Construction News
Mark Lewis

Autumn statement: did last year's pledges make a difference?

20-Nov-2012
In November last year George Osborne promised a bounty for construction firms, including support for 40 long-term priority schemes and the creation of innovative streams of funding for infrastructure projects.
Three secure place on £280 million Sellafield framework

13-Nov-2012
Amec, Hertel and Shepley Engineers have been selected as preferred partners for the £280 million Multi Discipline Site Works framework at the Sellafield Nuclear site in Cumbria.
NSCC picks 14 fair payment Champions

13-Nov-2012
The National Specialist Contractors Council has recognised 14 individuals it highlights as pushing forward its campaign for fair payment in the construction industry.
Brace of dramatic West Midland rescues in less than a week

13-Nov-2012
A 75ft crane winch of an injured worker at a Costain site in Birmingham, Monday, became the second dramatic West Midlands rescue in less than a week.
Crossrail awards £50m signalling contract

12-Nov-2012
A consortium of Siemens and Invensys Rail has won the £50 million contract for the design and build of the signalling system for the central section of Crossrail.
Amey defends 1p highways bids

12-Nov-2012
Amey is disputing a decision by Transport Scotland to reject a road bid the Scottish procurement agency dubbed “unusually low”.
Contractor sought for £75 million Green Deal framework

12-Nov-2012
West Sussex County Council is in a preparatory phase for the procurement of its £75 million scheme to upgrade social housing stock through the government’s Green Deal.
Gantry collapses at Westbourne Park Crossrail site

28-Sep-2012
A gantry at the Crossrail site at Westbourne Park station in West London has collapsed over tracks, bringing work there to a halt on Thursday afternoon.
Contractor sought for £478m Highways Agency job

27-Sep-2012
A contractor is being sought for construction and operation of the new toll scheme for the Dartford Crossing in east London.
Government 'can't guarantee' uptake of its standardised PQQ

26-Sep-2012
The government cannot guarantee it is using its own standardised PQQ process in Whitehall construction procurement.
Keepmoat subcontractor risks collapse after late payments

25-Sep-2012
A subcontractor owed £900,000 by the former Apollo group is on the brink of administration on the back of late payments from the contractor.
Scottish construction hampered by sluggish planners

16-Apr-2012
Scottish councils are routinely delaying planning decisions beyond their legally required length, despite a dramatic reduction in the number of people employed in construction.
Lanes scoops £216m Thames Water deal

13-Apr-2012
Lanes has landed its biggest ever contract, with a £216 million sewage deal with water giant, Thames Water.
Shepherd appoints senior managers to South Division

13-Apr-2012
Shepherd Construction has made two senior appointments beefing up its South Division.
SMEs risk losing out on green future

13-Apr-2012
CITB-Construction Skills boss, Mark Farrar has warned SMEs that they risk getting left behind by green-minded rivals if they fail to prepare for Europe’s green future.
Contractors sign up to green pledge

13-Apr-2012
UKCG members have pledged to procure building materials from sustainable sources.
Arcadis to drop "Davis Langdon" name

12-Apr-2012
Arcadis, the international consultancy, will drop the “Davis Langdon” name from its new Asia-focused acquisition, Davis Langdon & Seah (DLS).
Leicestershire auction set for April

11-Apr-2012
Some 630 pieces of plant and vehicles will go under the hammer on April 17, in what auctioneer Ritchie Bros is dubbing one of the biggest industrial auctions ever.
New bid contest for £16 million Blackpool hospital job

11-Apr-2012
Contractors are being sought for a £16 million design and build scheme for a car park at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
Arcadis buys Asian consultancy, Davis Langdon & Seah

11-Apr-2012
Arcadis, the Dutch-based international consultancy, has bought the Asia-focused QS and project management consultancy, Davis Langdon & Seah.
Contractors line up for £35m Buxton Spa scheme

10-Apr-2012
Four contractors are in the running to win the £35 million Buxton Spa hotel scheme.
Electrical contractors facing pessimistic 12 months

10-Apr-2012
The outlook for electrical contractors throughout the rest of the year is dim, according to a new survey.
Miller wins £11m Durham extension

10-Apr-2012
Miller Construction has been awarded the £11 million contract to build an extension for Durham Business school.
"Urban explorers" scale London Shard

10-Apr-2012
A group of daredevils has broken into the Shard in London and scaled 80 storeys to take pictures from its summit.
Social landlord seeks contractors for £500 million framework

14-Mar-2012
Social landlord, A2Dominion is seeking contractors for its four-year, new-build framework for the South East.
Apollo departs Welsh housing job

14-Mar-2012
Property services contractor, Apollo has left a £700,000 Welsh contract amidst concerns from tenants over the quality of work.
Suspected construction-linked money laundering scam cracked by police

13-Mar-2012
A suspected money laundering operation involving construction companies as fronts for a vast VAT scam has been uncovered by police.
Nuclear construction threatens UK sovereignty, say campaigners

13-Mar-2012
Willmott Dixon non-executive director, Jonathan Porritt has signed a letter to the Prime Minister claiming that the construction of two new nuclear power plants was handing UK energy policy to France.
£30 million shaved off Mersey Gateway job

