Construction News
9 April 2009

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Rail spending increased to record levels

Network Rail and Transport for London unveil capital spending plans which will provide £7.6 billion of work over the next financial year alone
A design for life

The design concepts for the new £193 million Library of Birmingham by Dutch architects Mecanoo Architecten were unveiled today.
ABS wins £1.5m M&E job

Mechanical and electrical contractor ABS London has scooped a £1.5 million project to refurbish an office development in partnership with Collins Construction in Fenchurch Street, London.
Abu Dhabi seeks expressions of interest in Cleveland Clinic

Abu Dhabi has invited selected contractors to express interest in the main construction package for the Cleveland Clinic project.
Accidental death verdict reached in fall fatality

An inquest into the death of a joiner who died when he fell 6m from a faulty scaffold structure has recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Administrators pore over Mann contracts

Administrators are working their way through 38 contracts held by collapsed Mann Construction to ascertain what can be put back out to tender.
Almost open session

Work to convert the Middlesex Guildhall in Parliament Square for use as the UK’s new Supreme Court has reached the final stages.
Alnwick £1.9m retail

Plans approved
Arabtec secures municipal works in Dubai

Arabtec Engineering Services has won a AED150m ($40m) contract for drainage, sewerage and irrigation connections in Dubai.
Atkins appoints airport development director

Mike Pearson has been appointed as airport development director within Atkins’ highways & transportation business.
Atkins/Balfour Beatty team up for Network Rail Crossrail delivery partner

Atkins and Balfour Beatty have teamed up to bid for Network Rail’s project delivery partner role to oversee works for Crossrail and Reading.
Automatic high

Six escalators were lifted into place at the £100 million Cube project in Birmingham last week. Northern Installations fitted the escalators made and supplied by Otis, who are also providing the buildings lifts, in all four of its retail levels.
Ayr £1.5m commercial

Early planning
BAM wins £150m Edinburgh hospital job

BAM Construction has won the £150 million design-and-build contract for Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children.
Bank loan to help Park Plaza complete London hotel

Hotel group Park Plaza has secured a loan extension to allow it to complete the construction of the 1,021-room Westminster Bridge apartment hotel.
Barnard Castle £3.9m residential

Plans approved
Barnsley £4.4m residential

Plans approved
Baroness Ford to head 2012 legacy organisation

Royal Bank of Canada executive Baroness Ford will lead the company established to deliver legacy for the London 2012 Olympics.
Bath £8.2m health

Plans approved
Bids due for Abu Dhabi Fairmont

Contractors are preparing to submit bids on 31 March for the main construction package of the Fairmont hotel and serviced-apartments development in Abu Dhabi.
Birmingham £10m leisure

Plans approved
Birmingham £56m residential & commercial

Plans approved
Birmingham £6.1m health

Plans approved
Birmingham £74.4m residential

Plans approved
Birmingham £7m leisure

Plans approved
Black and Veatch claims considerate site award

A water treatment site project in rural Scotland has been crowned the most considerate in the UK by the Considerate Constructors Scheme.
Blackburn £22m industrial & commercial

Plans approved
Blackpool £20m transport

Plans approved
BLOG: Are we safer than we were a year ago?

You know what most people said to me when we first saw this week’s preliminary fatality figures from the Health and Safety Executive – don’t go popping that champagne just yet.
Bolton £4m transport

Plans approved
Bournemouth £11m leisure

Plans approved
Bournemouth £26m infrastructure

Road reconstruction
Bristol £10.7m residential

Plans approved
Bristol £13m education

Plans approved
Bristol £15m commercial

Plans approved
Bristol £22m commercial

Plans approved
Bristol £23m commercial

Plans approved
BSF is key for education starts

The education sector will be dependent on the Building Schools for the Future programme
BSS acquires Direct Heating Spares for £5.7m

BSS Group has completed its acquisition of Direct Heating Spares from the Gough family shareholders for a cash consideration of £5.7 million.
Build on time or not at all

In North Yorkshire contractor William Birch has less than a year to grow a new £3 million learning centre and library for the Royal Horticulture Society. Paul Thompson reports.
Caernarfon £5m water

Plans approved
Caerphilly £2.3m commercial & retail

Plans approved
Cambridge £2.2m residential

Plans approved
Cambridge £5m health

Plans approved
Cantebury £18.7m leisure

Plans approved
Cantebury £23m education

Plans approved
Cardiff £5.1m residential & commercial

Plans approved
Carluke £3.1m leisure

Plans approved
CCO role “could cost £750k a year”

