Articles by Date : November 03 2003 - November 09 2003

1,000 kids visit National Construction College
More than 1,000 nine to 11 year-old children have descended on the National Construction College South in Erith during the past fortnight for the.... more
(07 November 2003 16:08)

Jewson wants to find heavenly builders
Jewson has launched a nationwide search to find the country's 'Builders From Heaven'. more
(07 November 2003 12:17)

Crackdown on roadworks abuse, says RAC
Utilities contractors may be exaggerating the duration of roadworks by as much as 50% to avoid fines and half of their resurfacing work is not up to.... more
(07 November 2003 10:53)

Bilfinger backs down from Ballast bid
Bilfinger Berger is reported to have walked away from its planned acquisition of Ballast's UK services division which contained its profitable PFI.... more
(06 November 2003 15:10)

New orders dropped in September
New construction orders dropped 18% year-on-year in September from £3bn to £2.5bn, according to the latest data from the Department of Trade &.... more
(06 November 2003 11:31)

Surcharge option to avoid section 106 talks
Developers could pay a surcharge rather than waste time negotiating section 106 agreements with local authorities. more
(06 November 2003 09:52)

An exciting opportunity to learn how improve the efficiency of your supply chain.
Efficient management of construction supply chains is a key factor in giving firms a competitive edge over their rivals. It not only adds value to a.... more
(06 November 2003 09:49)

McCarthy & Stone passes £100m profit barrier
Retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone broke through the £100m pre-tax profit barrier in the year to 31 August. Its total stood at £116m, a 54%.... more
(06 November 2003 08:31)

Defence Estates unveils £400m eastern prime contract
Defence Estates has advertised the last of its five regional prime contracts in the Official Journal of the European Union. The contract is worth.... more
(05 November 2003 17:20)

Average construction fine drops
The average fine handed out by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to construction firms in the year to 31 March 2003 has fallen to £5,698. In the.... more
(05 November 2003 16:19)

Lowest cost focus upsets rail firms
Contractor confidence in Network Rail seems to be waning further this week with civils insiders blasting the rail operator for going against the.... more
(05 November 2003 10:26)

Bilfinger sneaks in to take Ballast PFI
Bilfinger Berger is favourite to buy Ballast plc's services division, beating the only other interested party Mapeley. more
(05 November 2003 10:11)

Second batch of hospitals on offer
Government plans to batch privately financed hospitals into framework contracts of three or more schemes are to receive a shot in the arm with the.... more
(05 November 2003 10:04)

Arup appoint new chairman
Arup Group has announced today (Tuesday) the appointment of Terry Hill as chair with effect from April 2004. Cecil Balmond will be deputy chair. more
(04 November 2003 16:41)

Contractors' all-risk insurance policies
In December 2001, AMC Europe opened a cinema complex at The Great Northern Warehouse in Manchester. The construction project consisted of a shell.... more
(04 November 2003 16:26)

Cycling proficiency
Pearce Construction managing director Rob Bradley confesses to having experienced a "moment of terror" when he found out Pearce had won the contract.... more
(04 November 2003 16:25)

Galliford Try clarification
CJ wishes to make a number of clarifications regarding the story Galliford Try chief must talk to Rok (CJ 15 October). more
(04 November 2003 16:24)

Are track renewals next, Network Rail?
The seven rail infrastructure maintenance contractors dumped last week by Network Rail have been left wondering whether they can ever trust the.... more
(04 November 2003 16:23)

MCI brings assembly together in Bologna
MCI (Maintou Construzioni Industriali), the Italian arm of the French access and telehandler manufacturer, has opened its new premises in.... more
(04 November 2003 16:22)

George Leslie eyes new areas as management buy-out takes over
Scottish civils firm George Leslie has been bought by its management for an undisclosed sum. more
(04 November 2003 16:21)

Market recoveries pay off at Caterpillar
Caterpillar's third-quarter sales and revenues rose 9% compared with the same period in 2002. Profit - excluding a bond retirement charge - was up.... more
(04 November 2003 16:21)

Avonside Roofing in MBO
Avonside Roofing has been bought out by its management. It was part of the Avonside Group, acquired three years ago by turn-around specialist.... more
(04 November 2003 16:20)

Terex works towards 'brand of choice'
Having made many acquisitions over the year, Terex is concentrating its efforts on "turning a patchwork quilt into a blanket", said Terex.... more
(04 November 2003 16:20)

Strike threat over foreign labour use
Unions in the engineering construction industry have warned that the sector is facing a crisis over unfair foreign competition. They say "widespread.... more
(04 November 2003 16:18)