13-Mar-2012
Contractors shortlisted for the Mersey Gateway project have seen £30 million shaved of the value of the project.
Narrative verdict for crane death duo, as parents weep in court

12-Mar-2012
Liliana Alexa wept as the jury in the inquest into the death of her son, Michael, returned a “narrative verdict” to Westminster Coroner’s Court this afternoon.
Midas wins £12m Plymouth refurbishment job

9-Mar-2012
Midas has won the £12 million contract to refurbish homes in the North Prospect estate for Plymouth council.
Contractor sought for £25m Bath student complex

9-Mar-2012
Bath Spa University is looking for a contractor to build the next phase of its £40 million modernisation programme.
SME workers 'unaware' of the Green Deal, as DECC injects £3m for training

8-Mar-2012
Construction workers in smaller firms are unaware what the Green Deal is, however government announces new funding for the scheme.
TfL gets through first heat in race to reopen Hammersmith Flyover

7-Mar-2012
The first phase of the emergency works to shore up the Hammersmith flyover in West London have been completed.
Planning permission for West London Nine Elms scheme

7-Mar-2012
Wandsworth Council has approved plans for a giant mixed use development in its Nine Elms regeneration zone.
Failure to build third Heathrow terminal will cost £8.5bn a year

7-Mar-2012
Government failure to green light a third runway at Heathrow will cost 141,000 jobs and £8.5 billion a year, according to a report.
Crossrail Woolwich deadline under threat

23-Feb-2012
Deadlines are looming for construction of the £100 million Crossrail station at Woolwich as the funding impasse over the fit-out threatens to scupper its 2018 opening.
Boots head of storecare handed £4.5bn education brief

21-Feb-2012
Boots’ head of Storecare Michael Green has been appointed as the new director of capital for the Education Funding Agency, which will replace Partnerships for Schools in April.
Balfour Beatty pulls out of BESNA

17-Feb-2012
Balfour Beatty Engineering Services (BBES) has pulled out of BESNA.
UKCG beefs up safety

17-Feb-2012
The UKCG has beefed up its safety standards, demanding contractors develop a roadmap for implementation.
Land Sec to build £1bn west London scheme

16-Feb-2012
Land Securities and Canada Pension Plan have formed a joint partnership to develop the £1 billion Victoria Circle scheme in West London.
Balfour Beatty sparks win right to strike

16-Feb-2012
Balfour Beatty’s attempt to prevent an electricians’ strike against the new Besna deal has failed.
£25 million sports arena to come to market

16-Feb-2012
Derby City council will shortly be inviting bids for a £40m sports arena next to Pride Park football stadium.
Knocking down Battersea chimneys would be worth £470m more to developers, says EC Harris

15-Feb-2012
A chimney-free Battersea Power station would be worth up to £470 million more to a developer than retaining the iconic London landmarks.
RICS rolls out environmental benchmarking to restaurants and retailers

15-Feb-2012
RICS has extended its office fit-out, environmental rating system to retailers and restaurants
100 jobs at risk as JP Group calls in administrators

15-Feb-2012
A Gloucestershire contractor has been placed into administration, threatening the jobs of 100.
Government must provide capital boost, says CPA

15-Feb-2012
A large plurality of contractors experienced a poorer final quarter of 2011 compared with the same period the year before.
Colleges must involve industry, says skills body

15-Feb-2012
CITB-ConstructionSkills has told University Technical Colleges to put employer involvement at their centre of their courses.
Zero carbon confusion harming energy efficiency, says report

14-Feb-2012
Confusion over zero carbon continues to be an obstacle to adoption of low carbon living, according to new research by the NHBC Foundation.
Bond Street Crossrail timing slips

14-Feb-2012
The £200 million contract for the construction of a Crossrail station at Bond Stret in central London has been delayed until 2013.
Contractors sought for £400 million housing contract

14-Feb-2012
Southern based social landlord, A2Dominion Group is seeking two contractors for maintenance work across its 33,000 home estate.
Sparks protest expected at ECA dinner

14-Feb-2012
Around 100 electricians are set to protest at the entrance to the Electrical Contractors Association gala dinner in London tomorrow night.
Man dies after being struck by a forklift at Jewson

13-Feb-2012
A man has died in an accident involving a forklift truck at a Jewson unit in Oxfordshire.
Developer signs Yorkshire housing agreement

13-Feb-2012
London Developer, Yoo Capital has signed a deal with Yorkshire housebuilder, Trilandium, to fund a pipeline of homes across the Northern county.
Protesters camp at Hinkley nuclear site

13-Feb-2012
Nuclear protesters have set up camp on the site of the proposed Hinkley C power plant over plans to undertake preparatory works before planning permission for the plant is granted.
Analysis: Blacklist files reveal extent of information on workers

9-Feb-2012
Last week, Construction News revealed evidence suggesting union representatives may have “liaised” with contractors to blacklist workers from construction jobs.
New energy secretary urged to step up

8-Feb-2012
Contractors have warned Ed Davey that he has inherited a tough ministerial brief after becoming energy and climate change secretary following the resignation of Chris Huhne.
Union suspected of blacklist collusion

2-Feb-2012
Evidence has emerged that suggests union representatives may have “liaised” with contractors to blacklist workers from construction jobs.
UKCG tells contractors to lobby local government

