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Construction costs under Phase One of the Priority School Building programme have risen by £178m since January 2015. An update published by the Cabinet Office revealed cost increases for the programme to rebuild and refurbish 260 schools – taking the total budget to £2,298.8m. The report states: “A number of external factors continue to impact the programme, the most significant being the recovery of the construction market. “Over the last 22 to 24 months we have experienced a lack of interest from the contractors in the new batches being released into procurement and delays on a number of schemes as contractors seek additional funding to cover increasing costs of labour and materials. “This has resulted in delays against our internal delivery programmes, expenditure slipping backwards and an increase in…

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Brick making giant Forterra is planning to mothball two plants in Lancashire. The move was revealed in a trading update ahead of its interim results in September. Forterra was formerly known as Hanson Building Products and floated on the Stock Exchange in April. The company said profits since then were “in-line with management’s expectations.” But it added: “Given current economic uncertainty and sufficient brick inventory levels, the Board has reviewed the current production plan and has decided to maximise the utilisation of our most efficient brick plants and effectively manage our cost base.” Forterra said the mothballing plans were a “prudent action that will allow us to continue to meet customers’ needs while effectively managing our costs and cash position until we are able…

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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 and into mainland Europe, recently carrying out projects in France, Switzerland and the Channel Islands, or 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 …

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Lendlease is set to start construction next month on a £275m office complex at 245 Hammersmith Road in west London. Legal & General Property has sold a 50% stake to Mitsubishi Estate London to form a new partnership to develop the 250,000 sq ft scheme. The speculative scheme has been designed by Sheppherd Robson and already has planning consent from Hammersmith & Fulham Council. The new building will consist of a basement, ground and 11 upper storeys and an extensive public realm, including a new urban park and plaza to the Hammersmith Road. Simon Wilkes, Head of Business Space Development, Legal & General Property, said: “245 Hammersmith Road will be much more than just an office building; we are creating a destination with modern working and lifestyle trends at…

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Reporting from Friday the day after the BREXIT vote. Construction and property bosses appealed for calm today after the country voted to leave the European Union. The result sent shock waves through the financial markets as the pound tumbled and the stock market lost 8% in early morning trading. House builders were among the hardest hit with 20% falls in some big names like Taylor Wimpey. Leave won a shock victory with a 52% to 48% majority as more than 30 million people voted. During the campaign stay campaigners warned that an exit vote would push up construction prices by 15% and lead to a drop in investment. One contracting boss said: “The world has certainly changed this morning. “The vote is a shock and markets are reeling…

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McLaren Construction has won the contract to build a £90m distribution centre for homeware giant The Range near Bristol. The mega-shed will be the size of 15 Wembley Stadiums Rival bidders say the job has gone to McLaren who will start on site shortly.The deal was also confirmed by development partner Stoford. Work is expected to start on site shortly and take 12 months to complete. The 1.2million square feet warehouse will be built at the Central Park logistics centre in Avonmouth and will be the size of 15 Wembley Stadiums. Chris Dawson, founder of The Range, said: “This distribution centre is a big step in the expansion plans that I have for the business; it’s non-stop for us. “When the warehouse is up and fully operational…

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Developer Brookfield is bringing forward plans for a new tall building at 1 Leadenhall in the City of London. Image of existing and planned central London towers, including 1 Leadenhall building The tower will rise to 37 floors, which will be a more modest office building compared to the scale of some of the more ambitious plans unveiled for the Square Mile. Architect Make has designed the 183m tower that will boast a public galley with views over the Leadenhall Market. The existing seven storey building on the 1 Leadenhall site, known as Leadenhall Court will be demolished over six months once approval is obtained. Under present plans work could start on the new tower as early as March 2018. Brookfield has gone out to public consultation with the plans ahead of submitting…

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After several months of decline, construction output bounced back in April rising 2.5% compared with March. All new work increased by 2.9% while repair and maintenance also increased 1.9%, despite growing fears in the industry that the EU referendum is slowing project starts. The latest output returns represented the largest month-on-month increase for over two years, although April activity remained 3.7% below a year ago. But the underlying three-month trend after several months of poorer figures showed output in the construction industry decreased by 2.1% against the previous period. Seasonally adjusted construction output since 2010 First quarter new order figures, which were also released today, were 1.2% down on both the previous quarter and the same period a year ago. Professor Noble Francis, Economics Director at the Construction Products Association, said:  “Today’s output…

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It has been repeatedly reported that the UK’s construction industry (housing construction in particular) was one of the first sectors to feel the full scale of the impact the recession bought with it, and was also one of the slowest when it came to recovering. While many other industries have been benefitting from a widening talent pool thanks to the ever advancing digital revolution, it seems that the construction industry is experiencing a tightening on the talent that is readily available. In 2014, the Construction News Barometer found that almost 90% of construction leaders said that the skills shortage was one of the top challenges that their business faced. 88% of leaders also thought that a lack of both skills and staff was a major concern for the …

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Subcontractors have been left holding £7.8m of unpaid bills following the failure of PHD1 Construction. Former PHD1 staff are now helping to build the £200m new Chinatown scheme in Liverpool The North West contractor fell into administration in April. PHD1 worked on a number of high profile sites across the region. An administrator’s report said clients started slowing payments to PHD1 which had a knock-on effect to its suppliers which resulted in a winding-up petition being issued. The administrator’s report said the company effectively ceased trading in February when it was working on six incomplete sites. The last set of results for PHD1 showed the firm made a pre-tax profit of £384,000 on a turnover of £22m for the year to…

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