funding cuts which could potentially lead to fewer on-site visits. -
CSCS chief Trevor Walker faces no confidence vote
Trevor Walker, the chairman of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme, faces a vote of no confidence next week after threats that affiliate members could break away. -
CSCS confidence vote tied - but chief survives
Construction Skills Certification Scheme chairman Trevor Walker is to remain in post after a vote to decide his future - in which he cast one of the 10 votes - resulted in a tie. -
Delays to £5bn MoD contract awards
The £5 billion of Next Generation contracts for work on the defence estate will be awarded late, increasing fears of a worsening public sector construction squeeze in 2012/13. -
Download Contract Leads - 8 August 2011
Download the latest contract leads here -
East London housing framework worth £100m up for grabs
Barking and Dagenham Borough council is seeking contractors for a four year £100 million framework to deliver housing construction works in East London. -
East Thames appoints 19 firms to £200m housing framework
Housing Association East Thames has confirmed the appointment of 19 contractors to its £200 million new build framework. -
Eastern Highways £75m framework up for grabs
Up to nine contractors are being sought for a £75 million Eastern Highways framework to be delivered by nine local authorities. -
Embattled CSCS chief accuses critics of 'misinformation'
CSCS chairman Trevor Walker, who is facing a no confidence vote tomorrow, has told CN he is the victim of a “campaign of misinformation and rumour”. -
Energy minister gives biomass plants the green light
Energy minister Charles Hendry today gave the go-ahead for two new biomass stations in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire which combined will produce enough electricity to meet the needs of over a million homes. -
Farrans Construction lands £51m Belfast Harbour scheme
Farrans Construction has been awarded a £51m contract to construct a new quay wall and deep water berth at D1 Belfast Harbour. -
First time buyer ‘black spots’ cover most of UK
First-time buyer numbers in seven out of 11 UK regions are below half the level desired for a healthy housing market, according to a survey by property website Rightmove. -
FM firm Norland sees profits more than double
Facilities maintenance specialist Norland saw pre tax profit more than double in the last financial year. -
Government publishes map of 180,000 publicly owned assets
Communities secretary Eric Pickles has unveiled a map of more than 180,000 assets owned by almost 600 public sector bodies, including central and local government. -
Green Deal pilot exposes scepticism from homeowners
A Green Deal trial has found that homeowners with 10-year paybacks on their retrofit measures received greater savings on bills than loan repayments in just a quarter of cases. -
Green lobby misses the point of national planning guidelines
Emboldened by recent victories - including forcing ministers to abandon plans to sell-off England’s forests - the green lobby again smells blood with the government’s planning changes. -
Heavyweight contractors appointed to £129m YORCivil framework
Construction News understands East Riding of Yorkshire council is set to announce contractors including Interserve, Kier and Balfour Beatty on a four-year YORCivil framework worth £129 million. -
House prices continue to fall in July
Demands for large deposits contributed to a further fall in house prices in July, according to new research. -
Housing contractor Forrest launches new retrofit division
Housing contractor Forrest has announced it has launched a specialist retrofit and environmental division as part of a drive to target new markets. -
Interserve bags £18m nuclear waste storage framework
Interserve has won a single operator framework agreement – worth up to £18 million - covering the construction of nuclear waste storage facilities for Magnox. -
Interserve half year results show pre-tax profit jump
Interserve has announced it increased pre-tax profit by 10.3 per cent on this time last year in its half yearly report to 30 June. -
Interserve land £70m Qatar contracts
Interserve has landed two contracts worth £70m to provide building and infrastructure works in Qatar through its associate company Gulf Contracting. -
Laing O'Rourke profits drop by 50 per cent
Profits at Laing O’Rourke have halved in the last financial year while the European workforce has been cut by almost a third, the construction giant revealed today. -
Land Secs buy £20m Bath leisure complex
Land Securities has bought a leisure and restaurant complex in Bath from real estate investment company Aprirose in an off-market transaction for £20 million. -
