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House building grew for a 15th month in April, the longest period of continuous growth since 2006/07 UK house building is enjoying its longest run of growth since before the financial crisis in a further sign of Britain’s booming property market. Housing construction grew for a 15th month in April, the longest period of continuous growth since 2006/07 according to the Markit/CIPS construction PMI. Activity in the broader construction sector, which also includes commercial property and civil engineering, grew for the 12th month in a row but at the slowest pace in six months according to the PMI, with the headline index slipping to 60.8 from 62.5 – anything above 50 signals expansion. The figures suggest growth in the sector – which accounts for about 6% of the economy – …

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Staff at a builders merchants in Sussex got a shock when they discovered a nest of Great Tit chicks in a stack of bricks. The chicks’ mother had built the nest in what she thought was a safe and secure place – not knowing that the bricks would be moved 270 miles from Leeds to the Ringmer branch of Chandlers Building Supplies. Chandlers’ staff took the nest to the nearby Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare where the wildlife hospital team has been caring for the chicks. Cassie Tong, wildlife team member at Raystede, said: “The five little birds were very cold and hungry; it’s amazing that they survived. “The first 48 hours were critical, but all five have made it and they’re all eating well. “They will now be …

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Public sector procurement consortium LHC is on the hunt for firms involved in the design, manufacture, supply and erection of offsite building systems for social housing. The group aims to launch later this year a New Homes framework of key off-site homes suppliers for housing association and council clients. The framework will be available via two work streams, one for volumetric build and the other for panelised systems. This will provide customers with choices that consider the flexibility of design, transportation, site access, projects in planning and integration with existing build programmes. The framework will be available through eight lots across England, Wales and Scotland reflecting expected social housing building volumes. The tender will be weighted 70% on quality and 30% price and will consider project …

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The bid race has started for a £9m deal to refurbish part of the House of Commons. Officials are looking for a contractor to carry-out upgrade work on the building at 1 Canon Row. The Grade II listed building “will be brought up to a standard suitable for use as office accommodation and also fulfill Parliaments public duty of care to maintain the architectural and historical significance of the building.” Works will include the replacement of mechanical and electrical services and the insertion or alteration of internal walls and doorways, external and internal repairs and full redecoration. A key part of the job is the insertion of a lift and stair core. Up to six firms will be shortlisted for the work and firms have …

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Borders Railway has marked the first anniversary of BAM’s £295m contract with a raft of facts and figures – including details of the site team’s breakfast habits. The 866 directly employed staff on the job have tucked-away 25,000 bacon rolls during the last year. The butties have helped the team work 2.1 million hours, completing 44% of the work on the 30mile long route. Workers have also: Moved 804,000 tonnes of earth Used 400 tonnes of grouting as part of mining remediation work Installed 25.6 km of drainage works Worked on 104 bridges including 12 footbridges, 39 overbridges and 53 underbridges Installed 22,800 m³ of gabion baskets to support embankments and cuttings Hugh Wark, project director, Network Rail said: “We have achieved a lot over the past year and, one year on, it’s good to take …

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Morgan Sindall and Willmott Dixon are set to land contracts worth £28m to build three new schools in Liverpool. A report to the council’s cabinet today is recommending that new homes for Northway Primary School in Childwall and New Park Primary School in Kensington are built by Morgan Sindall at a cost of £5.5m per school, and Willmott Dixon constructs Archbishop Blanch Church of England High School for £17.5m. Both primary schools will be rebuilt on the playgrounds of their existing sites while Archbishop Blanch will move to a new purpose-built site in Picton. Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “This is a much-needed investment in three schools which desperately need it and is part of my commitment to deliver at least 12 …

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Contractors are starting to suffer heavy cost pressure as the industry clocked up its fourth consecutive quarter of growth for the first time in six years. According to the latest all-industry trade survey construction firms of all sizes across the industry are now reporting strong new-build activity and high expectations for the year ahead. The first three months of the year also recorded the first significant jump in firms reporting tender price rises. But these are being forced up by intensifying labour and materials price pressure, rather than strong margin growth. While private housing remained the key driver in Q1, there was reported growth in commercial work and, for the first time, public school and healthcare work. The number of building firms reporting tender prices rises …

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The Construction Supply Chain Payment Charter has been hit with a new blow just weeks after it was launched with a whimper. Only nine firms were listed as signing-up to the charter last month during a low-key launch by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. But the Enquirer understands that Kier was wrongly listed as one of the signatories by officials. That leaves just eight firms backing the scheme with Laing O’Rourke and Skanska the only big main contracting names on the list. The charter commits firms to paying suppliers within 30 days from January 2018. It has already come under fire from specialist contractors who fear it will become another toothless initiative. The document has been drawn-up by the Construction Leadership Council and sets out 11 “Fair …

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Google is planning to re-tender its King’s Cross HQ contract due to radical design changes. Google British HQ – Telegraph The move will be a blow for BAM Construct who were named preferred bidder on the £300m contract last March after beating-off competition from Skanska and Carillion. The value of the contract could more than double as architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris rework the scheme. BAM said: “While we are very proud to have won the original Google HQ scheme, we took the view a long time ago that its big re-think will be fundamental, and mean that the project won’t happen in this form. “Like everyone else, BAM will wait to see what Google decides about the future.” A consultant said: …

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THE number of state bodies planning to release publicly owned land for development is set to rise by more than a fifth in the next 12 months. The inaugural Lend Lease/ComRes Land and Regeneration Index interviewed 200 public sector officials with direct responsibility for land holdings. Three quarters of officers (76%) expect to release publicly owned land for development in the next 12 months compared with just 63% in the previous year. The new public sector land will predominately be used for residential development with a 27% rise in both social and private housing. Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, said: “I welcome this new survey, which shows the scope for releasing surplus and redundant public sector property. “This will help provide more land …

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