Articles by Date : May 12 2008 - May 18 2008

Unexpected lift for gloomy US housebuilders
Construction of new homes rose unexpectedly in April in the US, offering hope that the housing market gloom is set to lift. more
(16 May 2008 15:20)

Tender: Swindon Borough Council: Restoration of landfill site
The Council intends, through a competitive tender, to award the restoration and remediation of a closed landfill site within the Borough. The works.... more
(16 May 2008 14:28)

Construction Act: payment provision amendments 'costly and unnecessary'
The Construction Confederation has attacked plans to amend the payment provisions of the Construction Act. more
(16 May 2008 14:03)

Olympic rowing centre contract up for grabs
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has put a contract to build an enhanced rowing and canoe/kayak facility for the London 2012 Olympic Games up for.... more
(16 May 2008 12:28)

Barratt unveils 'first' zero carbon home by volume housebuilder
Barratt have introduced what they claim to be the first zero-carbon home. more
(16 May 2008 11:23)

One in ten to go at Crest Nicholson
Crest Nicholson have announced that one in ten staff are to be made redundant. more
(16 May 2008 11:06)

Owners insist Liverpool stadium build plans still on track
Plans for Liverpool FC to move into a new 71,000-seater stadium, set to be built by Laing O'Rourke, are still on track according to co-owner Tom.... more
(16 May 2008 11:03)

Kier's construction orderbook at record high
Kier’s construction division has a record level of cash, but the group’s housebuilding operations report a deterioration in reservation levels - they.... more
(16 May 2008 11:00)

MJ Gleeson: the only housebuilder with no debt?
MJ Gleeson is cash positive. While other housebuilders are urgently restructuring the repayment of their rising levels of debt, Gleeson’s chief.... more
(16 May 2008 11:00)

Haki illustrate dangers of falls from height - VIDEO
The dangers of working at height were graphically illustrated on the Haki stand at SED. more
(16 May 2008 11:00)

Tender: Rock Walk Gardens, Torquay Cliff Stabilisation Works
Applications are invited from suitably experienced contractors who wish to be considered for inclusion on a select list of tenderers for the above.... more
(16 May 2008 00:00)

Housing starts at lowest level for nearly a decade
Housing starts are at their lowest level for nearly a decade, government figures have revealed. more
(15 May 2008 17:10)

North Midland Construction profits on course
North Midland Construction has indicated that its profits are in line with expectations, with revenues up on the same time last year. more
(15 May 2008 16:29)

Chairman of Leadbitter parent resigns
Leadbitter has moved to reassure the market of its profitability following the announcement that the chairman of its Dutch parent company has.... more
(15 May 2008 15:36)

CJ50 contracts league: April 2008
Contract Journal’s league table of the construction companies who have won the most contracts in the past month. more
(15 May 2008 14:46)

Olympic Park cabling complete
Work to install 200km of electrical cables in the powerline tunnels beneath the Olympic Park is complete, according to the Olympic Delivery Authority.... more
(15 May 2008 14:32)

T5: CCTV footage shifts blame away from contractors
British Airways has been unable to shift blame onto the builders for the opening week fiasco at Heathrow's T5 because of the elaborate CCTV system in.... more
(15 May 2008 13:52)

Surveyor fined over asbestos check failure
A surveyor has been fined for failing to carry-out asbestos inspection work on a refurbishment job in Birmingham. more
(15 May 2008 13:49)

£700m of work shelved as market jitters hit developers
Two major schemes worth more than £700m have been put on hold as market jitters continue to hit developers. more
(15 May 2008 13:29)

Skanska lands £88m Two Kingdom Street job
Skanska has scooped its second landmark deal in London in as many years from Development Securities. more
(15 May 2008 13:00)

Kier takes £30m Kent prison contract
Kier has locked up a deal worth between £20m to £30m to revamp Elmley Prison at Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. more
(15 May 2008 12:22)

Keith 'Cheggers' Chegwin takes on a drilling challenge - VIDEO
Keith 'Cheggers' Chegwin compered the Tyrolit Cutting Pro competition yesterday (Thursday May 14) at SED 2008. more
(15 May 2008 12:00)

Kier takes £20m Somerset school deal
Kier has caned three rivals to win a £20m education-sector deal for Bath and North East Somerset council. The job involves redeveloping the.... more
(15 May 2008 12:00)

'Forced labour' firm has links to construction, says UCATT
A firm supplying mainly Polish labour to the agricultural industry and which has just been stripped of its licence by the Gangmasters Licensing.... more
(15 May 2008 11:45)

Government's funding for homes under fire
The government has come under fire over its proposals to kickstart the housing market, announced in the Commons yesterday. more
(15 May 2008 11:40)