26-Jan-2012
UK contractors are being encouraged to use evidence to lobby harder for funding for local projects.
Three companies fined after promising athlete falls from roof

25-Jan-2012
Three contractors have been fined a total of £336,000 after a worker fell through a roof in Dundee, sustaining injuries which threaten his career as a gymnast.
Contractor fined over injuries to coma man

25-Jan-2012
Nottinghamshire engineering contractor, Van Elle has been fined £12,750 after one of its staff was left with “life changing injuries” following an accident on an excavator.
CITB: 45,000 jobs to go in 2012

25-Jan-2012
Trades to be hit hardest as skills body forecasts five years in the doldrums
UCATT pledge to fight for Norwich Fountains workers

24-Jan-2012
UCATT has rallied around workers who have lost their jobs in Norwich following administration of Fountains this week.
Morgan Sindall scraps internal PQQs

24-Jan-2012
Morgan Sindall has become the latest main contractor to sign up for the “Builders Profile” scheme joining the likes of Kier and Osborne in accepting centralised PQQs from subbies.
Bids sought for £22 million NHS unit

24-Jan-2012
Bids are being invited for a £22 million intensive care unit at Kings College Hospital in South London.
VolkerFitzpatrick seal Felixstowe rail deal

24-Jan-2012
VolkerFitzpatrick has clinched a £20 million contract to build a freight rail terminal at Felixstowe port.
450 jobs go as ex-Connaught firm enters administration

24-Jan-2012
Former Connaught subsidiary and FM specialist Fountains has been bought out of administration by OCS Group for an undisclosed sum.
Staffordshire beefs up roads budget

24-Jan-2012
Staffordshire County council will hand an additional £20 million to contractors for road maintenance projects staring in April.
Roalco wins £72m social housing contract

23-Jan-2012
Essex social housing specialist, Roalco, has won a £72 million contract from Home Group, to cover maintenance across its South East housing estate.
"Cyril" finally dropped from Sweett Group name

23-Jan-2012
The construction consultancy formerly called Cyril Sweett, has completed the rebranding exercise which lopped the founder’s first name off the company’s title.
Regulator prosecutes Network Rail for Grayrigg train derailment

13-Jan-2012
Network Rail is facing prosecution over a derailment near Grayrigg in 2007, which killed one woman and injured 86.
Unite calls for Balfour Beatty strikes

12-Jan-2012
Balfour Beatty staff are being reballoted for a strike in an escalation of a dispute between the company and its electrical engineers.
SIG profits set to soar

12-Jan-2012
Profits at European building products group, SIG, are set to exceed market expectations.
Outlook for commerical property weakens

12-Jan-2012
Expectations for commercial property rents fell in the last quarter of 2011, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
Tesco scraps plans for new hypermarkets

12-Jan-2012
Tesco will halt the roll out of its biggest UK stores in favour of online and international growth.
ISG awarded second Dudley College contract

28-Nov-2011
ISG has won a contract for the construction of a new sixth form building for Dudley College in the West Midlands.
Tesco subsidiary Spenhill to redevelop Kent town

25-Nov-2011
Tesco’s regeneration subsidiary, Spenhill, has been given planning permission to redevelop Sittingbourne town centre in Kent.
Lend Lease land multi-million National Theatre contract

25-Nov-2011
Lend Lease has won a £35 million contract to redevelop the National Theatre on London’s South Bank.
Low carbon future requires more sensible infrastructure says ICE

25-Nov-2011
Investment in road infrastructure will be critical in developing a low-carbon transport network, according to a report from the Institute of Civil Engineers.
Babcock closes in on £500 million fire contract

25-Nov-2011
Engineering support services firm Babcock has been named preferred bidder for a 25 year contract by the London Fire Brigade to develop training facilities.
Lucas to fit out Thames cable-car stations

25-Nov-2011
The fit out contract for the stations either side of London’s Olympic cablecar project has been handed to specialist firm Lucas Fit Out.
Minister seeks tidal investment

25-Nov-2011
The UK government has urged international neighbours to help unlock €450 million (£385 million) of investment in marine power projects.
Housebuilder in £55 million London scheme

25-Nov-2011
Taylor Wimpey has signed a £55 million agreement with commercial developer Workspace to convert 53,000 sqft of offices in North London into flats.
Central London £20 million framework up for grabs

25-Nov-2011
The City of London is procuring a £20 million framework for minor construction, refurbishment and M&E works across its estate.
New Zealand seeks UK builders

25-Nov-2011
New Zealand is reaching out to British construction workers to rebuild its shattered infrastructure after February’s earthquake.
Welsh Assembly £90 million infrastructure boost

25-Nov-2011
The Welsh Assembly has committed almost £90 million to infrastructure projects over the next three years.
Network Rail on course to make ambitious savings as investment rises

24-Nov-2011
Network Rail intensified its capital programme in the first six months of 2011, increasing works by 20 per cent to £2 billion compared with the same period last year.
Contractors sought for £130 million new build framework

24-Nov-2011
North West housing association collective, Procure Plus, has issued a tender notice for a £130 million new build framework.
Northampton set for 'innovative Cube'

