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GlaxoSmithKline has got the planning green light to build a £350m biopharmaceutical factory at Ulverston in Cumbria. It will be the first new GSK manufacturing facility built in the UK for almost 40 years and will employ around 450 construction workers at peak. Planners at South Lakeland District Council approved the pharmaceutical giant’s Cumbrian plans, subject to a section 106 agreement. A more detailed reserved matters application for the first part of the development will be submitted during 2015. GSK plans to build three separate production buildings, providing 1.3m sq ft for manufacturing, research, office and warehouse facilities. Work will start on the first phase in 2015. It will then take about six years before it is operational. This part of the factory will be built on the existing car park on …

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Two pedestrians have been crushed by a falling site hoarding in east London. The man and woman were hit by the huge hoarding while walking by Bellway Home’s Pembury Circus site in Hackney on Wednesday afternoon. A 70metre x 2metre high section of the hoarding was blown over Ambulance crews were called to the scene where they treated two patients – a man and a woman – for leg, back and hand injuries and took them to Homerton Hospital. The woman was seriously injured, officials said. A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman told the London Evening Standard: “We were called at 1.39pm to Pembury Road at the junction with Dalston Lane to reports of a collapsed advertising board. “We sent a duty officer to the scene, two ambulance …

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Problems have been discovered with steel work on the new Olympic Stadium roof. The Enquirer understands that cracking was spotted in some of the welds during recent lifting operations at the site. Sources close to the project also claimed that some strengthening plates in parts of the new roof structure had been missed out. Steelwork contractor William Hare is believed to be working around the clock overseeing remedial work. Balfour Beatty is main contractor on the £154m job to convert the stadium into a new home for West Ham United football club. The cost of the roof reconfiguration work is estimated at £41m to create the world’s largest cantilevered roof which will be 84 metres wide at its deepest point. Work has involved dismantling and removing …

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Comparison of Galvanized Steel with Stainless Steel By:  Jake Hyet Even though both galvanized steel and stainless steel are technically steel, they are very different from each other and have many different applications.  It is important that you know the difference, particularly when you have to decide which material to use for a home improvement or construction project.  Here is an explanation of what each steel is composed of and their uses. Uses for Galvanized Steel Galvanized steel is frequently used for home construction projects.  It is also commonly used in framing homes.  Nails, nuts and bolts are made from galvanized steel.  You may not know this, but it is also an established and commonly used choice for ornamental fencing.  …

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Canary Wharf Group is starting the hunt for package contractors on its massive redevelopment of the Shell Centre site on London’s South Bank. The move comes despite an ongoing legal challenge against the scheme which has delayed the start of construction. Canary Wharf Group is construction manager on the project and joint development manager with Qatari Diar. The scheme was approved by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles in June but is now facing a legal challenge by a lone objector. The High Court challenge is due to be heard in December but the developers are confident of victory and are pressing ahead with the scheme. Canary Wharf Group majority owner Songbird Estates said: “A Section 288 objection to the Secretary of State’s decision was filed and a court date …

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The Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS), an initiative which aims to improve the image of the industry by encouraging best practice, has reached its 80,000th registered site. The 80,000th site belongs to Morgan Sindall’s Brampton Village Primary School site in Huntingdon, and the Managing Director for Construction East and the project team from Morgan Sindall were presented with a plaque on Friday 19th September to mark the occasion. Registering a site with the CCS demonstrates a commitment to improving the image of construction, as all registered sites must adhere to a Code of Considerate Practice. This involves a commitment from sites registered with the Scheme to care about appearance, respect the community, protect the environment, secure everyone’s safety and value their workforce. All registered sites are regularly monitored …

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Contractor Leadbitter has been fined £100,000 after a worker was critically injured when he was run over by a nine tonne dumper truck. David Windsor, 62, from Bristol, suffered life changing injuries, including severe brain damage, in the incident at a site in Devonport, on 7 October 2010. He also sustained facial fractures, serious injuries to right arm, fractured ribs, a fractured pelvis, leg fractures and foot injuries all on his right side where the dumper ran over him. He spent two weeks in intensive care, a month in a high dependency unit and was finally discharged home from a brain injury rehabilitation unit in April, 2011 – more than six months later. Plymouth Crown Court heard that Windsor, a delivery driver, was delivering a mortar silo to the Leadbitter site …

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British Land has set a Mayfair record for apartment sale price at its Clarges site being redeveloped by Laing O’Rourke. The developer confirmed today that it has already exchanged on 18 flats at the site at an average price of £4,750 per sq ft. The 18 apartments will cost buyers £210m at an average price of £11.67m. British Land said: “This pre-launch was limited and targeted at an exclusive list of known potential buyers and has been very well received.” Laing O’Rourke started work on the Clarges Mayfair site earlier this year and the job is due for completion in 2017. The residential-led scheme will contain 34 apartments over ten floors alongside 47,800 sq ft of high quality prime office space and 14,800 sq ft of retail and …

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Construction and property leaders hope the Scottish no vote to independence will lead to a work surge in the country. The result was confirmed this morning with a 55% to 45% vote in favour of remaining part of the union. Construction information specialists Barbour ABI had warned that £7bn of planned projects were at risk if Scotland had voted for independence. Kevin Bradley, Head of Scotland, Programme Cost Consulting at consultant AECOM said: “Now that Scotland has voted to remain in the Union and provided the result is accepted as permanent and the risk of any ongoing campaign is removed it takes away uncertainty for investors, we are likely to see a significant increase in commercial property transactions over the coming months. “The Government is committed …

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Over £7 billion of planned construction works could be in jeopardy if Scotland votes for independence next Thursday. Scotland is presently benefitting from a work boom with more than £38bn of construction projects planned. But, according to research by construction intelligence specialist Barbour ABI a fifth of these are being funded by investors based outside of Scotland. Researchers warn that the likelihood of these projects going ahead as intended may hang in the balance depending on next week’s result. Scotland has a higher prevalence of contracts in the infrastructure, healthcare, education and industrial sectors compared to the wider UK market. It is under-represented in the commercial, retail, residential, hotel and leisure sectors. Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said:  ”There are a large number …

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