News

TWO NORTH-EAST construction companies are reporting a surge in contracts, revenue and new jobs, amid signs that the beleaguered building trade is showing signs of recovery. Newcastle-based Shepherd Engineering Services (SES), has landed a double deal worth a combined £13m.  and Newton Aycliffe firm Finley Structures is on target to smash its record turnover. SES will provide full mechanical and electrical (M&E) services as part of the £200m transformation of Newcastle’s historic city-centre Stephenson Quarter. The company, which has offices in Darlington and York, will also provide all of the M&E services on the new Consett Academy and Leisure Centre in County Durham which forms part of a £40m investment into the former steel town. The deals come less than a year after…

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Estate agent Hamptons International says house price growth in greater London will cool to 3pc in 2015 from 15.5pc this year . Dramatic double-digit increases in London house prices will come to an abrupt halt next year, as anxiety around the general election and rising interest rates puts a severe dampener on growth, according to a report from Hamptons International. House price growth in greater London will cool from 15.5pc this year to just 3pc next year, according to the estate agent’s latest forecasts. Even the most sought after areas such as Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster will not be immune from the softening market; Hamptons believes growth in prime central London will weaken to 3pc in 2015 from 10pc this year. The research from Hamptons, which specialises in …

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A bankrupt building boss is serving 27 months in prison for a string of offences including fraud and running four separate building companies despite being disqualified as a director. . The conviction of Trevor Lawrence – also known as Trevor Fail – follows an initial investigation by the Insolvency Service and a full criminal investigation and prosecution by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS). Trevor Lawrence, 50, also pleaded guilty to acting as a director whilst a disqualified along with seven other related offences including three counts of fraud. He was sentenced on 14 July 2014 at Northampton Crown Court. The judge also disqualified him from acting as a director for seven years. Commenting on the sentence, BIS deputy chief investigating officer Ian West said: “This was a particularly blatant …

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Developer LXB properties is planning to start tendering next month for a major out-of-town retail and leisure scheme at Rushden Lakes, in Northamptonshire. The developer announced today that it had cleared all hurdles to planning and would now start the near 500,000 sq ft shopping and leisure complex early next year. Several contractors including BAM, Bowmer & Kirkland and McLaren had been in project talks but progress was being hampered by planning uncertainty. LXB received the green light from communities secretary Eric Pickles in June subject to a six-week period where further challenges were permitted. This has now passed and LXB Properties can go ahead with the retail park on a 244-acre plot of brownfield land next to the A45 Northampton Road. A spokesman said: “Pre-lets …

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Construction buyers are reporting the biggest boom in new job creation since their monthly surveys began back in 1997. The latest Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI survey for July showed new job vacancies opening up at the fastest rate for 17 years. The index dipped slightly to 62.4 from 62.6 in June bu the headline figure has now posted above the 50.0 no-change threshold for 15 months running. July data also signalled the steepest rise in residential building activity since November 2003 while rates charged by subcontractors increased at a near-record pace. David Noble, Group Chief Executive Officer at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, said: “The house building sector is racing ahead this quarter with the fastest growth in construction of homes for over a decade. “The industry as a …

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A construction worker has been rescued after falling down a 19ft bore hole on an Aberdeenshire building site. The 25-year-old man was working on a Stewart Milne Homes site on the outskirts of Aberdeen when the incident happened yesterday afternoon. A fire crew and a line rescue specialist team managed to hoist him up from the 3 feet diameter bore hole. He is said to have suffered leg injuries as a result of the fall. The Stewart Milne Homes site at Sunnyside Farm in the village of Drumoak, is being developed with plans for 35 homes.

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Scientists have come up with a way of using noise cancelling technology for acoustic barriers alongside roads and railway lines. Sonobex Limited, a newly formed spin-out from Loughborough University, has funding from the Technology Strategy Board, to bring its SonoBarrier acoustic fences to market. The first CE mark prototypes are expected to be produced by February 2015, the company says. Sonobex uses a patented acoustic meta-material technology called sonic crystals, which are fabricated materials designed to control, direct and manipulate sound. Sonobex sonic crystal based noise reduction technology is a passive method that superimposes disturbing noise with scattered anti-acoustic noise to cancel out the disturbance. Designs are tuned to particular dominant frequencies to achieve significant reduction levels. Sonobex has a £358,000 budget for its project, …

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Construction industry capacity shortages have prompted Mace to increase its forecast for tender cost inflation in London. The company’s cost consultancy division reports that contractors are now turning down work in the capital as they are able to pick and choose their jobs. With competition falling, margins are rising, it says. The surge in demand has led Mace to increase its forecast for London tender cost inflation from 3.5% to 4.5% for both 2014 and 2015. Outside of London, there is still enough capacity across the UK to meet demand, as well as steady competition. This continues to subdue price increases. Mace’s forecast for average inflation in tender prices has therefore remained unchanged at 2% for 2014, rising to 2.5% in 2015 and 3% in 2016, by which time it is expected …

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A London construction company and the director of a Hertfordshire roofing firm have been fined for safety failings after a worker was seriously injured when he plunged almost six metres through a void for a roof light. The roof light void where the fall occured The self-employed roofer, who does not want to be named, broke and fractured several bones in his back and bruised his diaphragm, lungs and thigh in the incident in Brent on 29 February 2012. He was unable to work for 14 months and still requires hospital treatment for back problems that have forced him to seek alternative employment. The fall occurred while he was under the control of Rickmansworth-based John Donald, trading as John Donald Roofing. The director had in turn been sub-…

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A CONSTRUCTION giant buying up large parts of London is lobbying Camden Council to a build skyscraper at the cost of the community, local residents warned yesterday. Supporters of the Save Swiss Cottage campaign have urged Camden to repeal Essential Living’s proposal to demolish the former Reuters building on 100 Avenue Road to build “long-term private rental” accommodation. The proposed area for redevelopment currently houses one of the few local green spaces, a community centre, Hampstead Theatre and the homes of local residents, including caring facilities for people with disabilities. Save Swiss Cottage member Sarah Gottlieb spoke to the Star about her fears over the construction, including its impact on the community and the inescapable ramping up of housing prices in the area. In her view the …

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