17-Nov-2011
West Northampton Development Corporation has submitted plans for a five-story cube, which the organisation hopes will kick-start development in the town.
Crossrail inviting tenders for £35 million station

16-Nov-2011
Crossrail has issued an OJEU notice for the £35 million design and build of Custom House station.
Student accommodation specialist wary of new developments

16-Nov-2011
The Unite Group has said its pipeline of six student accommodation projects were on course, but warned it would not commit to any new schemes until it had resolved its debt situation.
Speedy back in the black

16-Nov-2011
Plant hire group Speedy posted underlying profits of £4.8 million in the six months to September 30.
Housing specialist becomes civil service chief

15-Nov-2011
The former chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency has been appointed head of the civil service.
Keller Group warns on profits and closes St Helens office

15-Nov-2011
Ground engineering specialist, Keller Group has issued a profits warning to the City and said it planned to close one of its UK offices.
British Land bullish on London office schemes

15-Nov-2011
British Land has committed £1.9 billion of building work throughout the UK since March 2010.
Vinci to build South Bank dance studio

15-Nov-2011
Vinci Construction is set to add to London’s historic South Bank with the construction of an £8.6m dance studio for Rambert Dance Company.
JT Atkinson set to expand further in the North-east backed by RBS funding

9-Nov-2011
Independent builders merchants JT Atkinson has opened five new branches in the North of England increasing its estate to 13.
Border Demolition in liquidation

9-Nov-2011
Scottish demolition firm, Border Demolition, has been wound up.
Erosion of margins sees 211 jobs lost at major UK glazier

8-Nov-2011
One of Britain’s biggest glaziers, AC Yule, has been put into administration with the loss of 211 jobs.
HMRC to crack down on North-west tax dodgers

8-Nov-2011
Builders in North Wales and the North-west of England are being targeted in a government tax-dodging crackdown aimed at raising £7 billion a year.
RICS survey shows housing market 'fluttering into life'

8-Nov-2011
Activity in the housing market picked up in October as sellers began taking lower offers for their homes, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
Construction failures up 38pc

8-Nov-2011
The number of construction companies entering administration is 38 per cent higher than it was in the same period last year.
Spirit offers £445m framework

1-Nov-2011
North East social housing partnership, Spirit, is seeking contractors for a £445 million framework deal.
Government slashes solar funding

31-Oct-2011
The government has confirmed plans to more than halve state subsidies for solar panel schemes of up to 4 kilowatts.
London weakness hits house prices

31-Oct-2011
House prices fell for the sixth month in a row in October, with even London’s market grinding to a halt, according to housing research firm, Hometrack.
Developer submits plans for £350m Croydon tower

31-Oct-2011
Guildhouse and Rosepride Properties have submitted a planning application for a £350 million, 55-storey skyscraper in Croydon.
Contractors lined up to work with ex Partnership for Schools boss

28-Oct-2011
Morgan Sindall, Willmott Dixon and Bouygues have all been lined up to work with Cornerstone, the development firm set up by ex-Partnership for Schools boss, Tim Byles.
Construction tops insolvencies list

27-Oct-2011
There were more insolvencies in construction than in any other sector in the first six months of 2011, according to credit insurer, Euler Hermes.
BSF "made the schools estate worse"

27-Oct-2011
The bulk of England’s secondary schools estate is in a worse condition than it would have been had Building Schools for the Future never happened, the head of the Department for Education’s Central Capital Unit told a conference today.
MBO at Kent civil engineer

26-Oct-2011
Managers at Maidenhead civil engineering firm, Options Utility Services, have bought the company out of administration.
NSCC chairman's firm in administration

26-Oct-2011
Northumberland suspended ceilings firm, Classic Excel, has been placed in administration.
Government report slams infrastructure procurement

7-Sep-2011
A government report into infrastructure supply chains has slated the UK’s public procurement landscape and identified five cross-sector performance barriers.
Residents uninterested in Green Deal

2-Sep-2011
Consumer appetite for retrofitting homes is small, even when offered for free, according to a Social Housing Association report.
Browns in administration

1-Sep-2011
A 150 year old North West builder has been placed in administration with the loss of 18 jobs.
Schedules of Dayworks published

31-Aug-2011
The Civil Engineering Contractors Association has published its latest Schedules of Dayworks report.
Transport facing deep supply chain problems: BIS

31-Aug-2011
UK transport projects face greater supply chain obstacles than any other infrastructure sector, according to a Government report.
Redbridge looks to scrap Almo

31-Aug-2011
Redbridge Council has proposed scrapping its scandal-hit Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) and bringing council house servicing back in house.
Speedy's £1m London depot relocation

31-Aug-2011
Plant hire group Speedy has relocated its London power depot from Charlton to Erith in Kent, creating 15 new jobs.
Suspended prison sentence for roof fall

31-Aug-2011
A self-employed roofing contractor whose friend died after falling through the roof of a domestic garage has been handed an eight month suspended prison sentence.
Network rail has extra £1bn to spend

16-Jun-2011
Network Rail will have an extra £1 billion to spend on railway capital projects over the next three years.
Network Rail told to improve safety culture

16-Jun-2011
The Office of Rail Regulation has told Network Rail it must improve its safety culture.
Commercial planning approvals leap

