Articles by Date : April 04 2005 - April 10 2005

Chunnel extension protestors bailed
Four men accused of disrupting construction work at the Channel Tunnel Rail Link building at site at Kings Cross St Pancras last November have been.... more
(08 April 2005 15:41)

Amey secures highways contract extension
Amey has secured a one-year extension until May 2006 on the Highways Agency's (HA) Area 1 which covers Devon and Cornwall. more
(08 April 2005 15:40)

Mowlem removed from Bath Spa
Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council has instructed Mowlem to leave the troubled Bath Spa site. more
(08 April 2005 10:52)

Four bid for £2.2bn Birmingham roads PFI
Four groups have finally hit the road for the biggest-ever highways maintenance PFI deal, ending months of speculation about the fate of Birmingham.... more
(07 April 2005 16:58)

Laing O'Rourke likely to win theatre revamp
Laing O'Rourke is on the verge of playing a one-man show on a £30m-plus theatre revamp deal in West Yorkshire. The contractor was the only one of an.... more
(07 April 2005 16:58)

Skanska tipped for £117m M1 contract
Shortlisted bidders and a front-runner have emerged for two separate Highways Agency (HA) early contractor involvement contracts for widening and.... more
(07 April 2005 16:57)

Mitie scoops five year Wigan Council scheme
Mitie has beaten off five rivals to land a maintenance and refurbishment deal in the North West potentially worth £24m. more
(07 April 2005 16:56)

Infracos face rivals for £1bn extra Tube work
TubeLines and Metronet will face competition from Birse, Gleeson and Taylor Woodrow for the £1bn, five-year framework package of Tube maintenance.... more
(07 April 2005 16:56)

Oystertec launches leak-free solution
A guaranteed 100% leak-free, push-fit system for coupling hydraulic pipes to valve blocks and cylinders operating at up to 400bar has been developed.... more
(07 April 2005 16:55)

DoH trials online document management system on PFIs
The Department of Health (DoH) is test driving an e-procurement tool on its batched PFI projects with the aim of speeding up the procurement process,.... more
(07 April 2005 16:54)

Spillard offers free visibility survey
Spillard Safety Systems is offering free site visibility surveys of mobile plant. It has also introduced a colour version of its Optronics rear view.... more
(07 April 2005 16:54)

Terex adds six to telehandler range
TerexLift will introduce six new telehandlers this year, three of which are aimed at the construction and rental markets, including a roto model. more
(07 April 2005 16:53)

Slow start for Irish 'untouchables'
Plans to introduce a US-style team of "untouchables" to help stamp out racketeering on construction sites in Northern Ireland have got off the a slow.... more
(07 April 2005 16:52)

Disciplinary for CITB director
Eddie Ruthven, assistant director of the CITB-ConstructionSkills, was this week expected to face a disciplinary hearing in the wake of an internal.... more
(07 April 2005 16:51)

Benson's crash did not need to happen
Benson's crash into administration, leaving unsecured creditors owed £23m, could have been avoided, according to its former chief executive Alistair.... more
(07 April 2005 16:50)

Mowlem splits up civils and building again
Mowlem's £1bn-a-year construction services division is being restructured by new chief executive Simon Vivian, effectively reversing Sir John Gains'.... more
(07 April 2005 16:45)

New focus restores Skanska profit
Skanska UK's major sort out has dramatically restored the construction group's profitability. After running into the red as a result of £22m of.... more
(07 April 2005 16:45)

Daniel acquires pipeline builder
Daniel Contractors, based in Warrington, Lancashire, has bought Lawrence, the specialist pipeline constructor, for £500,000. more
(07 April 2005 16:44)

Best workplace: deadline looming
More than 75 companies have already entered CJ's Best Places to Work in Construction Awards. more
(07 April 2005 16:39)

Noisy sites head list of complaints in 2004
Noise continues to be the cause of most of the complaints made to the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS). more
(07 April 2005 16:38)

Scaffolding MD clears confusion
Climax Scaffolding managing director Phil King has moved to clear industry confusion following Kings Scaffolding's £75,000 fine for a scaffolding.... more
(07 April 2005 16:37)

Intervect changes name to Alimak Hek
Swedish-Dutch access equipment manufacturer Intervect has renamed itself Alimak Hek. By adopting the monikers of its two product lines, Alimak hoists.... more
(07 April 2005 16:36)

Ausa goes large with D600
Spanish manufacturer Ausa has launched its largest-ever dumper - the 6t D600. more
(07 April 2005 16:32)

Cranes to Russia
Manitowoc Crane Group dealer Coast Crane is supplying a fleet of ten machines to an ExxonMobil project on the Russian island of Sakhalin. more
(07 April 2005 16:32)

Excavators top list as plant theft rises
More than £36m-worth of plant equipment was stolen in the UK in 2004, up by £1.8m on the previous year, according to The National Plant & Equipment.... more
(07 April 2005 16:31)