Leadbitter profits fall by half in 2010
Affordable housing and construction firm Leadbitter saw pre-tax profit fall by almost half in 2010. -
Lend Lease JV secures £25m Naval contract
Debut Services, the Lend Lease and Babcock International Joint Venture, has been awarded a £25 million contract by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to build new facilities for the Navy in Plymouth. -
McAlpine Vinci JV gets go ahead for £72 million Stevenage hospital
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has signed off on plans for a £72 million redevelopment of Lister Hospital in Stevenage to be built by a Sir Robert McAlpine and Vinci joint venture. -
Morgan Sindall profits hit by falling margins
Pre tax profits slip 9 per cent despite 11 per cent boost in revenue -
Morgan Sindall to double regen share
Morgan Sindall is planning to double its regeneration share in the next three years, its co-founder told CN this week. -
NG Bailey reveals £13.3m drop in operating profits
NG Bailey has announced a drop in operating profits from £13.8 million to around £250,000 for the financial year to 25 February 2011. -
NHS and Ministry of Justice at the forefront of BIM plans
The NHS and Ministry of Justice look set to be among the early adopters of building information modelling hoping to roll-out BIM in trial projects early next year. -
Prices and demand fuel concerns, says CPA
Rising material prices and stability of demand are some of the biggest concerns for the construction industry over the next 12 months, according to latest research. -
Procurement revolution needs to happen soon
There’s one very simple way to save money: do nothing. -
Riots: Architecture students launch free re-build initiative
Two architecture students have launched a scheme to help businesses and homeowners find construction professionals to rebuild their properties damaged by the rioting across England. -
Riots: Balfour offers help in Croydon but closes several London sites
Balfour Beatty will be part of efforts to repair buildings damaged by fire and vandalism in Croydon but has also closed sites in the wake of riots across London in the last three days. -
Riots: Boris Johnson unveils £50m London rebuilding fund
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has pledged £50 million of funding for regeneration of London town centres ravaged by rioters this week. -
Riots: Contractors could be liable for damage on site
Contractors could be liable for site damages caused by rioters as some contracts may not cover the circumstances, according to lawyers. -
Riots: Government announces £30m funding package
The government will provide £30 million in funding to aid the clean up and rebuilding of communities damaged by rioters across the UK. -
Riots: ISG shuts two sites and offers help to retailers
ISG has closed two of its London sites as a precaution and offered to help retailers repair damaged stores following the rioting that has swept through the capital in the last three days. -
Social housing deal goes to Mitie
Mitie has won a £40 million contract for home improvement works for more than 13,000 social housing tenants as part of a five-year programme in Lewisham. -
Soletanche Bachy seals takeover of Roger Bullivant
Vinci geotechnical subsidiary Soletanche Bachy has sealed its multi-million pound takeover of piling and foundation contractor Roger Bullivant. -
The next era dawns for BIM
As the government makes Building Information Modelling compulsory on public sector projects from 2016, the message being sent out to the construction industry is clear: use it or lose out -
UKGBC to increase sustainability education and training
The UK Green Building Council has announced it will create a new task group to help scope and develop a Sustainability Lifelong Learning Framework for the built environment sector. -
United House set for £9m Shoreditch development
United House is set to start work on a new six-storey, £9m Shoreditch development at the site of a former public house. -
Wates and Willmott Dixon among £200m Milton Keynes framework winners
Willmott Dixon and Wates will join Morgan Sindall on a three year framework covering £200 million of new build and refurbishment work for Milton Keynes council. -
Wates in line for £28 million academy
Wates Construction has been named preferred bidder for a £28 million contract to build the new Dixons Allerton Academy in Bradford. -
Yorkon to lead off-site manufacture of nuclear laboratory
A partnership led by off-site construction specialists Yorkon has been awarded a £7 million contract to develop the first active analysis laboratory building for the nuclear industry using modular construction.