14-Jun-2011
The number of planning approvals for commercial property schemes leapt 16 per cent in 2010, according to commercial law firm EMW.
Industry figures honoured by queen

13-Jun-2011
Carillion chief executive John McDonough is one of three industry leaders to have picked up CBEs in the Queen’s birthday honours list.
Schools decision could take all year

19-May-2011
Contractors could be forced to wait until the end of the year for a new schools building system, amid fears centralised procurement proposals in the James Review will be watered down by the government.
Liverpool investigates new schools formula

13-May-2011
Liverpool City Council has drawn up plans to build four scrapped secondary schools at half the cost of the original proposals.
Bam to build £45 million Aston Univerity scheme

13-May-2011
Bam Construction Midlands will carry out the second phase of Aston University’s £215 million student accommodation scheme.
UK projects in line for EU low-carbon bounty

11-May-2011
UK Contractors’ share of a £4 billion EU fund for low carbon projects in the UK came a step closer today, when the Government submitted 12 plans to Brussels.
McLaren to build £10m West London storage facility

10-May-2011
McLaren Construction has begun work on a £10 million self-storage facility in West London, for Big Yellow.
Turnover grows at HSS Group

10-May-2011
HSS Group has posted a turnover hike of 12 per cent for the first three months of 2011.
Cash bonanza for nuclear energy firms

10-May-2011
Nuclear clients will have an additional £50 million a year in their coffers for the next two decades, according to the government.
New house sellers enter market but prices remain subdued

10-May-2011
Stabilising house prices are luring sellers back to the market, according to The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
BUDGET 2011 Regional Breakdown: West Midlands

23-Mar-2011
The Government has guaranteed investment for the Midland Metro Extension
BUDGET 2011 Regional Breakdown: South East

23-Mar-2011
Harwell in Oxfordshire will be handed £20 million in additional funding to build two new science centres as part of the Government’s £100 million science bounty announced in today’s Budget.
BUDGET 2011 Regional Breakdown: London

23-Mar-2011
London will be one of the first cities to benefit from the proposed Enterprise Zones announced in today’s Budget and will host one of nine Centres for Innovative Manufacturing.
BUDGET 2011: Keep promises on red tape urges CECA

23-Mar-2011
The Civil Engineering Contractors’ Association has challenged the government to live up to its promise to slash the waste in public procurement.
BUDGET 2011: Cost of procurement to be slashed by 20pc

23-Mar-2011
The Government has promised the construction industry it will remove as much as 20 per cent of the cost of public procurement.
BUDGET 2011: Tax relief to non-doms to provide construction boost

23-Mar-2011
Steven Herring, construction specialist at accountancy firm, BDO, has said non-domiciles will take advantage of tax breaks to breathe new life into UK construction.
BUDGET 2011: Kier to take advantage of training investment

23-Mar-2011
Bosses at Kier Building Maintenance have pledged to take advantage of new apprenticeships and work experience measures announced in today’s Budget.
BUDGET 2011: Additional apprenticeships promised

23-Mar-2011
Chancellor George Osborne has promised to increase the number of apprentices for UK businesses by 40,000 a year.
BUDGET 2011: Corporation tax to fall quicker than previously announced

23-Mar-2011
The government has speeded up the reduction in the level of corporation tax for businesses.
Debates delay zero carbon definition

27-Jan-2011
Agreement on a definition of zero carbon for homes has been further delayed by debate about whether the classification should change depending on where you are in the country.
Travis Perkins to keep Walsall store

24-Jan-2011
Travis Perkins, the builders merchants group, will be allowed to retain its Walsall store after the Office of Fair Trading ruled that competition there was sufficiently robust.
Mouchel 'actively reviewing' Costain takeover bid

21-Jan-2011
The Mouchel board is “actively reviewing” Costain’s latest offer to buy the company.
Employment on Olympic site set to peak

21-Jan-2011
The number of construction workers employed on the Olympic Village and Olympic Park has reached 12,112.
Lovell to build Nottingham homes

21-Jan-2011
Morgan Sindall’s affordable housing arm Lovell has won an £8.2 million contract to build 95 homes in Nottingham.
Inquest begins on death of gas contractor

20-Jan-2011
The inquest has begun on the death of a contractor, thought to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning while renovating a property in Cheshire.
Council approval for Century-long plan for coastal defenses

20-Jan-2011
North East Lincolnshire council has greenlighted a plan which will form the blueprint for construction work to protect its coastline for the next 100 years.
Bids wanted for hospital PFI

20-Jan-2011
The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital has invited bids for a £70 million redevelopment of its north London site.
Galliford Try kicks off work on £1bn Scottish programme

20-Jan-2011
Work has started on the first project in Scotland’s £1 billion hub programme.
Leicestershire masterplan put to public

19-Jan-2011
A masterplan for the regeneration of Earl Shilton and Barwell in Leicestershire has been put to public consultation.
Newcastle contractor in administration

19-Jan-2011
Newcastle contractor Dorin Construction has been placed into administration with the loss of 100 jobs.
Contractors fear soaring inflation

18-Jan-2011
Contractors are watching UK inflation with trepidation as last month it soared to its highest level since April 2010.
Housing outlook remains downcast

