Articles by Date : March 17 2003 - March 23 2003

Land buyers to benefit from compulsory purchase changes
Local authorities with compulsory purchase powers need no longer consider them a 'last resort', only to be used after all other means have been tried.... more
(21 March 2003 15:13)

Government reiterates pro-retentions stance
The chief secretary to the Treasury Paul Boateng has maintained the government’s pro-retentions position in a series of letters to those MPs involved.... more
(21 March 2003 14:49)

Canal stretch re-opening to cost £50m
A £50m plan to re-open a stretch of the Lancaster Canal in to the Lake District has been unveiled today (Friday). more
(21 March 2003 14:48)

Jarvis wins £7.5m worth of street lighting contracts
Jarvis Highways, the road infrastructure maintenance division of Jarvis plc, has been awarded two separate contracts for the maintenance of street.... more
(21 March 2003 11:35)

Mowlem wins £25m Chicksands Prime Contract
Mowlem has finally beaten Amec and Interserve to the £25m Chicksands Prime Contract for the Ministry of Defence. more
(21 March 2003 08:46)

Fast-track asbestos rules approved
A fast-track system which allow terminally ill asbestos sufferers to take legal action within a year has been agreed and will come into force across.... more
(21 March 2003 08:24)

DTI plan to halve time taken to build homes
Homes and offices could be built in less than half the time under a £1.5m research initiative announced by the government today (Thursday). more
(20 March 2003 12:44)

CITB positive image campaign wins top award
The Construction Industry Training Board's (CITB) Positive Image campaign has won a major prize at the Marketing Communication Consultants.... more
(20 March 2003 11:36)

Strategic Forum unveils new initiative to avoid site disputes
A new initiative has been unveiled by the Strategic Forum in an effort to reduce the number of disputes and power struggles on construction sites.... more
(20 March 2003 10:44)

NAO praises social housing transfers
The National Audit Office (NAO) has today (Thursday) welcomed improvements in social housing transferred from local council control. more
(20 March 2003 07:37)

Holyrood team set to make £56m in fees
Consultants, contractors and architects involved in Scotland's £340m Holyrood project are set to earn more than £56m in fees - substantially more.... more
(20 March 2003 07:25)

CPRE launches 'Communities not Concrete' campaign
The Council for the Protecion of Rural England (CPRE) has today (Wednesday) launched a major new campaign on the Government's Sustainable Communities.... more
(19 March 2003 16:37)

Industry views sought over protective equipment
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is seeking employers and workers views on European Commission (EC) directives on workplace health, safety and.... more
(19 March 2003 14:49)

Perfect delivery
It is rare to meet someone with less pretension than Steve Elliott, managing director of office fit-out and refurbishment specialist Overbury. more
(19 March 2003 13:16)

Profit tumbles at WSP
WSP Group survived major headaches last year. Restructuring costs and an exceptional charge reduced pre-tax profit to just £400,000. However, net.... more
(19 March 2003 13:15)

Tata from Phoenix
On the eve of the CV Show, Phoenix Venture Holdings (PVH), owner of MG Rover Group, has announced it is to distribute Tata Engineering's Safari.... more
(19 March 2003 13:15)

GE Equipment opens pumping depot in Croydon
GE Equipment Services (GEES) has opened a new pumping depot in Croydon, south London, specialising in the supply of pumps throughout the South East..... more
(19 March 2003 13:14)

Landfill specialist Al-Jon takes the Advantage
Landfill compactor specialist Al-Jon has announced details of its new Advantage range. The Advantage 500E has a gross weight of 45t and is fitted.... more
(19 March 2003 13:13)

Reversing the noise levels
The Noise Abatement Society (NAS) has added its weight to the calls for reducing noise pollution from reversing vehicles. It visited Tarmac's brick.... more
(19 March 2003 13:13)

NK Lifton launches five new models
Dumper manufacturer NK Lifton has launched a further assault on the UK market with the unveiling of five new models from 1t to 5t. more
(19 March 2003 13:12)

Amec takes pole position again
Amec took top spot in the CJ50 for the second month running after closing two big privately-financed infrastructure deals. more
(19 March 2003 13:12)

Carillion returns to road building as ECIs pay off
Road clients' growing interest in Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) forms of contracts have delighted Carillion, the construction and services.... more
(19 March 2003 13:11)

Seven vie for £750m MoD PFI
Seven consultants are gunning for the biggest of the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) series of regional prime contracts more
(19 March 2003 13:10)

'Designer contractors' key to project delivery
Failures in the delivery of public sector projects are largely due to a lack of integration in the design process, according to the Special.... more
(19 March 2003 13:10)

UCATT calls for boost in pension contributions
Union leaders want the minimum employer contribution to the industry stakeholder pension to be raised from its present level of £1.90 to £5 within.... more
(19 March 2003 13:09)

