Articles by Date : April 21 2008 - April 27 2008

Two dead in falls from London building sites
Two men have died after falling from building sites at Westminster and Wandsworth in London. more
(25 April 2008 17:12)

Bid-rigging: 'Secret millionaire' Chek Whyte buys Thomas Fish
East Midlands property developer Chek Whyte has fought off Rok and Sol Construction to buy Thomas Fish. more
(25 April 2008 16:26)

Scottish fuel strike causes site closures
A strike among Scottish fuel workers has forced some construction sites to stop work in the region, it has emerged. more
(25 April 2008 16:02)

Bid-rigging: CJ editor Emma Penny appears on Sky News
Contract Journal editor Emma Penny was interviewed on Sky News by Jeremy Thompson on 17 April regarding the OFT bid-rigging investigation in.... more
(25 April 2008 15:00)

Joyriding eight year old steals dumper truck
A eight year old boy has caused chaos in a Lancashire town after stealing a dumper truck and driving it around town. more
(25 April 2008 12:30)

Housebuilders in the doghouse with Rachel Hunter
A new market has emerged for housebuilders looking to add value to upmarket properties – the deluxe doghouse. more
(25 April 2008 12:27)

Construction & Built Environment Diploma: 70 firms sign up
More than 70 companies have now committed to delivering the Construction and the Built Environment Diploma – which is equivalent to A levels. more
(25 April 2008 12:14)

McLaren Construction: more details on £10m top director payment
McLaren Construction’s accounts might show that its highest-paid director received £10m last year, but Kevin Taylor has pointed out that he’s not put.... more
(25 April 2008 12:00)

Quarry firm fined after employee hit by 30kg rock
A quarry firm has been fined £5,000 after an employee suffered head injuries when he was hit on the head by a 30kg lump of sandstone. more
(25 April 2008 11:08)

Company director charged with manslaughter
A company director has been charged with the manslaughter of a Chinese man who died after a fall on a Norfolk building site. more
(25 April 2008 10:28)

Summer sun could de-ice winter roads
The Highways Agency will experiment with a scheme to recycle summer warmth collected by Britain’s roads and use it to keep them ice-free in winter. more
(25 April 2008 10:17)

Wave power station proposed for Scotland
Plans to construct a wave power station in Lewis, Scotland that will be able to supply electricity to hundreds of homes have been unveiled. more
(25 April 2008 10:06)

Capita Symonds buys consultancy group NRM Bobrowski
Capita Symonds has bought structural and civil engineering consultants NRM Bobrowski. The price has been kept under wraps. more
(25 April 2008 10:00)

Profile of demolition and civils contractor Keltbray
CJ's at-a-glance summary of specialist demolition and civil engineering contractor Keltbray. more
(25 April 2008 00:00)

OGC embarrassment at new logo
Red-faced officials at the Office of Government Commerce are trying to explain the thinking behind their new logo. more
(24 April 2008 16:31)

Bid-rigging: CJ editor Emma Penny takes questions on BBC Radio 4
When the story about the OFT's investigation into bid-rigging in the construction industry broke last Thursday, CJ editor Emma Penny appeared on BBC.... more
(24 April 2008 16:00)

Forum moves forward on tower crane safety
The third meeting of the Strategic Forum’s Tower Crane working group has seen results starting to emerge including a proposal to establish a.... more
(24 April 2008 15:00)

Carpenter allergic to wood
A city banker who quit his high-flying job to pursue his dream of being a carpenter has developed an allergy to wood. more
(24 April 2008 14:00)

Eddie Shah's diary of a lazy builder
Eddie Shah, angry housebuilder and former newspaper tycoon, has laid into 'shoddy, lazy and incompetent' construction workers. Here is his day in the.... more
(24 April 2008 13:41)

Three quarters of home owners recommend HBF home
Three quarters of new home owners would recommend a Home Builder’s Federation member to a friend, a recent HBF survey has revealed. more
(24 April 2008 12:35)

Metronet almost out of administration
Metronet could be removed from administration during the next few weeks, London Underground managing director Tim O’Toole revealed. more
(24 April 2008 11:29)

Bee orchid home sells for record £7.2m
An eco-house shaped like a bee orchid has been sold for a world record £7.2m for a country home. more
(24 April 2008 10:35)

Polish construction workers lured home
The construction industry could lose its Polish workers, if a campaign to lure the migrants back home is successful. more
(24 April 2008 10:26)

Jack Nicklaus development decision deferred
The fate of a £40m housing and leisure development, including a golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, hangs in the balance after a decision on its.... more
(24 April 2008 10:14)

Housebuilding slumps below WWII figures in Wales
The number of homes being built in Wales has fallen to its lowest since World War II, according to the Home Builders Federation (HBF). more
(24 April 2008 10:10)