18-Jan-2011
House prices will remain subdued well into 2011, continuing a trend dating back to the Spring of 2010, according to the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors.
Lavendon board sees off Ashtead interest

18-Jan-2011
Plant hire group Ashtead has abandoned its plan to purchase the UK business of rival Lavendon.
Thames cable car set for planning permission

17-Jan-2011
A cable car spanning the Thames in East London, and due in time for the Olympics in 2012, is set to get planning permission tomorrow.
Battersea Power Station a step closer says developer

14-Jan-2011
The firm behind the £4.5 billion Battersea Power Station redevelopment has issued a bullish trading statement claiming it has garnered significant interest from firms prepared to invest in the project.
Leeds £40m redevelopment plans submitted

14-Jan-2011
Plans for a £40 million student development in Leeds city centre have been submitted to the city council.
Biomedical research centre slated for north London

14-Jan-2011
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has given a greenlight to plans to build Europe’s largest biomedical research centre in Camden, north London.
Lavendon turns down approach from Ashtead

13-Jan-2011
Plant hire firm Lavendon has rebuffed an approach for the business from rival Ashtead.
Ashtead seeks to buy rival Lavendon

13-Jan-2011
Plant hire firm Ashtead has teamed up with Belgium’s TVH to launch a bid for rival Lavendon Group.
Galliford Try results strong despite uncertain market

13-Jan-2011
Galliford Try enjoyed a housebuilding rebound in the second half of 2010, with a 28 per cent year on year uplift in housing completions.
Funding revealed for 30 academies

13-Jan-2011
Construction News has learnt the funding allocations of 30 out of 75 schemes that education secretary Michael Gove put on ice in July.
Heron Plaza £500m plans approved

12-Jan-2011
Heron International has been given planning permission to build the £500 million Heron Plaza in London.
Concrete contractor in administration

12-Jan-2011
Concrete frame contractor Concentral has been put into administration, with the loss of 40 jobs.
New barracks for military medics

11-Jan-2011
Carillion has been awarded a contract to build the second phase of a training camp for military medics in Whittington near Lichfield.
Faithful & Gould reshuffles board

11-Jan-2011
Faithful & Gould framework director Sean Lynch has been appointed to the firm’s UK board.
Construction firms tell Cameron they will keep recruiting

10-Jan-2011
Bosses at construction firms, Balfour Beatty, Mitie and Amec, will tell David Cameron today that they will create hundreds of jobs and recruit more young people throughout 2011.
European makeover to save schools

9-Dec-2010
Continental-style computerised design and build techniques will be recommended by a government commissioned taskforce to help slash the cost of schools projects by half and “bring them into the 21st century”.
Housing lags behind fragile recovery

9-Dec-2010
Housebuilding continues to lag behind the painfully slow UK construction recovery, shrinking for the third month in a row according to an influential report.
NSCC: Construction fatalities at seven year low

6-Dec-2010
The number of workplace injuries has fallen to its lowest ever rate, according to a survey by the National Specialist Contractors’ Council.
Bovis Lend Lease to axe up to 150 Athletes' Village jobs

3-Dec-2010
Bovis Lend Lease is in redundancy consultations with 150 staff on the Athletes’ Village project for the 2012 Olympics.
New designs for Tottenham Court Road Crossrail unveiled

2-Nov-2010
Westminister City Council has received a planning application from Crossrail for its reworked Tottenham Court Road Station development.
Repetition of pre-qualification should be scrapped, says Government advisor

1-Nov-2010
Contractors should have to pre-qualify only once regardless of how many local authorities they work for, according to the Government’s new small business advisor.
Global opportunities could flow from £1bn CCS project

28-Oct-2010
Contractors bidding for the £1 billion carbon capture and storage facility approved in the Comprehensive Spending Review could put themselves in a position to win work all over the world, according to a key CCS proponent.
Government rubber stamps 16 roads jobs - but makes councils bid for further funding

26-Oct-2010
The government has published a list of 16 road schemes that will be taken forward - but is asking local authorities to compete for a share of £600 million for other mothballed schemes.
Delays and cuts on the Underground despite spending commitments

26-Oct-2010
Line upgrades to the Northern Line on London’s underground network will be delayed by at least two years, and a series of planned station upgrades will be scrapped.
Government issues lease for biggest UK gas storage facility

25-Oct-2010
The Department for Energy and Climate Change has issued a licence for the construction of a vast undersea gas storage facility in the North Sea, which could double the UK’s capacity by 2015.
Fresh doubt cast on council tax plan

9-Sep-2010
Housing associations have warned that council tax incentives will fall well short of replacing the 100,000-plus homes now mothballed by councils since regional targets were scrapped in July.
Recovery rush as housing growth slows

9-Sep-2010
Leading indicator finds growth has slowed across the industry in the run up to spending review.
Compliance division would have been more attractive than social housing

8-Sep-2010
Connaught’s social housing arm is likely to be less attractive to rival firms than its smaller compliance division would have been, according to one expert.
Sir Bob Kerslake to leave HCA

6-Sep-2010
Homes and Communities Agency chief executive Sir Bob Kerslake is to step down to become permanent secretary of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Clachan Construction in administration