A Chief Construction Officer could cost the taxpayer as much as £750,000 a year, according to estimates believed to have been put on the position by the Government.
College principals to help prioritise BCF funding

A panel of college principals will be set up to help the Government define the criteria for prioritising funding for stalled Building Colleges for the Future projects.
Construction diploma skills boost

The construction industry was given a skills boost this morning with 57 new consortia given the green light to offer places on the Diploma in Construction and Built Environment from next year.
Construction Parliamentary Update - 03 April 2009

A round up of all the construction news from Westminster this week brought to you by the Madano Partnership.
Construction set for biggest ever falls in output

The construction industry is set to suffer a 12 per cent fall in construction output - the worst on record - latest forecasts from the Construction Products Association have revealed.
Contractors battle for place on public work ‘super framework’

Up to 50 contractors are fighting for a place on what could become a public sector ‘super framework’, Construction News understands.
Corby £1.1m energy

Plans approved
Corby £10m commercial

Plans approved
Costain wins £397m Greater Manchester waste contract

Costain has been awarded a £397 million contract by Viridor Laing to design and build municipal waste treatment infrastructure as part of the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority’s PFI Waste and Recycling Contract.
Coventry £31m health

Plans approved
Coventry £4m residential

Plans approved
Cowbridge £21.5m education

Plans approved
Crossrail names early works framework

Crossrail has named its Enabling Works Framework, which will see the chosen firms bidding for early works packages on the £16 billion Crossrail project.
Crossrail shafts removed from central tunnel

Crossrail has reached an agreement with the Mayor of London and the London Fire Brigade to remove eight of the proposed permanent access and ventilation shafts from the central tunnelled section of the new railway.
Crossrail to follow Highways track

Crossrail will look to the example of the Highways Agency to promote collaborative working among its contractors and supply chain
Darlington £1m commercial

Plans approved
Das receives bids for Sea View resort in Dubai

UAE developer Das Real Estate has received bids for a contract to build the Sea View Club Hotel & Apartments in Dubai.
Definition of zero-carbon is not quite there

The past six months has seen the construction industry inundated with requests for consultation on carbon and sustainability.
Derby £3m health

Plans approved
Developers set to review Kuwait property plans

Real estate projects in Kuwait will still go ahead, but developers need to review their plans to meet changing market conditions says US real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle.
Diss £1.7m residential

Plans approved
Doing business in India: Entering the market

The workforce, funding, tax and contracts
Doing business in India: Facts, figures, events and links

Useful facts and where to go for more information
Doing business in India: What to expect culturally

India is hugely diverse in terms of culture and religion, and has 18 official languages, 15 of which have their own script.
Dover £172m transport

Plans approved
Dover £27m residential

Plans approved
Dundee £150m water

Plans approved
DWP's deaths inquiry report delayed for two months

The final report for the Government’s inquiry into construction fatalities has been delayed until late June.
Ebbw Vale £3.5m residential

Plans approved
Ellesmere Port £45m energy

Plans approved
Eye £5m commercial

Plans approved
Foster review leaves contractors guessing

Sir Andrew Foster’s review of the Building Colleges for the Future funding fiasco offers “little comfort” for contractors, according to a senior figure.
From restorer to housebuilder: expansion during the recession

A contractor known for restoration is diversifying its business in tough times
Galliford Try preferred for £60m Worcester PFI project

Galliford Try has been named preferred bidder on a £60 million PFI project to develop the new Worcester library and history centre for Worcestershire County Council in partnership with the University of Worcester.
Gateshead £1.3m commercial

Plans approved
Gateshead £5m leisure

Plans approved
Give new inspectors full powers, urges Ucatt

Construction union Ucatt has warned that the Health and Safety Executive’s plans to increase its frontline force could cause major problems unless the new inspectors are given full powers and long-term contracts.
Glasgow £1m leisure

£1m
Glasgow £80m commercial

Early planning
Go with the flow

Kier Southern is rebuilding Whitmore High in Harrow in a £40 million project for Harrow Council.
Gov funds £2.5m study for Swindon rail route

Transport minister Andrew Adonis has announced £2.5 million of Government funding for preparatory research in double tracking the 12 mile route between Swindon and Gloucester.
Govt ploughs on as critics slam Scottish Futures Trust

