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Vale Park Demolition Services has been appointed to clear the site of an £18m student halls scheme in Preston. Eric Wright is main contractor on the regeneration scheme in Friargate for Developer Portergate Properties. Vale Park is mobilising a team of 15 demolition experts using specialist equipment working on the site. Tom Perks, contracts manager at Vale Park, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed on such a high-profile construction scheme in Preston and to be working with the Eric Wright team to deliver the project successfully for Portergate. “At the moment we are operating inside the existing buildings on the site carrying out removal work and our specialist equipment will be on site shortly and then we will begin the overall site clearance. “It …

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Construction companies are being urged to check their rebar stocks following the latest warning over the quality of Chinese imports. Trade body UK Steel claims there could be problems with imported rebar containing small amounts of other elements added in order to qualify the steel as “alloy” and thus benefit from an export tax rebate. UK Steel said a “significant” proportion of the Chinese rebar sold in the UK contains boron in excess of 8 parts per million with some samples tested containing boron at 30 ppm. Experts at the Welding Institute have issued guidance that rebar containing boron in excess of 5 ppm requires changes from the normal welding techniques used. The only way of telling which Chinese rebar contains boron would be to test each bar. Ian Rodgers …

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The headquarters of insurance giant Aviva in London could be demolished to make way for what would be the city’s tallest tower. Architect Avery Associates has been working up a design for the site known as 1 Undershaft, which would see the existing building replaced with a sloping sided skyscraper rising to almost 270m. The unique profile of the building has already prompted one contractor to dub the building “The Fang”. A spokeswoman for the architect said: “It is very early days and a planning application has not been submitted yet. “We have come up with a scheme that is sympathetic to the surrounding buildings.” The architect has aimed to preserve the views of the nearby Gherkin with a building that has sloping sides and mirrors the …

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Supermarket giant Tesco will slash capital spending to £1bn in 2015/16. The announcement was made in its latest trading statement to the City on Thursday. Tesco has cancelled plans to build 49 new stores which will wipe 1.8m sq ft of new space from its pipeline of planned work. The firm cut capital spending in the current financial year by £400 last summer to £2.1bn. That figure will now be halved. Chief executive Dave Lewis said: “We have some very difficult changes to make. “I am very conscious that the consequences of these changes are significant for all stakeholders in our business but we are facing the reality of the situation.”

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Hanson has restarted production at its Accrington plant to feed soaring demand for bricks. David Cameron and George Osborne yesterday visited the site which was forced to close down seven years ago. Hanson has reopened the factory following a £1.6m investment which has created 30 new jobs with 20 more set to follow this year. Hanson has already reopened its nearby Claughton Manor plant near Lancaster and added additional shifts at its midlands factories at Kirton, Desford and Wilnecote. The restart at Accrington will be carried out in two stages with phase one kicking off this month and phase 2, which will require further investment of around £350,000, following later in 2015. Osborne said: “The closure of the brickworks was a painful symbol of how our economy has suffered in …

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Ray O’Rourke is planning to pilot a new prefabricated concrete panel building system on his own multi-million pound mansion in Essex. O’Rourke received planning after winning an appeal to knock down his existing £7m arts and craft home to replace it with a two-storey mansion with basement. The new home in the exclusive Essex village of Fryerning will be built from large concrete panels, a system produced at the firm’s factory in Steetley. The method is part of a programme of building research being undertaken with the University of Cambridge with the aim of providing bespoke designs that can be delivered at speed. So far the firm has used it to build schools and offices and O’Rourke is understood to be keen to use a similar approach …

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The government has given its seal of approval to an exciting new development at Newquay Cornwall Airport. Constructed by a team at Rubb Buildings Limited, Aerohub will offer 25,000sq ft of space for aircraft storage and maintenance tasks carried out at Newquay Cornwall Airport. In fact, the hangar is already home to a new CIS UK Ltd facility and the site for Apple Aviation to carry out repairs, overhauls and recycling of aircrafts. Upon visiting the travel hub to explore the new Aerohub hangar, Local Growth Minister Kris Hopkins declared that the facility is “helping [England] to create an economy driven by private sector growth”. Mr Hopkins commented: “It is fantastic to see businesses choosing Newquay as their British base and winning new business in decommissioning aircraft….

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If you are about to embark on a major property renovation project, there are a number of tips you should be aware of to help ensure everything goes according to plan. Planning The majority of renovation projects go wrong as a result of inadequate planning, so before you even think about making a start, spend some time checking every last detail of your plans and costings. Your first task is to set a budget; only you know how much you can afford to spend. Having arrived at a maximum figure, deduct between 10% and 20% to retain for contingencies. Many renovation projects have a tendency to overrun, so it pays to keep a little spare cash in hand. Next, identify the precise scope of the project and …

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We understand that the £600m Ram Brewery site in south-west London is the latest scheme to be hit by the phenomenon. Developers at the Wandsworth site are believed to be approaching new bidders to potentially tender for the job. Kier is favourite for the scheme with Brookfield originally its main rival. But we understand Brookfield has pulled-out of the race leaving developer the Greenland Group to explore other options for its Ram Quarter scheme. A source close to the scheme said: “The word is Brookfield has decided not to return tenders. “The developer is now talking to other potential bidders and sounding out what else is out there in the market.” Greenland is overseeing basement work on the site with Keltbray carrying out demolition …

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New images released by Crossrail reveal the project’s progress as it hits the 60% complete mark. More than 23 miles (nearly 90%) of train tunnels are now complete, with tunnelling due to finish in spring next year. Six of Crossrail’s eight tunnelling machines have now completed their drives. The construction of ten new stations in central and southeast London is more than half complete. Andrew Wolstenholme, Crossrail Chief Executive said: “Crossrail is being delivered on time and on budget. “These fantastic images show the scale of work taking place around the clock beneath the streets of London. We are on schedule to provide London and the South East with a fantastic new railway in 2018.” More than 10,000 people are working directly on Crossrail at around 40 construction sites. Over …

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