News

Chancellor George Osborne is launching a radical revamp of planning rules in a bid to boost house building levels across the country. Automatic planning permission will be granted on many brownfield sites while major housing schemes could also be fast-tracked. The moves will be part of a plan called “Fixing the Foundations” to boost the UK’s productivity revealed today by the Chancellor as a follow-up to his latest Budget. Planning powers will also be devolved to Mayors in London and Manchester while councils will be sanctioned if they take too long to deal with applications. Osborne said: “Britain has been incapable of building enough homes. “The reforms we made to the planning system in the last Parliament have started to improve the situation: planning permissions …

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Green construction campaigners were left reeling today as the Government dumped its zero-carbon homes targets. Chancellor George Osborne’s “Fixing the Foundations” report confirmed that zero-carbon building policy is being dropped along with targets for homes to be compliant by 2016 and other buildings by 2019. Julie Hirigoyen, Chief Executive of the UK Green Building Council, said: “Let us be in no doubt this announcement is the death knell for zero carbon homes. “It is short-sighted, unnecessary, retrograde and damaging to the house building industry which has invested heavily in delivering energy efficient homes. “Britain needs more housing but there is no justification for building homes with a permanent legacy of high energy bills.” Rob Lambe, Managing Director of Willmott Dixon Energy Services, said: “Since the …

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Long-established historic building restoration specialist Fairhurst Ward Abbotts has gone into administration. More than 200 staff with the Dartford-based firm are understood to have received letters informing them they have been made redundant. The news comes as two other contractors – Nottingham M&E specialist D H Fathers and Tyneside builder Turney Wylde Construction – also entered administration bringing total job losses to over 400 last week. FWA was established back in 1941 and holds the royal warrant for building and decorating services to the Queen. The firm built up a countrywide reputation for delivering renovation and refurbishment of historic properties, plus luxury new build projects. As well as the Royal Palaces, FWA worked on some of the UK’s finest historic buildings including the National Galley, the V&A …

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Construction experts are warning that more contractors will fail as the industry struggles to cope with booming workloads. The warning came as construction buyers reported workloads rising at their steepest level for eight months in the CIPS/Markit Construction PMI. But Richard Threlfall, head of infrastructure, building and construction at KPMG UK, said: “The industry will soon be running white hot, as housing, commercial and infrastructure demand are rising together. “What we are seeing is very unusual. Private demand is rocketing in response to an improving economy and much stronger business confidence. “And public demand is surging too, following the Government’s post-election re-commitment to a huge infrastructure investment programme. “The critical question is, can the industry deliver? I am concerned it cannot. “The industry is …

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A brand new study looking into the musical tastes and preferences of construction workers has revealed the songs most likely to be played on the building sites of Britain this summer. The construction workers’ top 50 songs have also been assembled into a Spotify playlist. As we approach the peak summer months of July and August, a leading construction insurance company has revealed the top playlist of British builders and construction workers in the UK. The study also assessed the impact of music on the productivity of construction workers during warmer periods. The team at www.constructaquote.com polled a total of 2,948 UK-based construction workers from around the UK and between the ages of 18-62 for the research. Each participant confirmed that they worked within a sector of …

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Eric Wright has been called in to finish Blackburn’s delayed bus station project after the local council sacked builder Thomas Barnes earlier this month. At the time, Thomas Barnes, director of Thomas Barnes & Sons Group, said the firm had raised concerns over the structural integrity of the bus station’s design by Capita and what impact this would have on delivering a safe transport hub given the budgets and resources available. These concerns contributed to delays on the project, which led Blackburn and Derwent Council to taken action and find a new contractor. Council regeneration boss Phil Riley said he now hoped the £4.7m public transport complex, originally scheduled to open by January, would be completed before Christmas. Riley said: “Eric Wright is keen to get on …

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Mobile CAD Surveying Solutions Ltd have been working at Brentford FC’s ground Griffin Park. Mobile CAD recently produced plans and sections of the main stand to aid the clubs ongoing developments as they look to gain promotion to the Premier League next season. Good luck to the Bees for the forthcoming season.

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A new study has revealed that just under half of construction workers don’t carry out DIY jobs around their own home, despite the nature of their jobs. ‘A lack of time to do DIY’  and ‘lessened confidence with different capabilities’ emerged as the most common reasons behind respondents lack of DIY skills. Almost half of construction workers in the UK refuse to carry out any DIY jobs around their own homes, according to a new study conducted by a leading business insurance website In a bid to further extend its research into the habits and lifestyle preferences of those working within the UK construction industry, the team at www.constructaquote.com polled a total of 2,038 UK based construction workers for the study. Those taking part in the …

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The Innovative Design Lab – The Centre for Urban Design, Architecture and Sustainability  TWO new research centres that aim to use design and technology to solve problems of modern living and improve the quality and sustainability of the urban environment have been established at the University of Huddersfield. They will carry out important research and teach the next generations of experts in the field. The centres – which come under the aegis of the University’s School of Art, Design and Architecture – are the Innovative Design Lab (IDL) and the Centre for Urban Design, Architecture and Sustainability (CUDAS). The IDL is headed by Professor Patricia Tzortzopoulos Fazenda, an architect with industrial experience in collaborative design integration and management who is the University’s Professor of Integrated Design and …

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After several flat years, the commercial property market in London has really taken off. In 2014, investment in commercial property in the city reached record-breaking levels. During the first 3 months of 2014, over £4.3bn was invested into commercial real estate in the centre of London and the tide of money has not stopped since. Much of that money has come from overseas investors who are looking for a slice of the pie. They know that the availability of office space in Mayfair, The City of London and other business districts is limited. Yet there is a lot of demand with thousands of new firms setting themselves up in the capital every year. For investors interested in commercial real estate London presents a fantastic opportunity. The influx of …

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