Wrong data used to measure plant pollution
Incorrect data is being used to make the case for fitting costly diesel particulate filters (DPFs) to construction machinery. more
(15 May 2008 11:29)

Walkie Talkie tower to be shelved?
Land Securities are considering delaying the Walkie-Talkie building in London. more
(15 May 2008 11:22)

HSE targets small refurb developments
Small developers are being targeted by the Health and Safety Executive as it battles to reduce deaths on refurb jobs. more
(15 May 2008 11:22)

Miller demonstrate quick hitches - VIDEO
Visitors to Miller's stand at SED 2008 were given a demonstrate by the company of the benefits of quick hitches. more
(15 May 2008 11:00)

Over-50s used to solve construction skills shortage
Contractors are turning to the over-50s to solve skills shortages because youngsters are not up to the job. more
(15 May 2008 11:00)

Second Thames Barrier needs to be built - report
A second Thames Barrier needs to be built as part of a £20bn flood defence programme to protect London. more
(15 May 2008 10:57)

Olympics: 98% of site now investigated for contamination
Olympic chiefs are hoping there will be no more nasty surprises buried beneath the site now that 98% of the 2.5km2 main park has been investigated.... more
(15 May 2008 10:51)

M25 widening: losing bidders grumble over HA's decision
Losing bidders on the £4.5bn M25 DBFO believe the Highways Agency's choice of the Connect Plus consortium - which includes Balfour Beatty, Skanska,.... more
(15 May 2008 10:36)

Road contractors must improve image, says outgoing HA chief
Outgoing Highways Agency chief executive Archie Robertson has called on the industry to improve its image to "regain the status it desires". more
(15 May 2008 10:29)

Housebuilders call for clarity on eco-targets
Confused housebuilders want a moratorium on changes to sustainability regulations after research revealed up to 80% of new homes will fail to meet.... more
(15 May 2008 10:26)

Willmott Dixon lands £100m Middlesbrough BSF
Willmott Dixon has clinched Middlesbrough's £100m Building Schools for the Future scheme after fighting off competition from rival Laing O'Rourke for.... more
(15 May 2008 10:00)

Kingspan revenues down as orders go flat
Kingspan, the construction products manufacturer based in Dublin, points to various hiccups that will stop it from repeating last year’s record.... more
(15 May 2008 09:39)

Marshalls revenues up 3% for first four months of 2008
Marshalls' revenue - the new word for turnover - for the four months to the end of April was 3% up at £135 million and on a like-for-like basis was.... more
(15 May 2008 09:30)

Balfour Beatty bullish about trading expectations
Balfour Beatty has issued a robust trading statement saying that it is firing on all cylinders and that the 2008 performance “will be at the top end.... more
(15 May 2008 09:25)

Kier chases £100m National Academy Framework deals
Kier is in the running for £100m of schools contracts under the National Academy frameworks deals. more
(15 May 2008 09:22)

World's first CBR30Plus self-erecting tower unveiled
The world’s very first CBR30Plus self-erecting tower crane from Terex Comedil was unveiled on the Ladybird Cranes stand at SED. more
(15 May 2008 09:04)

Record visitor numbers flock to SED 2008
Construction exibition SED has recorded the busiest day in the 42-year history of the show, for Wednesday 14 May. more
(15 May 2008 08:59)

CIS should be scrapped, says UCATT
UNION leaders are calling for the CIS tax system to be abolished. more
(15 May 2008 08:29)

Drivers take on Land Rover Discovery Challenge - VIDEO
Visitors to SED 2008 have taken on the Land Rover Challenge at the show. more
(15 May 2008 00:00)

Metronet to restart Tube station upgrade work
First batch of work is for five station schemes worth £40m. more
(14 May 2008 17:00)

Connaught boss in £8.4m shares-for-cash transaction
The king-sized director deal of April was the £8.4m shares-for-cash transaction struck by Mark Tincknell, founder and executive chairman of.... more
(14 May 2008 17:00)

Plant buyers urged to rethink funding options
Companies buying plant must reconsider their funding options in the wake of the 'credit crunch' and the new tax regime that started in April. more
(14 May 2008 16:42)

Construction Act included in Queen's speech
The Construction Act has finally made it into the draft legislative programme for 2008/09, outlined in today's Queen's speech. more
(14 May 2008 16:12)

Government plans £200m social housing boost
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has unveiled plans for government to spend £200m buying unsold new homes in order to rent them out to social housing.... more
(14 May 2008 15:27)

Land Securities plunges into the red
Land Securities has registered an £888.8m pre-tax loss as part of its preliminary results for the year to 31 March 2008 amid a sharply falling.... more
(14 May 2008 15:17)