8-Jul-2010
Scottish civil engineering and construction firm, Clachan Construction has been put into receivership.
Byles: no money back for BSF bidders

8-Jul-2010
Partnerships for Schools chief executive Tim Byles has ruled out compensating bidders for aborted Building Schools for the Future schemes.
Local Housing Trust plan under fire

8-Jul-2010
The Government’s “revolutionary” scheme to put planning decisions in the hands of local people has been criticised by one of the original architects of the policy.
OFT accused in cover pricing appeal

8-Jul-2010
Galliford Try’s legal team has accused the Office of Fair Trading of “losing control” in its prosecution of the contractor during the industry’s cover pricing scandal.
UKCG: Contractors should seek compensation

7-Jul-2010
UK Contractors Group director Steven Ratcliffe has warned the Government that contractors will expect compensation for their bid costs on aborted Building Schools for the Future Schemes.
Somerset was just days away from £600m BSF deal

7-Jul-2010
Somerset County Council was within a week of achieving financial close on its £600 million Building Schools for the Future deal when the plug was pulled by education secretary Michael Gove.
Government scraps Regional Spatial Strategies

6-Jul-2010
Local Government secretary Eric Pickles has confirmed he will scrap the Regional Spatial Strategies which the last government had used to impose house building targets on local authorities.
Government cuts £1.5bn

5-Jul-2010
The Government has stripped £1.5 billion of cash out of departmental spending, promised by the last administration.
Thames-spanning cable car proposal for London

5-Jul-2010
A cable car spanning the Thames in East London could be built and operational in time for the 2012 Olympics, according to Transport for London.
ISG trading resiliently on strengthening UK margins

1-Jul-2010
ISG has said it is trading resiliently in line with expectations on the back of a strong performance in UK construction.
Construction activity shrinks again

1-Jul-2010
Construction activity declined again in May after a brief period of growth, according to the Experian’s Construction Forecasting & Research.
Amey buys WYG rail business

1-Jul-2010
Amey has beefed up its rail consulting business with the acquisition of the national rail consultancy of WYG Engineering, for an undisclosed fee.
Local people to bypass planners on house building

29-Jun-2010
Communities which demand new housing will be able to bypass planners by setting up Local Housing Trusts, the Housing Minister will say later today.
Mansell wins North London housing contract

29-Jun-2010
Mansell has secured a £4.6 million contract to build 39 homes and six commercial units for Christian Action Housing in North London.
Projects worth billions survive axe

24-Jun-2010
Behind the headlines, a raft of education, health and transport construction schemes are approved
Wilmott Dixon secures £18.5m academy job

22-Jun-2010
Willmott Dixon has been appointed preferred contractor for the £18.5 million Harris Academy refurbishment in Croydon.
Bribery Bill warning for directors

15-Apr-2010
Directors of construction firms will have to radically change the way they organise their businesses or face the prospect of prison, according to lawyers, after the Government hurried a Bribery Bill through the Commons thisweek.
Funding boost for Pinnacle Tower

15-Apr-2010
Arab Investments has secured funding for the next phase of the £550 million Pinnacle Tower in the City of London.
Partnership for Schools looks to shorten BSF procurement

24-Nov-2009
Partnership for Schools looks set to centralise the pre-qualification for new Building Schools for the Future projects as early as next summer.
PfS: Tories will invest substantially in education

24-Nov-2009
Partnership for Schools chief Tim Byles has revealed he expects “substantial” investment in education from the Tories should they form the next government.
Housing starts continue to rise but remain weak

19-Nov-2009
The number of housing starts in England has risen for the third quarter in a row, figures published by the Department for Communities and Local Government have today revealed.
Construction agenda set for remainder of Parliament

19-Nov-2009
The Government has unveiled a water bill and an energy bill, in the last Queen’s Speech of this Parliament.
One in four steel firms could go bust

22-Oct-2009
One in four steel contractors could be bust by this time next year, the director general of the British Constructional Steelwork Association has warned.
London fit-out firm rescues staff from Birmingham administration

16-Oct-2009
London Fit-out firm, Isis Projects has rescued eight staff from recently bust Birmingham firm, Welconstruct Group, to man its new Birmingham base.
Multibuild proposes CVA and redundancies

16-Oct-2009
Manchester contractor Multibuild has proposed a Company Voluntary Arrangement to its creditors and said it will be forced to make redundancies.
Conferences offer peek at manifestos

15-Oct-2009
Fringe meetings and deafening silences give contractors clues of what to expect after the election
Project starts to remain weak for rest of 2009

15-Oct-2009
Project starts will remain weak for the rest of the year with a weak private sector creating a drag until the New Year, according to business intelligence service Glenigan.
Hire firm ordered to stop sending faxes

14-Oct-2009
A forklift truck and plant hire firm which sent unsolicited faxes to companies and individuals has been ordered to cease.
HCA shortlists 40 for delivery partner framework

14-Oct-2009
The Homes and Communities Agency has shortlisted 40 firms for its delivery partner framework - 16 of which are traditional contractors.
SummitSkills seeks independent director

14-Oct-2009
SummitSkills, the Sector Skills Council for the building services engineering sector, is seeking an independent director to join its team of board members from 1 January 2010.
Bellway makes £36m loss