CH Pearce awarded deals worth £34m
CH Pearce has picked up a brace of contracts in the South West totalling £34m. more
(04 November 2003 16:17)

Feast completes on Montpellier non-cores
Roger Feast, who formerly headed up the Montpellier Group's £430m-a-year construction division, has completed the acquisition of four of its smaller.... more
(04 November 2003 16:17)

Costain, McAlpine and Nuttall bid for road work
Only three firms now have a chance of clinching a high-profile £17m local authority highways scheme in the North West. more
(04 November 2003 16:16)

SEC calls for retentions peace deal
The Specialist Engineering Contractors (SEC) Group is looking to broker a peace deal with central government over its position on retentions. more
(04 November 2003 16:16)

Average site working week tops 46 hours
Construction operatives are working an average 46.5 hours per week, according to the latest New Earnings Survey published by the Office of National.... more
(04 November 2003 16:15)

M4/M5 upgrade list chosen
Geoffrey Osborne is the surprise inclusion in the line-up for a Highways Agency (HA) scheme with a potential value topping £70m. more
(04 November 2003 16:14)

LSC opens training centres
Two new construction training centres, funded by London West Learning and Skills Council (LSC), have opened in west London. more
(04 November 2003 16:14)

CSCS eyes intelligent card
The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card may become an intelligent card, incorporating information about its carrier. more
(04 November 2003 16:13)

Three vie for Fife PFI school
Fife Council has managed to attract three groups to tussle for a £42m PFI schools deal. more
(04 November 2003 16:12)

New audit trail for timber
The government intends to create a central point of expertise on timber procurement (CPET) to help public sector buyers specify their requirements.... more
(04 November 2003 16:10)

Minister to talk at HR Conference
Construction minister Nigel Griffiths is to speak at Contract Journal's HR Conference on 4 December. more
(04 November 2003 16:10)

Poor housekeeping leads to accidents
The most common activities undertaken when an accident occurs are handling materials, accessing/leaving the workface, traversing the site and.... more
(04 November 2003 16:09)

Off-shore wind farms get go ahead
The government has given the go ahead for four new wind farms to be built off the coast of Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Essex. more
(04 November 2003 16:08)

Whitehall questions future of light rail
The future of light rail schemes is in doubt after rumblings from Whitehall suggest that the government could be about to renege on its 10-year.... more
(04 November 2003 16:08)

CPA calls for tax reform
The Construction Products Association has called on Gordon Brown to instigate a number of tax reforms and halt further taxation on business. more
(04 November 2003 16:07)

Less cover is more risk
UK construction groups have responded to the soaring cost of third-party insurance by paying for less cover, according to a survey by insurance.... more
(04 November 2003 16:06)

CLRL denies Crossrail's axe
Cross London Rail Links (CLRL) has hit back at press reports that the £10bn Crossrail scheme is facing the axe. more
(04 November 2003 16:06)

Five more NHS LIFTs awarded
Five NHS LIFT schemes have chosen their preferred bidders. more
(04 November 2003 16:05)

Railing against the railways
If Network Rail imagines its seizure of control of rail maintenance contracts will be a bloodless coup, it may be in for a red and sticky surprise..... more
(04 November 2003 16:04)

Regeneration for Wembley
Wembley Stadium is to be surrounded by a £1bn mixed development project to be unveiled this week. more
(04 November 2003 16:04)

Ballast creditors £25m worse off
Ballast's unsecured creditors, of which there are more than 100, are said to be owed a total of about £25m. Among those nursing the biggest headaches.... more
(04 November 2003 16:03)

Debut tipped for £700m Defence Estates project
The Bovis Lend Lease-led Debut Services consortium is the favourite to win Defence Estates' £700m South West regional prime contract. more
(04 November 2003 16:02)

Right on Trak
Trak Construction started life in 1995 as the construction arm of property developer Chancery Gate. But it was an arrangement that proved relatively.... more
(04 November 2003 16:02)

Interserve and TGWU 'poles apart' over Liverpool dispute
Liverpool City Council is urging Interserve to end its dispute with the unions as the row over the contractor's decision to slash jobs on its housing.... more
(04 November 2003 16:01)

Extra funds help relationship with council
Willmott Dixon holds up its relationship with Cheshire County Council as one of its most progressive. It is involved in its fourth project in two.... more
(04 November 2003 16:01)

Warrington Borough Council - planned improvement works
Warrington Borough Council invites expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced Contractors wishing to be considered to tender for.... more
(04 November 2003 15:50)