Articles by Date : June 24 2002 - June 30 2002

Construction provides a major boost to the UK economoy
Figures produced by the Office for National Statistics today (Friday) show that growth in the UK's construction industry has been a major contributor.... more
(28 June 2002 17:08)

Brown urged to deliver sustained investment in built environment
Construction Products Association (CPA) president Roy Harrison has called on Chancellor Gordon Brown to increase spending on social housing, schools.... more
(28 June 2002 16:44)

Latham warns that attracting new recruits won't be easy
Encouraging industry recruiting figures were reported by Sir Michael Latham, chairman of the Construction Industry Training Board. more
(28 June 2002 15:56)

Alfred McAlpine quits MCG
Alfred McAlpine has become the latest high profile name to quit the Major Contractors Group (MCG) after deciding that it was "no longer right for the.... more
(28 June 2002 14:25)

£21bn required to get Network Rail up and running
Headline figures proclaiming the government offer of a £21bn package to rescue Railtrack should not be interpreted as being an increased spend on.... more
(28 June 2002 12:02)

Countdown begins to find new UCATT general secretary
Members of UCATT will start the process of electing a successor to George Brumwell as general secretary of the union early next year. more
(28 June 2002 10:20)

Rows surface over make-up of new Strategic Forum
The Construction Umbrella Bodies (CUB), the group responsible for the formation of the new Strategic Forum, which is due to start in September, has.... more
(28 June 2002 10:05)

Palace reveals construction and maintenance spend
Spending by the Queen as head of state on maintenance and property services has increased by 1.8% in the past year. And VAT makes up a significant.... more
(28 June 2002 09:07)

BAA ready to bundle forthcoming frameworks
The British Airports Authority is considering bundling together half a dozen framework deals into a trio of major contracts worth £1.5bn. more
(27 June 2002 14:31)

Balfour taps into £120m Yorkshire Water deal
Balfour Beatty's utility services contractors, John Kennedy and Kentons, have been awarded £120m worth of contracts by Yorkshire Water. more
(27 June 2002 12:17)

Aggies tax does help - but not in construction
The controversial Aggregates Levy has proved it can actually have some benefit - but not for the construction industry. more
(27 June 2002 11:42)

Industry support for National Construction Week rises by 40%
The organisers of National Construction Week 2002 (NCW 2002) have revealed today (Wednesday) that there is a 40% increase on the industry’s.... more
(26 June 2002 16:26)

Quality Mark arrives in Oxfordshire
Tradesmen in Oxfordshire today (Wednesday) attended the first regional roll out of Quality Mark - and were offered the chance to sign up to the.... more
(26 June 2002 16:16)

HSE blitzes find firms lax on transport and work at height
Inspectors serve more than 50 notices on premises in Hemel Hempstead and Harlow in their latest health and safety crackdown. more
(26 June 2002 16:11)

Government to spend £263m on A1 upgrade
The government has announced a £263m project to turn the A1 in the north of England into a three-lane motorway, with construction work starting as.... more
(26 June 2002 10:57)

London's palace of retailing
In the past 10 years Selfridges has undergone a series of major internal refurbishments and an external facelift costing more than £100m. Top.... more
(26 June 2002 10:53)

A question of people
Rod Unger of 5 Dimensional Management examines the most valuable resource a company has - its people. This month he looks at change management. more
(26 June 2002 10:52)

Seventh heaven for Amey
Private commercial was the highest performing sector for the first time this year, following a poor month for public sector contracts, one big road.... more
(26 June 2002 10:51)

Hire rates price war
Plant hire companies are engaging in a new rates war that will undoubtedly spell disaster, says one of the UK's major players. more
(26 June 2002 10:51)

CPA forecasts industry growth
UK construction is expected to avoid a recession and show some growth over the next two years, according to the forecasting panel of the Construction.... more
(26 June 2002 10:44)

UK success story for HBG
HBG Construction had its most successful year in 2001 with profit on ordinary activities before tax rising to £14m (£12m) while turnover jumped to.... more
(26 June 2002 10:44)

"Strong results" for Wates Construction
Wates Construction made a pre-tax profit of £11m on a turnover of £430m last year. more
(26 June 2002 10:43)

Neuson aims for full line supplying
Neuson Kramer Baumaschinen says it wants to be a full line supplier of compact construction equipment and be the European market leader in that.... more
(26 June 2002 10:42)

Work winners this week
Who's winning the work?Contracts Hotline is your at-a-glance digest of the latest contract awards around the UK. Data supplied by ABI Building Data. .... more
(26 June 2002 10:42)