13-Oct-2009
House builder Bellway has made a pre-tax loss of £36 million for the year to 31 July 2009 – but has shredded its debt.
Doing business in the prison sector: Politics

2-Sep-2009
With an election looming, much of the policy decisions on where and how many new prisons should be built is guesswork
Winning construction work: Prisons

2-Sep-2009
New prisons mooted by MoJ could provide welcome work for contractors
Doing business in the prison sector: securing subcontractor work

2-Sep-2009
Top tips for winning prisons sub-contractor work with prospective framework member, Composite
UKTI: Cash in on EU’s £10bn plans

9-Jul-2009
UK contractors have been told to target more than £10 billion worth of European building works scheduled to commence under fiscal stimulus packages in neighbouring countries.
Tube Lines cuts tube bid to £6.7bn

9-Jul-2009
Tube Lines has shaved “half a billion pounds” off its £7.2 billion proposal to maintain three of London’s underground lines but warned the time to screw down the price is over.
Harrow counts cost of stalled college

9-Jul-2009
The failure of the Learning and Skills Council to cough up cash for a £140 million college refurbishment in Harrow, north London, has scuppered at least £150m worth of additional redevelopment.
Firms eye multi-billion pound Chinese market

9-Jul-2009
China is emerging as a key prospect for rail infrastructure projects, with 42,000 km of tracks slated for construction over the next 10 years.
Huge rail plans make China hot ticket

8-Jul-2009
China is making ambitious tracks to expand the country’s rail network by more than 40,000 km during the next decade.
Wates looks to HCA partnership

2-Jul-2009
Wates boss Paul Drechsler has said the firm would “definitely” pursue a partnership with the Homes and Communities Agency to develop public land for housing.
McLaren picks up Birmingham Masshouse job

2-Jul-2009
McLaren has been appointed lead contractor on the mixed use Masshouse development in Birmingham.
Woolwich Crossrail station faces cash threat

2-Jul-2009
Construction of the Crossrail station at Woolwich in East London is under threat if Transport for London fails to stump up more cash, Berkeley Homes has said.
Contractors urged to join house building market as HCA partner

2-Jul-2009
Contractors including Bouygues, Skanska and Wates have been invited to enter the house building market as developers in partnership with the Homes and Communities Agency.
MPs back developers’ funding pleas

2-Jul-2009
Berkeley Homes seeks to renegotiate Section 106 commitment to build Crossrail Station
TfL dismisses Tube Lines savings plan

1-Jul-2009
A cost savings document produced by London Underground PPP contractor Tube Lines has been dismissed out of hand by Transport for London.
HCA appoints three new managers

26-Jun-2009
The Homes and Communities Agency has beefed up its executive team with the appointment of three senior managers.
Network Rail bosses pocket £1.2m in bonuses

26-Jun-2009
Network Rail’s top three executives have pocketed bonuses totalling more than £1.2 million.
Rok launches 'Repairing Britain' campaign

4-May-2009
Rok has launched a campaign to encourage government and local councils to repair more of their dilapidated buildings.
Wrekin £11m ruby valuation a forgery

1-May-2009
Wrekin’s £11 million valuation of a ruby on its balance sheet has been revealed as a forgery.
John Laing profits jump 46pc

30-Apr-2009
John Laing saw its profits leap 46 per cent to £43.6 million in the year to 31 December.
House builders face further strife with mass off-plan default feared

19-Mar-2009
House builders are considering their options to deal with the large number of customers expected to default on off-plan deals signed before house prices crashed.
Foreign construction professionals face UK jobs ban

17-Mar-2009
The right for quantity surveyors and construction managers from outside to the EU to work in the UK looks set to end, MPs have been told.
BMH Construction faces CVA

17-Mar-2009
BMH Construction, is awaiting the outcome of a creditors’ meeting on Thursday 19 March, to find out whether it will be able to continue trading.
Parliament to discuss barring blacklisters from public works

16-Mar-2009
Labour MP will urge ministers to look closely at who they employ for big public projects
Civil Engineer closes in on powerful infrastructure post

13-Mar-2009
The Government has named Sir Michael Pitt as its preferred choice for chairman of the new Infrastructure Planning Committee, which is set to make decisions on the importance of national infrastructure projects.
CIOB slams new skills priorities

10-Mar-2009
The Chartered Institute of Building has knocked the construction industry’s Sector Skills Council for allocating grants unfairly towards apprentices over experienced professionals.
Birse Civils wins £10.5m contract

10-Mar-2009
Balfour Beatty subsidiary Birse Civils has won a £10.5 million flood alleviation contract in North Lincolnshire.
Man crushed by crane

9-Mar-2009
A man has been crushed to death by a collapsed crane at a site near Hampstead Heath in north London.
Consulting Association blacklist: The response

6-Mar-2009
Major contractors have offered responses to allegations they used a blacklist from the “Consulting Association” to vet employees.
Industry bodies surprise at blacklist scale

6-Mar-2009
Industry leaders say blacklisting goes on at “relatively low level” and express surprise at allegations
Blacklisting construction firms could face civil action

6-Mar-2009
Blacklist victims are seeking damages for “years of unemployment”.

Construction NewsMark Lewis

Construction News
Mark Lewis