Arora and Bechtel pitch rival Heathrow expansion planBillionaire hotel entrepreneur Surinder Arora has officially entered the race to expand Heathrow Airport unveiling a rival proposal to the operator’s own scheme.
Dubbed Heathrow West, the new terminal and runway plan is being submitted to Government this week after a decade of development and aims to deliver a new Terminal 6 and 2,800m runway…
Major delays hit £4.8bn Levelling Up project programmeThe government’s flagship Levelling Up Fund is facing serious delivery delays, with nearly all projects running behind schedule and costs spiralling due to inflation and underdeveloped bids.
A major evaluation of the £4.8bn programme has lifted the lid on the challenges facing local authorities trying to deliver regeneration, transport and…
London new home starts slump 59% as safety regime bitesNew home registrations have slumped by 59% in London, dragging on otherwise modest UK-wide growth in house building during the second quarter of 2025.
Fresh figures from the NHBC show registrations across the UK rose 4% in Q2 compared to a year earlier.
But this masked sharp regional contrasts, with the capital suffering a 59% fall as…
Maidstone seeks builder for £50m flats projectMaidstone Borough Council has kicked off the hunt for a contractor to deliver a £50m flats project on the former Springfield Library site in the Kent town.
The two-block scheme will see 103 new flats built under a two-stage design and build procurement process.
The development includes a 10-storey tower and is classed as a Higher Risk Building under…
Former Lewisham council office to become Premier InnWhitbread has secured planning permission to convert a former 11-storey council office block in Vauxhall in Central London into a 180-bedroom Premier Inn budget hotel.
Lambeth Council’s planning committee voted unanimously this week to approve the proposals to change the use of its former home at Phoenix House.
Whitbread is now looking to…
Construction to start on UK’s first floating padel courtsConstruction will start shortly after planners green lighted the UK’s first floating padel tennis courts at Liverpool Waters.
The development will feature three courts built on state-of-the-art floating platforms and the world’s first floating clubhouse.
Peel Waters, the team behind the Liverpool Waters regeneration scheme, has…
Bombshell cavity barrier defects wipe out Taylor Wimpey profitsTaylor Wimpey has taken a massive £222m hit to cover legacy fire safety defects plunging the house builder into a first-half pre-tax loss of £92m.
The increased provision comes after a fresh wave of intrusive surveys uncovered widespread issues with cavity barriers hidden behind brickwork and render.
The full scale of the problems…
39 firms win £3bn South East school frameworkA bumper line-up of 39 firms has landed spots on the London Construction Programme’s new £3bn Major Works Education Framework.
The five-year deal will see work procured across eight specialist lots, covering new builds, retrofits, MMC projects, and fire safety upgrades for education buildings in London and the South East.
Top names among t…
22 firms win Prosper £500m new build homes frameworkA total of 22 contractors have secured spots on Prosper’s new £500m New Build Development Framework covering England and Wales.
Among the main multi-regional lot winners were Etec Contract Services, Caddick and Adderstone Living.
The four-year deal spans 12 lots across 10 regions and will mainly focus on new build housing but also covers…
Esh boss bullish as profits and prospects riseProfits have jumped again at North of England contractor Esh Group with Chief Executive Andy Radcliffe full of confidence for future trading.
Latest results for the year to December 31 2024 show pre-tax profits up to £5m from £3.1m last time as turnover ticked-up to £265m from £261m.
The privately-owned firm more than doubled its cash balance to…