The Scottish Government has said it will continue to press on with plans to fund large-scale projects through the troubled Scottish Futures Trust, despite widespread criticism and accusations of “political treachery”.
Great Yarmouth £1m water

Plans approved
Grimsby £4m health

Plans approved
Halifax £4.5m infrastructure

Plans approved
Halifax £4.5m infrastructure

Plans approved
Hanson CEO: Recession has led to 2,000 job cuts

Aggregates and cement group Hanson has reduced its headcount by around 2,000 since the start of the downturn, UK CEO Patrick O’Shea said today.
HCA gives West Midlands £700m housing boost

The Homes and Communities Agency is to pump £700 million into housing construction in the West Midlands over the next two years.
Health helps give Wales a Q4 kick

Despite underlying starts being boosted by the health sector, the outlook remains tough
Heaviest falls on record…

With the amount of bad news that has been coming out, it is tempting to become desensitised to any new bad figures.
Holyhead £7.7m residential

Plans approved
How to get a new job

Employers are going to great efforts to avoid redundancies and hold on to their talent, according to a recent CIPD report.
HSE records fatalities drop

Forty-six workers and two members of the public were killed in construction-related accidents during the last nine months of 2008, new figures from the Health and Safety Executive have revealed.
Hull £200m energy

Plans approved
Image: ODA reveals Chobham Academy

The Olympic Delivery Authority and Olympic Village development partner Lend Lease have released new images today of the Chobham Academy education campus to be built within the Olympic Village.
IMAGES: Bridge lift at Olympic stadium site

New images from the Olympic Delivery Authority show the first permanent new bridge into the Olympic Stadium site being lifted into place.
Industry faces largest contraction on record

Construction is set for its biggest ever falls in output with the industry shrinking by 15.4 per cent by the end of 2010, according to the Construction Products Association.
Interserve scoops hospital deal

Interserve has been appointed lead development partner for the construction of a new community hospital in Yorkshire.
Ipswich £9m commercial

Plans approved
ISG Jackson clinches £13.7m Southwark job

ISG Jackson has won a £13.7 million deal to build a new library at Canada Water for Southwark Council.
James & Taylor win ExCel contract

James & Taylor has won a contract to clad the new extension to ExCel London.
Keller arm chases council for £4m

Makers UK, an insolvent arm of top 20 contractor Keller, is chasing more than £4 million from London’s Camden council in a bitter battle over a failed social housing contract.
Kendal £1.8m health

Plans approved
Kharafi National secures Dubai airport deal

Kuwait’s Kharafi National has won the estimated AED1.6bn ($435m) mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) works contract for Concourse 3 at Dubai International airport.
Kier, Wilmott Dixon and Wates secure spots on £200m councils framework

Kier, Wilmott Dixon and Wates have been chosen for the £200 million-plus East Midlands Property Alliance framework, Construction News understands.
Kuwait restarts prequalification for ring road

Kuwait’s Public Works Ministry has invited international contractors to resubmit prequalification documents for the second phase of its first ring-road project.
Lanarck £200k energy

Early planning
Lancaster £5m education

Plans approved
Leeds £650m Trinity Quarter work on hold

The development consortium behind Leeds’ £650 million shopping scheme has admitted work is to go on hold.
Leeds £9m leisure

Plans approved
Leicester £19m education

Plans approved
Leicester £1m commercial

Plans approved
Leighton Buzzard £38.2m commercial

Plans approved
Lenders invest in greater caution

Finance companies are taking a softly softly approach to what they lend and where their money goes.
Lichfield £15m residential & commercial

Plans approved
Lincoln £38.4m residential

Plans approved
Llangefni £8m commercial

Plans approved
Llansantffraid £2m water

Plans approved
London £1.2m education

Early planning
London £1.5m commercial

Plans approved
London £1.6m health

Plans approved
London £1.9m commercial

Plans approved
London £1m commercial

Early planning
London £1m leisure

Plans approved
London £21.5m commercial

Early planning
London £24.8m transport

Early planning
London £2m residential & commercial

Early planning
Loughborough £11.5m commercial & leisure

Plans approved
Lovell chosen for £3.5m Glasgow high-rise refurbishment

Affordable housing specialist Lovell has won a £3.5 million tower block refurbishment scheme in Cambuslang, Glasgow, for West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative.
Lovell launches new housing maintenance arm