Fiat Kobelco announces final UK dealer network
Following the parting of the ways with HM Plant, Fiat Kobelco has finalised it UK dealer network. It has appointed Ernest Doe to cover East Anglia,.... more
(19 March 2003 13:09)

Robertson to open second timber plant
Robertson Timber Products (RTP), part of the Robertson Group, aims to have its second timber frame manufacturing plant operational by July. more
(19 March 2003 13:08)

Scottish watchdog appoints first approved licensing body
Scotland's independent quality watchdog, the Construction Licensing Executive (CLE), has appointed Scottish Building as one of its first approved.... more
(19 March 2003 13:08)

Bouygues drops £70m Uni PFI
A French-led consortium has pulled out of bidding for an education project in Hertfordshire, worth up to £70m. more
(19 March 2003 13:07)

Interserve's pension £79m short
The transitional arrangements for the new pension accounting standard, FRS17, has highlighted the fact that Interserve has a net pension deficit of.... more
(19 March 2003 13:07)

Mowlem lifts margin to 2%
Mowlem lifted the margins from its £1.5bn-a-year main operating division, construction services, to 2.0% in 2002 from a figure of 1.8% in the.... more
(19 March 2003 13:06)

Eight bid for £200m ALMO work
Eight firms are fighting it out for a £200m council house renovation deal in Hounslow, West London, while 10 contractors have been selected to carry.... more
(19 March 2003 13:06)

HVCA ups effort to drive out cowboys
The Heating and Ventilating Contractors' Association (HVCA) has stepped up its efforts to raise standards in construction and eliminate cowboys from.... more
(19 March 2003 13:05)

Gleeson takes £5m hit in Buxton
Gleeson's interim financial results, due out on 25 March, will include a £5m provision for losses on a £32m cement works project near Buxton for.... more
(19 March 2003 13:04)

Alfred McAlpine ready to spend
Alfred McAlpine's bulging war chest of funds for acquisitions won't see it bidding for either McNicholas or Amey - but it would leap at the.... more
(19 March 2003 13:03)

HE Services promises to put on a show at SED 2003
HE Services is likely to have one of the biggest draws at next month's SED with its SuperTrack universal tracked carrier. The spec sheet seems to.... more
(19 March 2003 13:03)

Accounts woes knock Ashtead
Millions of pounds were wiped off the share value of the Ashtead Group, A-Plant's parent company, last week after it admitted accounting.... more
(19 March 2003 13:03)

Safety warning: Access Machines' work platform
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has raised concerns over the safety of elevating work platforms made by Access Machines of Leicester. more
(19 March 2003 13:02)

English Heritage calls for 5% VAT on all construction work
English Heritage (EH) wants a reduction in VAT to 5% for all construction work. However, this can only be achieved through the revision of an EU.... more
(19 March 2003 13:02)

BAA calls for Aggregates Levy review
The British Aggregates Association (BAA) has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer demanding a Treasury review of the Aggregates Levy. more
(19 March 2003 13:01)

Kier's John Dodds steps into one of Colin Busby's shoes
The days of Colin Busby's one-man rule at Kier will come to an end on 1 May when he hands over one of his two positions - that of chief executive -.... more
(19 March 2003 13:01)

Small firms team up to win public sector work
Smaller contractors in the Borders region are looking to give major contractors a run for their money by teaming up to form partnerships in the race.... more
(19 March 2003 13:00)

Laing focuses on investment in PFI projects
John Laing Group, brought to its knees by its previous management, would have finally moved out of the red in 2002 - if it had not been saddled with.... more
(19 March 2003 13:00)

Goverment to dump housing refurb PFIs
The government is to consider scrapping its privately financed social housing refurbishment programme in favour of new build, following a recent.... more
(19 March 2003 12:59)

Severfield-Rowen to axe 80 staff
Eighty staff are to lose their jobs at Severfield-Rowen following the structural steel group's decision to rationalise activities at its Nottingham.... more
(19 March 2003 12:59)

HE Services foils major plant theft
Staff at excavator hire specialist HE Services last weekend foiled an in-house plot to steal £200,000-worth of plant from one of its depots. more
(19 March 2003 12:58)

Equion/Costain jv lands £25m PFI Kingston hospital
An Equion/Costain 50:50 joint venture is preferred bidder for a £25m private finance initiative deal to build a new hospital at Kingston upon Thames.... more
(19 March 2003 12:58)

Roofers and scaffolders face Hobson's choice
Roofing and scaffolding contractors have just one major insurance firm to turn to for cover. more
(19 March 2003 12:57)

Punish us if we fail say local councils
Local government minister Nick Raynsford should force authorities to comply with Rethinking Construction principles and the government should limit.... more
(19 March 2003 12:56)

Taking out the risky business
You have to feel a pang of sympathy for the firms struggling to make PFI social housing schemes work. They all involve refurbishment exclusively, a.... more
(19 March 2003 12:56)