News

Job vacancies for construction staff continued to rise strongly at the start of the third quarter. The latest Report on Jobs, published by KPMG and the REC showed construction in joint-first place out of nine industries in the table of demand for permanent staff – and top in the rankings for temp staff. At 68.3 in July, the index measuring demand for permanent construction employees was up from 58.6 in June. The equivalent index for temporary/contract construction workers came in at 69.6, up from 61.0 in June and indicative of a marked and accelerated rate of growth. Richard Threlfall, Head of Infrastructure, Building and Construction at KPMG, said: “It is clear we are in the grip of an industry wide skills shortage, which shows no signs of abating. “Businesses …

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Germany has been known for its manufacturing efficiency for many years. In the automobile industry, they are almost unrivalled in their capacity to build functional, attractive and affordable vehicles. They seem to have this knack for doing things right. In recent years, Germany has built a reputation in the prefab homebuilding arena. So what can UK homebuilders learn from their German counterparts? The short answer is a lot! Prefab German homes come in at around 10 to 25% cheaper than on-site construction. That figure alone is enough to have the industry sitting up and taking notice. But in what areas can we learn from the Germans. Eco-friendly homes For years Scandinavia, and in particular Sweden, has been using prefabrication techniques to construct energy-efficient homes. In …

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Barratt London is preparing to start construction of a 28-storey twisting tower on one of the last remaining Thames riverfront sites in Wandsworth. Enabling and piling works will get underway this month after the developer gained full planning for the 135 apartment scheme at Lombard Wharf, adjacent to the Grade II listed Cremone Bridge. Barratt London has allocated 20% of the apartments for on-site ‘affordable’ housing and is committing £1.6m to improve local infrastructure. Designed by local architects Patel Taylor, wraparound balconies, rotated at an angle of two degrees, appear as a series of ‘rotating discs’. This optical twist is achieved by the diagonal lines of tapered solid balustrades jutting against the horizontal lines of the balconies. Homes will achieve Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 and a …

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One of the UK’s largest employment agencies has lost a Court of Appeal hearing contesting up to £158m in unpaid tax. Employment giant Reed has been fighting a long-running battle with HM Revenue & Customs over unpaid tax on the salaries of thousands of temporary workers. The Court of Appeal has now found in the Revenue’s favour following the appeal by Reed against an Upper Tribunal tax court ruling in April 2014. Reed aimed to make non-taxable payments to its employed temps for travel expenses with tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) savings being shared between Reed and the employed temp. The Court of Appeal agreed with HMRC’s argument that the payments were made as part of overall wages and, as a result, should have …

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Sixty-nine of the industry’s brightest talents have made the finals for the Construction Manager of the Year Awards. They represent the successful construction management of a combined £2.3 billion worth of UK building assets. The annual competition is run by The Chartered Institute of Building. Saleem Akram, director at the CIOB said: “The value of professional construction managers is felt well beyond the construction site. “They not only produce outstanding buildings but their work influences the way we live our lives and how we interact with the environment around us. “Our congratulations go to the finalists who in reaching the final have achieved something very special that will enhance their careers. “They have all proved themselves more than equal to a wide range of challenges, combining …

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German discount supermarket Aldi has unveiled plans to pump £600m into expanding its store network over the next two years. The ambitious plan to take on rivals like Tesco and Sainsbury’s will see 130 new stores opened and the UK workforce reach 35,000. Aldi has boomed in recent years, and in April it overtook Waitrose as the UK’s sixth-biggest supermarket, with 5.3% of the market share. It has focused on smaller-scale stores looking at build costs of £1m-£3m for each store rather than the £10m+  favoured by the other chains. The supermarket chain is also planning several distribution centres to support the growth programme. Birmingham contractor DSP Construction Management is about to start work on a 600,000 sq ft regional distribution centre just south of the …

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Brick producers are starting to replenish stockpiles offering contractors far more choice again after the surge in demand left reserves severely depleted. The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics show brick producers have got on top of the sudden surge in demand lifting production by 7% compared to last year. Stock levels slumped to just 323m last October, down almost a third from 500m in 2012, and more than one billion recorded in 2009. The Government’s Help to Buy scheme boosted construction in a bid to meet the ever increasing appetite for new housing which resulted in increased demand for bricks. Simon Hay, CEO of the Brick Development Association said: “The brick industry has reacted swiftly in order to meet new demand by increasing brick production by …

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The number of construction workers using the CIS tax system rose by 39,000 last year despite Government moves to crack down on self employment in the industry. The figures were obtained by construction union UCATT. HM Revenue and Customs confirmed that 963,000 workers received payments via CIS in 2014/15 and “this figure will increase later this year as a result of some returns being made late.” That is a 39,000 increase on the 924,000 workers paid via CIS during 2013/14. UCATT said: “In April 2014 the Government introduced new rules that prevented agencies and other “intermediaries” from employing workers on a self-employed basis. “The changes in the rules, which have resulted in hundreds of thousands of workers being forced to operate via umbrella companies, were expected to result in a fall in …

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Two workers were left clinging to the edge of an eighth floor ledge on a Balfour Beatty university building after a platform came away from the exterior wall. Both workers had a lucky escape and were unhurt during the incident at Balfour’s £42m new Faculty of Art, Design and Humanities building at De Montfort University on Monday. Industry experts said the incident involved a Mast Climbing Work Platform. An eye-witness told the Leicester Mercury the men were on the open lift while working on cladding. He said “The lift was going up and one part of it came away from the wall. “The lift runs on two runners, part of the runner snapped off the wall and fell down. The lift was swinging in mid-…

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Developers Sterling Property Ventures and Rockspring have got the go-ahead to demolish Birmingham’s NatWest tower for a new 26-storey office building. The 105m-high tower planned for the 103 Colmore Row site has been designed by Doone Silver architects and will be the tallest building in Birmingham once completed. Work on erecting the new tower will begin in summer 2016, creating 500 construction jobs and completion is targeted for summer 2018. It will then offer 196,000 sq ft of office space over 19 floors, with restaurants on the upper and ground floors. Demolition contractors H Smith (Engineers) have been on site since mid July, stripping out the building’s interior. Scaffolding is now being erected to allow for the floor-by-floor dismantling of the concrete tower, which will take around 12 months. The two-…

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