Majors 'reneging on CSCS pledge'
Promises of a fully effective "no skills card, no job" policy on major contractor sites are in danger of being just an empty threat, it is claimed. .... more
(26 June 2002 10:41)

£200m plan to revitalise Swansea's waterfront
Hundreds of construction jobs will be created by a £200m scheme to revamp Swansea's waterfront. more
(26 June 2002 10:40)

NEWSBRIEF
Norfolk only gets two for PFI schools A £92.5m PFI schools project covering 83 schools in Norfolk has finally selected a shortlist of two after.... more
(26 June 2002 10:39)

Let's hear it for the girls
Trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt was asked in the House of Commons earlier this month what she was doing to encourage more women into the.... more
(26 June 2002 10:38)

Bovis' £110m scoop
Bovis has won a high-profile construction management deal in Norwich despite the scheme's former owner, parent company Lend Lease, selling the site.... more
(26 June 2002 10:37)

Strategic Forum chair to be named on 24 July
Sir John Egan's replacement as chairman of the Strategic Forum will be unveiled on 24 July. more
(26 June 2002 10:36)

Kier set to win double UCL deal
Kier is on the way to winning two deals totalling more than £19m at University College London (UCL). more
(26 June 2002 10:28)

BAA will look further afield for suppliers
Contractors and construction product manufacturers need to start "looking over their shoulder" or face losing multi-million pound contracts with the.... more
(26 June 2002 10:27)

Call to catch the site dole cheats
UCATT general secretary George Brumwell is urging the government to raid a number of high profile building sites in England, Scotland and Wales to.... more
(26 June 2002 10:27)

Fitzpatrick pays in 'just' 40 days
Fitzpatrick has made public the time it takes to pay its creditors - 40 days. more
(26 June 2002 10:17)

NEWSBRIEF
Thomas Vale buys Paul Adams Thomas Vale has acquired Paul Adams, the specialist street lighting contractor for an undisclosed sum. Adams, based in.... more
(26 June 2002 10:16)

Picking the best of the migrant crop
Of the 338 skilled immigrants the government has allowed into the country since January, not one is a construction professional (see p3). more
(26 June 2002 10:15)

Clients: It's not our job to lead
The vast majority of CJ readers do not think clients are taking the lead on implementing the Rethinking Construction agenda. more
(26 June 2002 10:14)

London Underground faces legal challenge
The part privatisation of London Underground is facing serious delay following a High Court decision last week to allow London Mayor Ken Livingstone.... more
(26 June 2002 10:10)

Transport plan needs £15bn more, says CBI
The government's 10-year transport plan will fail to deliver its targets on time unless the government pumps in an additional £15bn and makes a.... more
(26 June 2002 10:07)

Developers attack social housing plan
Government plans to launch a massive publicly funded housebuilding programme will fail unless greater incentives are offered to developers to deliver.... more
(26 June 2002 10:06)

Cash crisis stops British Museum study centre job
The British Museum has ditched plans for a £60m study centre for education and research due to a cash crisis. more
(26 June 2002 10:06)

NEWSBRIEF
UCATT president slams contractors The president of UCATT, John Thompson, attacked contractors in his opening address at the union's biennial.... more
(26 June 2002 10:05)

Stenoak hit by 'bizarre' credit rating
Stenoak's future has been thrown into question as a result of a "bizarre" collapse in its credit rating which has resulted in the construction group.... more
(26 June 2002 10:04)

Skilled migrants fail to boost construction
The government's bid to increase the UK's skill base through an influx of skilled immigrant workers appears to have failed the construction industry.... more
(26 June 2002 10:03)

NEWSBRIEF
Terex sticks with Bridgestone Tyres Terex rigid and articulated dump trucks built at the company's Motherwell plant will continue to be fitted.... more
(26 June 2002 10:02)

Berkeley results show future is "immensely solid"
Berkeley Group reported full year results towards the top end of expectations today (Wednesday) and said its forward position is "immensely.... more
(26 June 2002 09:45)

Scottish schools to get £1bn funding
A £1bn funding package has been put into Scotland's biggest ever school buildings programme. more
(25 June 2002 16:45)

Government offers £16m for phase one of Fastrack
Pressure from Kent County council (KCC) has paid off after the government finally agreed borrowing approval for the £16m first phase of Fastrack, the.... more
(25 June 2002 16:04)

CJ50 - New orders won in May 2002
Private commercial was the highest performing sector for the first time this year, following a poor month for public sector contracts, one big road.... more
(25 June 2002 15:46)

CPA urges bank rate caution
The Construction Products Association (CPA) has today (Tuesday) warned the Council of Mortgage Lenders that its call for an increase in interest.... more
(25 June 2002 13:29)