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Contractors building the £1.3bn Queensferry Crossing have set a new record by creating the the longest free-standing cantilever in the world at 644m. The structure will become the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world The bridge deck sections are edging closer and closer by the day as engineers come close to linking the deck sections at the north and south sides of the bridge. When the weight of a 750 tonnes bridge section is lifted the deck deflects by 4m giving the impression the two decks will not meet. Once work is complete on the project in June 2017, the new Queensferry Crossing will stretch 2.7km in length and will include three single column towers and approach viaducts. Galliford Try is part of the four-company…

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Newly appointed Scheme Executive Chairman Isabel Martinson to recruit new Board Directors to take Scheme to the ‘next level’ London, United Kingdom, 19 September 2016: The Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) – the national Scheme to improve the image of the construction industry – is recruiting for new Board Directors. Isabel Martinson, who was appointed as Executive Chairman of the Scheme in July 2016, is looking for senior representatives from within and outside of the construction industry to expand the CCS to move to the ‘next level’, to further enhance the construction industry’s image and reputation. The CCS is an independent organisation formed in 1997. Since its formation, it has significantly altered the approach the construction industry takes to those affected by its activities, the construction workforce, and the impact construction has …

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Minister confirms support of Prompt Payment Code and success in changing payment culture New measures to support the Prompt Payment Code (PPC) and drive a culture of better payment practice have been confirmed in a letter to PPC signatories from Margot James, Minister for Small Business and Philip King, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM). The letter highlights the significant success of the Code to date, and in particular highlighting the challenges against Code signatories that it says have been ‘hugely successful in achieving fast settlement of invoices, creating dialogue between parties, improving contract terms, and providing constructive assistance welcomed by suppliers and signatories alike’. The correspondence also confirms the future appointment of a Small Business Commissioner to provide help and advice to business, …

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A Scottish Water employee has rescued remarkable pictures giving a unique insight into daily life on a major Aberdeen sewer scheme more than 100 years ago. The Girdleness Outfall Scheme was designed to improve sanitation in the growing city and employed an army of construction workers hand-digging tunnels and using steam engines to help deliver the major scheme. The images date from 1900 and 1901, the last year of the Victorian age, when construction was in full swing and capture the scope of the impressive engineering project. Bob Nicoll, of Scottish Water in Aberdeen, said: “I’ve had the pictures for the last 15 or 16 years. “They were part of some old archive stuff due to be thrown out but I felt they needed to be rescued from that as they show an amazing part of the…

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A property investment fund suspended in the wake of the Brexit vote is set to resume trading. The Columbia Threadneedle UK Property Authorised Investment Fund was one of a number of funds suspended as the EU Referendum result spooked the market. Trading will restart on September 26 as the company described initial market fears as “irrational”. Don Jordison, Managing Director of Property, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, said: “In the short period following the referendum we saw animal spirits drive unprecedented levels of redemptions from daily dealt open-ended property funds. “Much of the earlier commentary now appears slightly irrational and more informed reflection has settled the market. “Any effects of the Brexit vote on the overall UK economy – negative or otherwise – will take many months if not…

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Mobile CAD Surveying Solutions Ltd  can accommodate either a simple single property floor plan for a domestic or private customer to a complete schedule of buildings including whatever type of data collection the customer requires for commercial customers. If Architects or Surveyors and you require fast turn around building surveys, please give us a try! we currently work for dozens of architects, surveyors and designers around the UK, where they haven’t the capacity or staff to handle their own surveys or where they just require someone to make sure the job is done right, first time, Mobile CAD Surveying Solutions can help you. Currently we are working on many Commercial surveys around the country, with a number of domestic and Dimensional Property Surveys around the UK and …

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The Chartered Institute of Building has launched a call for evidence into skills, materials and new technology in the housing sector. The work forms part of a wider coalition – the National Housing Taskforce – which has been convened by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Housing and Planning. The Taskforce, which has already met with new Housing Minister Gavin Barwell MP, is operating across 12 distinct areas of work to take a holistic view of how to tackle the housing crisis, covering everything from planning reform to housing associations, and construction skills to mortgage finance. Each work-stream is being led by a relevant organisation which will submit recommendations to the Taskforce later in the year. The CIOB’s …

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Construction Workers and Asbestos Exposure Asbestos has been used extensively in the construction industry throughout the world. In the UK this material was still being used up to 1999, while in other countries its use was discontinued decades earlier. The reason for no longer using asbestos for insulation, roofing, and other construction components is that inhaling its fibers can lead to health problems. These include the aggressive and most often deadly type of cancer called mesothelioma. The UK has some of the highest rates of mesothelioma because of the extensive use of asbestos and the late discontinuance. The number of cases of this cancer has been rising for decades, as has the number of deaths caused by it. Each year for the last few years, more than 2,000 men …

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The Construction Industry Training Board has raised grave concerns about the government’s planned new apprenticeship levy warning that it could see funding for construction apprenticeships cut by nearly a third. Chiefs at the CITB have warned that contractors may be expected to make up finding shortfalls putting them off taking on needed apprentices. They are now urging contractors to raise their concerns during the Government’s consultation on the levy. The Department for Education revealed details of the planned apprenticeship levy earlier this month. Under plans now out to consultation apprenticeships will be graded into 15 new bands with funding allocated in each from £1,500 to £27,000. Steve Hearty, Head of Apprenticeships at CITB, said: “The Government’s proposed funding bands for framework apprenticeships raise real concerns for the construction industry…

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Highways England engineers and contractors have reopened the M20 after a busy weekend clearing the debris following a footbridge collapse onto the motorway in Kent after it was hit by a lorry carrying a wheeled excavator on Saturday. Motorcyclist suffers broken ribs and lorry driver treated for shock One half of the bridge crashed on to a second lorry on the London-bound carriageway between junction 1 and 4, leaving the other half hanging over the southbound carriageway. A motorcyclist was hurt whose injuries were described as not life-threatening and the driver of the second lorry was treated for shock. Witnesses said they felt “lucky to be alive” after the 170 tonnes section of bridge came down shortly after noon on Saturday in busy traffic at the start of the August bank holiday weekend. Engineers…

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