Gladedale reveals £30m Scottish housing plans
Gladedale has unveiled its plans for a £30m housing scheme in Dunbartonshire, Scotland. more
(24 April 2008 10:07)

Persimmon imposes freeze on new sites
Persimmon has announced that it will not be opening any new sites until the mortgage market improves. more
(24 April 2008 09:00)

Bid-rigging: latest news from OFT construction investigation
The OFT investigation into bid-rigging in construction is the biggest scandal to hit the industry in years. This page will keep you updated with all.... more
(24 April 2008 00:01)

A-Plant places new equipment orders worth over £30m
A-Plant has placed orders worth over £30m for new equipment with a number of manufacturers including Terex, JCB, Doosan Infracore Portable Power,.... more
(24 April 2008 00:00)

Hole in Edinburgh runway causes planes diversion
BAA has blamed ongoing resurfacing works and poor weather for the breakup of the surface of its main runway at Edinburgh Airport which caused flights.... more
(23 April 2008 18:01)

Bid-rigging: Thomas Fish has debts of over £5m
Nottinghamshire-based Thomas Fish, one of the companies alleged to have been involved in anti-competitive tendering practices by the Office of Fair.... more
(23 April 2008 17:10)

Skanska installs Europe's largest geothermal lake loop
Skanska is close to completing Europe’s largest geothermal lake loop to service a new hospital in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. more
(23 April 2008 16:30)

EPC penalties could boost refurb work
Refurb contractors could find their workloads on the increase following industry predictions that penalties for energy-inefficient buildings are just.... more
(23 April 2008 15:18)

Local firms being squeezed out of insurance work, says FMB
Kent Police is to launch a major crackdown on heavy machinery thefts from building sites. more
(23 April 2008 12:49)

Kent Police to crack down on site thefts
Kent Police is to launch a major crackdown on heavy machinery thefts from building sites. more
(23 April 2008 12:26)

Bramall Lane evacuated after explosion on GMI Construction site
Emergency services have set up a 200m exclusion zone around Sheffield United Football Club after a gas cylinder exploded on a construction site at a.... more
(23 April 2008 11:55)

Amiri Constrution: £11m turnover for second year in succession
Amiri Construction’s latest turnover of £11m is unchanged from the previous year. The profit margin was 2.5%. more
(23 April 2008 11:00)

Amco Corporation's structural steel business makes record profit
Amco Corporation’s structural steel division, now the lion’s part of the slimmed-down group, as a result of a management buy-out of the “other half”.... more
(23 April 2008 11:00)

Mulalley and Mears share £42m decent homes job
Mulalley and Mears are set to share a £42m decent homes programme for Watford Community Housing Trust. more
(23 April 2008 11:00)

Bid-rigging: Connaught relaxed after being included in OFT list
Connaught has given a stiff rebuttal to its name being included in the list of 112 firms allegedly involved in bid-rigging activities, including.... more
(23 April 2008 10:49)

Bid-rigging: OFT pays supermarket £100,000 over false price-fixing charge
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been forced to apologise to Morrisons supermarket and pay it £100,000 following inaccuracies in a press release.... more
(23 April 2008 10:45)

UK's most expensive hospital to be built without PFI
Scottish ministers are set to stump up £550m towards the cost of an £842m hospital - the most expensive ever commissioned in the UK - rather than.... more
(23 April 2008 10:18)

IPAF elect Height for Hire's John Ball as president
John Ball, group managing director of Height for Hire, Ireland, has been elected president of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF). more
(23 April 2008 06:00)

Anglo-French social housing development in West London
The English and French haven't always been on the best of terms but, asked to collaborate on a social housing scheme in West London, two firms.... more
(23 April 2008 00:00)

Conder Structures: record profit of £2.1m
Conder Structures’ business has been realigned towards more complicated beam-and-column work, says Jason Henman, who recently took over as managing.... more
(23 April 2008 00:00)

Mixed fortunes for plant markets
There are mixed messages about the state of the world's plant markets. Speaking at the CEA's annual conference, JCB's Group purchasing... more
(23 April 2008 00:00)

HSE leads charge on non-compliant kit clampdown
Multi-agency investigation into non-compliant plant. more
(23 April 2008 00:00)

Plant news in brief
The weakening of the pound against the Euro has led truck manufacturer Daf to increase list prices by 5%. more
(23 April 2008 00:00)

Tower crane safety high on the agenda at SED
CPA will tackle the important issues head on with daily seminars at this year's show. more
(23 April 2008 00:00)

Manitou UK set to take a more direct approach
Manitou UK is to directly market the Maniaccess range of powered access platforms after it reached "an amicable agreement with Russon Access of.... more
(23 April 2008 00:00)