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Construction plant that is more than 10 years old will be banned in London under Mayor Boris Johnson’s plan to improve the capital’s air quality.  Fresh planning rules will require all construction equipment to meet strict new standards for both particulates and nitrogen oxides, cutting emissions by  40%  by 2020. They will also slap tighter controls on dust from construction and demolition, which is claimed to generate up to 15% of air pollutant emissions in London. London’s borough councils will start implementing the tough new regulations through the planning system from September 2015. Equipment over 10 years old will need to replaced or retrofitted on all developments in central London and major developments in outer London or more than 10 homes or 1,000 sq ft. While other cities and countries have introduced …

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The first wave of projects to benefit from a £1bn scheme to kick-start building work on 200,000 new homes was confirmed by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles today. Pickles has published a shortlist of 36 large-scale housing projects in line to receive a share of £850m of funding to get work going onsite. The £850m is part of the government’s £1 billion programme to build the infrastructure needed for large schemes containing more than 1,500 homes. The money will go towards the building of road improvement, schools and parks to support the extra homes being planned. The 36 projects will now go through a final rigorous due diligence process before receiving the funding. The funding will be available between 2015 and 2020 and will be in the form of …

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The order includes DC electric scissor lifts, electric vertical masts and its first diesel-powered rough terrain scissor lifts. Deliveries have already begun and the full line-up of machines will arrive over the coming months. Speedy is updating and expanding its entire fleet of access equipment so that no machine at any of its depots will predate 2013. “Skyjacks are industry-leading machines that are widely recognized as the easiest to work on, so I am delighted to welcome so many to our fleet and I’m confident they will serve our huge range of customers well,” said Speedy supply chain director Andy Connor. “With energy costs increasing on a daily basis, we want the latest products on the market, both in terms of sustainability and innovation. …

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TWO NORTH-EAST construction companies are reporting a surge in contracts, revenue and new jobs, amid signs that the beleaguered building trade is showing signs of recovery. Newcastle-based Shepherd Engineering Services (SES), has landed a double deal worth a combined £13m.  and Newton Aycliffe firm Finley Structures is on target to smash its record turnover. SES will provide full mechanical and electrical (M&E) services as part of the £200m transformation of Newcastle’s historic city-centre Stephenson Quarter. The company, which has offices in Darlington and York, will also provide all of the M&E services on the new Consett Academy and Leisure Centre in County Durham which forms part of a £40m investment into the former steel town. The deals come less than a year after…

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Estate agent Hamptons International says house price growth in greater London will cool to 3pc in 2015 from 15.5pc this year . Dramatic double-digit increases in London house prices will come to an abrupt halt next year, as anxiety around the general election and rising interest rates puts a severe dampener on growth, according to a report from Hamptons International. House price growth in greater London will cool from 15.5pc this year to just 3pc next year, according to the estate agent’s latest forecasts. Even the most sought after areas such as Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster will not be immune from the softening market; Hamptons believes growth in prime central London will weaken to 3pc in 2015 from 10pc this year. The research from Hamptons, which specialises in …

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A bankrupt building boss is serving 27 months in prison for a string of offences including fraud and running four separate building companies despite being disqualified as a director. . The conviction of Trevor Lawrence – also known as Trevor Fail – follows an initial investigation by the Insolvency Service and a full criminal investigation and prosecution by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS). Trevor Lawrence, 50, also pleaded guilty to acting as a director whilst a disqualified along with seven other related offences including three counts of fraud. He was sentenced on 14 July 2014 at Northampton Crown Court. The judge also disqualified him from acting as a director for seven years. Commenting on the sentence, BIS deputy chief investigating officer Ian West said: “This was a particularly blatant …

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Developer LXB properties is planning to start tendering next month for a major out-of-town retail and leisure scheme at Rushden Lakes, in Northamptonshire. The developer announced today that it had cleared all hurdles to planning and would now start the near 500,000 sq ft shopping and leisure complex early next year. Several contractors including BAM, Bowmer & Kirkland and McLaren had been in project talks but progress was being hampered by planning uncertainty. LXB received the green light from communities secretary Eric Pickles in June subject to a six-week period where further challenges were permitted. This has now passed and LXB Properties can go ahead with the retail park on a 244-acre plot of brownfield land next to the A45 Northampton Road. A spokesman said: “Pre-lets …

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Construction buyers are reporting the biggest boom in new job creation since their monthly surveys began back in 1997. The latest Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI survey for July showed new job vacancies opening up at the fastest rate for 17 years. The index dipped slightly to 62.4 from 62.6 in June bu the headline figure has now posted above the 50.0 no-change threshold for 15 months running. July data also signalled the steepest rise in residential building activity since November 2003 while rates charged by subcontractors increased at a near-record pace. David Noble, Group Chief Executive Officer at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, said: “The house building sector is racing ahead this quarter with the fastest growth in construction of homes for over a decade. “The industry as a …

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A construction worker has been rescued after falling down a 19ft bore hole on an Aberdeenshire building site. The 25-year-old man was working on a Stewart Milne Homes site on the outskirts of Aberdeen when the incident happened yesterday afternoon. A fire crew and a line rescue specialist team managed to hoist him up from the 3 feet diameter bore hole. He is said to have suffered leg injuries as a result of the fall. The Stewart Milne Homes site at Sunnyside Farm in the village of Drumoak, is being developed with plans for 35 homes.

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Scientists have come up with a way of using noise cancelling technology for acoustic barriers alongside roads and railway lines. Sonobex Limited, a newly formed spin-out from Loughborough University, has funding from the Technology Strategy Board, to bring its SonoBarrier acoustic fences to market. The first CE mark prototypes are expected to be produced by February 2015, the company says. Sonobex uses a patented acoustic meta-material technology called sonic crystals, which are fabricated materials designed to control, direct and manipulate sound. Sonobex sonic crystal based noise reduction technology is a passive method that superimposes disturbing noise with scattered anti-acoustic noise to cancel out the disturbance. Designs are tuned to particular dominant frequencies to achieve significant reduction levels. Sonobex has a £358,000 budget for its project, …

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