Affordable housing specialist Lovell has launched a new housing maintenance business, Lovell Respond, following its acquisition of repairs and maintenance company BMS Property Care.
Lovell wins £2.5m Aylesbury housing refurbishment job

Affordable housing specialist Lovell has won a £2.5 million housing refurbishment in the Vale of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
Lovell wins £9.6m refurb work in Liverpool

Lovell has been awarded £9.6 million of housing refurbishment work in Liverpool.
Lovell wins place on £150m Syniad framework

Lovell has clinched a place on the £150 million development framework in Wales from Syniad Consortuim.
Low carbon building refurbishment makes business sense today

In moving to a low carbon economy the role of buildings is absolutely crucial.
Macclesfield £8.8m education

Plans approved
Mace: Shard steel deal "in next two or three weeks"

The steel contract for the Shard of Glass is set to be signed “in the next two or three weeks”, Mace chief executive Stephen Pycroft has said.
Mansell awarded £7.2m Somerset housing contract

Mansell Partnership Housing has won a £7.2 million contract to build 73 homes in Somerset for Raglan Housing Association.
March £2.8m commercial

Plans approved
Maryport £2m commercial

Plans approved
May Gurney trading in line with expectations

May Gurney is ‘on-track’ for trading to be in line with expectations for 2008 as its ended the year with over £15 million net cash.
May Gurney wins £90m North Lincs BSF deal

May Gurney has beaten off competition from a Sewell Group-led consortium to win the £90 million North Lincolnshire Building Schools for the Future contract.
Middlesbrough £1.1m industrial

Plans approved
Milton Keynes £20.7m residential

Plans approved
Milton Keynes £30m commercial

Plans approved
Moffat £890k residential

Early planning
Morgan Ashurst wins £11m Uni of Teeside job

Morgan Ashurst has been awarded an £11 million contract by the University of Teesside to build a four-storey undergraduate teaching facility for trainee dentistry professionals and sports therapists.
Morpeth £30m commercial

Plans approved
Morrison in Olympic rowing win

Morrison Construction has won the contract to construct enhanced rowing and canoe sprint facilities for the London 2012 Games near Windsor, Berkshire.
Nakheel cancels Village Centre contract with Samsung

Local developer Nakheel has cancelled its estimated $1.1bn contract with South Korea’s Samsung Corporation to build the Village Centre development on the Palm Jumeirah.
National Grid dishes out £1.2bn contracts

National Grid has awarded contracts worth up to £1.2 billion over the next 10 years to support both planned and reactive work on its four gas distribution networks.
Newport £325m infrastructure

Plans approved
Newton Abbot £22.3m residential

Plans approved
North Ferriby £13.1m commercial

Plans approved
North Midland Construction profit drops due to bad debts

North Midland Construction today revealed a 7.9 per cent drop in pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 December 2008 with bosses blaming bad debts.
North Shields £6m water

Plans approved
Northallerton £2.5m commercial

Plans approved
Northampton £7.8m commercial

Plans approved
Norwich £1.5m commercial

Plans approved
Norwich £1m residential

Plans approved
Norwich £4.2m education

Plans approved
Nottingham £3.1m residential

Plans approved
Paisley £880k residential

Early planning
Paving the way ahead

Highway maintenance contractor Ringway has added a Volvo wheeled paver to its fleet. The company, based in Horsham, west Sussex, has bought a Volvo ABG6870.
PC Harrington reports 64pc rise in pre-tax profits

PC Harrington has reported a 64 per cent rise in pre-tax profit and a 32.5 per cent rise in turnover for the year to 31 May 2008.
Perth £1.5m residential

Early planning
Preparing young people to be the next construction leaders

The CIOB and other firms are working on ways to develop junior staff
Prescot £10.5m commercial

Plans approved
Ramboll UK is born

Consultancy Ramboll Whitbybird has changed its name to Ramboll UK to mark its integration with the Ramboll group.
Raynsford calls for colleges caution

Former construction minister Nick Raynsford has warned the Government against giving secondary school delivery body Partnerships for Schools responsibility for the ailing college building programme.
Record £674m PFI announced to maintain Sheffield roads

More than £670 million will be spent on upgrading roads in Sheffield over the next 25 years, under the largest Private Finance Initiative to ever be granted to a local authority.
Residential development land values fall