The prevention principle
'The 'prevention principle' comes from a generally stated legal principle that a party cannot benefit from its own wrong. more
(07 April 2005 16:30)

Skanska gets in fast lane for M25 work
Skanska is trying to manoeuvre itself to the head of the queue of bidders for the £1.7bn DBFO project to upgrade the entire M25. more
(07 April 2005 16:29)

Fitzpatrick tunnel contract nearly two years late
Fitzpatrick's £15.5m refurbishment of London's Blackwall Tunnel will run nearly two years late, the project's client Transport for London (TfL) has.... more
(07 April 2005 16:28)

Sir Robert steps up Holyrood challenge
Sir Robert McAlpine's legal challenge against the Scottish Parliament could be helped after the release of a damming report into the procurement of.... more
(07 April 2005 16:27)

NFB warns on switching insurer
The National Federation of Builders (NFB) is urging contractors to think twice before changing their insurance providers this year. more
(07 April 2005 16:27)

Cartel leads 'significant', says OFT
More than 10 contractors have already approached the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and given "significant leads" on bid rigging in the industry. more
(07 April 2005 16:26)

Kingspan and 3DM hatch waste plan
Medical waste, old nappies and fridge scrap could be used in construction products after Kingspan signed a deal with intellectual property firm 3DM.... more
(07 April 2005 16:25)

Lafarge fuel trials come under scrutiny
There were mixed fortunes at Lafarge Cement sites last week. Environment Agency (EA) officers started an investigation at works in Wiltshire, while.... more
(07 April 2005 16:25)

HSE investigates O'Rourke 38-storey formwork fall
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has launched an investigation after formwork fell 130m off the Beetham Tower being built by Laing O'Rourke in.... more
(07 April 2005 16:24)

HSE defends time taken to investigate
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has defended the time it takes for the details of investigations into construction fatalities to be published. more
(07 April 2005 16:24)

Insurers want civils rethink
Insurers will push for a new wet civils code of practice to help curb the difficulties in obtaining insurance cover for these high-risk projects,.... more
(07 April 2005 16:23)

Down in the tube station at ?midnight
12.40am. Oxford Circus station. The final trains have rattled off down the tunnels, the last passengers have dispersed into the night. more
(07 April 2005 16:23)

Medlock on the march
Five years ago, Medlock Construction appeared to have an uncertain future. Back then, the contractor was part of the Medlock Group, which was making.... more
(07 April 2005 16:22)

Nuttall to build gallery
Edmund Nuttall is in the frame for a landmark £20m art gallery at Margate, Kent. more
(07 April 2005 16:21)

Terex adds six telehandlers
TerexLifts will introduce six new telehandlers this year, three of which are aimed at the construction and rental markets, including a roto model. more
(07 April 2005 16:20)

Russell Denness to take top position at Croudace
Russell Denness will take over at the end of the year as managing director of Croudace Homes, the £100m-a-year turnover group based in Caterham,.... more
(07 April 2005 16:20)

Low-cost housing repairs set for VAT reduction to 5%
The government is considering reducing VAT to 5% on all repairs of low-cost housing, according to accountancy firm Grant Thornton. more
(07 April 2005 16:19)

Volvo Construction Equipment sold 30,000 machines in 2004
Volvo Construction Equipment has reported record sales for 2004, with the number of machines sold rising 25% to 30,000 units. more
(07 April 2005 16:18)

NFB warns on switching insurer
The National Federation of Builders (NFB) is urging contractors to think twice before changing their insurance providers this year. more
(07 April 2005 16:18)

New group to add weight to brick sector
The masonry sector will get a boost later this year with a new trade group. British Precast, the Brick Development Association and the Mortar.... more
(07 April 2005 16:16)

T5 contractors must pay workers' travelling costs
M&E contractors at T5 are facing a massive hike in their wage bills after an independent panel ruled that M&E workers are entitled to compensatory.... more
(07 April 2005 16:15)

Revenue renews employment blitz
The move prepares the way for the new Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) which is due to come into force in April 2006. more
(07 April 2005 16:15)

Ennstone progresses Johnston sale
Ennstone has confirmed further details of the plan to sell off the non-core parts of Johnston Engineering. The sales will bring in a total of £26m. more
(07 April 2005 16:14)

Manchester Cabins and Hiab develop two loader crane truck
The chances of Bath & North East Somerset Council (BANES) accepting Mowlem's £26m offer to complete the Bath Spa project seem to be shrinking after.... more
(07 April 2005 16:14)

Mowlem's Bath Spa offer doubted
The chances of Bath & North East Somerset Council (BANES) accepting Mowlem's £26m offer to complete the Bath Spa project seem to be shrinking after.... more
(07 April 2005 16:13)