The value of development land across the UK fell by an average of 50 per cent during the course of 2008, according to the latest figures from the Knight Frank Residential Development Land index.
Riyadh extends monorail tender deadline

The Finance Ministry has extended the tender closing date by one week to 4 April for the estimated SR3.75bn ($1bn) contract to build the monorail at Princess Noura bint Abdulrahman University for Women.
Rugby £3m infrastructure

Plans approved
Rushden £1.2m residential

Plans approved
Salford £12m commercial

Plans approved
Salisbury £11m commercial

Plans approved
Sandwich £53.1m commercial

Plans approved
Site managers can step up to leadership given the right training

How do you get site managers - who may not have had any kind of formal teaching since they were teenagers - to be leaders?
Skipton £2.4m residential

Plans approved
Southampton £35m energy

Plans approved
Sowerby Bridge £2.2m commercial

Plans approved
Specialist apprenticeships are little known but much loved

The current economic climate provides challenges to construction, but longer-term predictions denote strong growth for the industry.
Stafford Council greenlights £23m regen scheme

The council has approved a £23-million sustainable mixed-use development for Stafford town centre.
Stockport £2.2m retail

Plans approved
Swansea £5m commercial

Plans approved
Tamworth £7m residential

Plans approved
Taylor Wimpey debt negotiations end on back of £1.97bn loss

Taylor Wimpey today revealed a £1.97 billion loss for 2008 as it confirmed it had agreed a new debt facility bringing an end to its long running renegotiations.
Taylor Woodrow loses £30m Baker Street contract

Taylor Woodrow has become the first casualty of Transport for London’s £2.9 billion budget published this week, which saw the scrapping of the £30 million Baker Street step-free access scheme.
Tenders this summer for £200m Baby Shard

Tenders are expected to be invited for the office block neighbouring the Shard of Glass this summer, with Shard builders Mace likely to bid for the £200 million project.
Tessa Jowell: Construct me the 'great British garden'

A nation-wide competition has been launched by Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell to design a “great British garden” at the London 2012 Olympic Park.
Test piling for Simplex on the M40

Simplex Foundations is installing preliminary test piles and working bearing piles for the construction of a new road bridge spanning the M40 Motorway as part of the M40 J15 bypass currently underway in Warwickshire.
The end of the golf day

Ten things to cut in the recession, before you cut your marketing no.7 – golf days
Three firms bid for $11bn Doha airport work

At least three companies have bid for the contract to build three utility plants at the $11bn New Doha International airport (NDIA).
To claim or not to claim?

Upon completion of any construction project there will be discussion of unresolved issues while the project was underway.
Trade questions Tory plans to devolve housing delivery

Trade bodies have questioned Conservative Party plans to devolve power for housing delivery to a local level.
Transforming Tate Modern

The revised plans for the new building to ‘Transform Tate Modern’ have received a resolution to grant planning permission by the London Borough of Southwark.
Travis Perkins appoints non-executive director

Travis Perkins has appointed Philip Jansen as a non-executive director on 9 April 2009.
Tycoon Roger Smee scoops three fit out firms for £50m

Property entrepreneur Roger Smee has bought three design and fit out businesses for £49 million and floated them on the AIM stock market.
Viridor Laing scoops £640m Manchester waste job

Viridor Laing has signed a £3.8 billion Private Finance Initiative waste and recycling contract for the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority.
What to do if a client winds up insolvent

Construction has traditionally been a high risk industry for insolvency, but most case law and guidance focuses on insolvent contractors.
Wigan £9m education

Plans approved
Willmott Dixon to bid for BSF work

Willmott Dixon is looking at bidding for Building Schools for the Future work as a main contractor as it continues to grow despite the downturn.
Winning construction work: India

The BRIC country hopes to spend vast amounts on infrastructure during the next four years
Working hours opt-out under final talks

Construction firms will find out this month whether they have lost their right to work more than 48 hours per week.
World War II shelter found on Rochdale demolition site

A two-man air-raid shelter from World War II has been uncovered on a demolition site in the North-west.
Wrekin Construction's £11m ruby to be revalued this week

The mystery surrounding the value of Wrekin Construction’s £11 million Gem of Tanzania is set to be solved this week.
Wrexham £25.3m health

Plans approved

Construction News9 April 2009

Construction News
9 April 2009