Articles by Date : November 27 2006 - December 03 2006

PPS3 planning policy highlights housing design and brownfield developments
The government has called on local authorities to turn down housing developments unless they meet a range of requirements for design, sustainability,.... more
(29 November 2006 17:15)

ConstructionSkills launches Academy
ConstructionSkills has launched its National Skills Academy, a network of work-based learning centres that should create 10,000 local jobs via.... more
(29 November 2006 16:00)

Metronet fights back on Tube cost overruns
Metronet has taken the first step in its fightback over liability for massive projected cost overruns on its London Underground PPP contract by.... more
(29 November 2006 15:45)

Work at height warning following prosecution for death of employee
The Health and Safety Executive has warned the construction industry of the dangers of working at height after an employer was fined £15,000,.... more
(29 November 2006 09:00)

Overbury seals £33m City deal
Overbury, Morgan Sindall’s fit-out division, has scooped a £33m deal in the City of London. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Durkan director warns of higher social housing costs
A major affordable housing developer has warned that government plans to increase the quality and number of homes built in the Thames Gateway may.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Hyder Consulting has enjoyed a surge in profitability
Hyder Consulting has enjoyed a surge in profitability, with its latest interim pre-tax profit figure trebling to £8.1m, thanks largely to an.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Case appoints dealers and adds to range
Case has filled the holes in its dealership network and is set to introduce a range of three ‘E’ series wheel loaders, two of which – the 821E and.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Councils reap rewards of best-value initiative
■ Report finds that strong leadership is the key to achieving high performance levels. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Europe to amend status of waste?
■ European Parliament to vote on status of uncontaminated excavated natural materials. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

2012 firms urged to adopt best practice
The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has expressed its disappointment that only 133 of the 3,000 construction companies that want to work on the.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

£120m Herts/Beds housing scheme split 17 ways
Seventeen firms have crossed the threshold to pick up £120m of housing work in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Race back on for £250m N London housing work
■ A strong line-up is in the frame as Haringey Decent Homes scheme is readvertised. At least nine firms are in the frame for a readvertised £250m.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Atkins reports 17% boost to turnover
■ Atkins’ pre-tax profit strengthens to £31m, but pension fund deficit higher at £220m. Atkins’ latest financial results make comfortable reading,.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Plant for London sites faces double-whammy
■ As London prepares for construction boom, emissions reductions top the agenda. Last week saw the publication of the London Best Practice Guidance.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Bachy Soletanche secures controlling share in Vibro
Bachy Soletanche has taken an 80% controlling shareholding in Vibro Group, the vibroflotation and ground improvement contractor. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Volvo denies Komatsu story
Volvo Construction Equipment has played down speculation in a local newspaper that it is set to increase collaboration with Komatsu in order to fend.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Datatag stops unusual theft
Datatag, the data-handling company for the plant registration scheme, is claiming an unusual success for its marking technology – in Bermuda. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Editor's comment: A dose of reality for 2012
There can be few people in the UK construction industry who have enjoyed the last two weeks. Hot on the heels of the Wembley Stadium debacle, Tessa.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Developing sustainable construction skills
Sustainability is an issue that's growing ever more prominent in the world today, and construction has a crucial part to play in delivering it. But.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Taywood bags W London academy
Taylor Woodrow has graduated onto a £21.9m academy deal in west London. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Ennstone seals May Gurney deal
Ennstone has bought May Gurney Surfacing, a downstream surfacing contractor based in Norfolk, for £375,000. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Six in contention for £1.8bn Kent BSF deal
Six consortia have been longlisted for the first of Kent County Council’s three Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Construction wasting money on mobiles
Major construction firms could be wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds by not keeping tabs on mobiles they hand out to workers, warned a.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

More than 350 brickworkers’ jobs hang in the balance as Hanson
More than 350 brickworkers’ jobs hang in the balance as Hanson Brick struggles to meet tough new UK standards on pollution control at its brickworks.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

King's Cross regeneration steams ahead
Camden Council has finally given the green light to the largest development of a single central London site in the past 160 years. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Health and safety is to be a key theme at the Executive Hire Show
Health and safety is to be a key theme at the Executive Hire Show (Ricoh Arena, Coventry, 31 January to 1 February) with four seminars each day.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Olympic Delivery Authority denies CLM will receive £400m for 2012 contract.
The cost of the Olympic Games is far outweighed by the regenerative effect it will have in the Thames Gateway. That was the message Olympic Delivery.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Amec bagged deal worth up to £50m
Amec has bagged a deal worth up to £50m to revamp two Marks & Spencer stores in Edinburgh and Liverpool.The Edinburgh scheme entails refurbishing the.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Laing O'Rourke produces a mixed bag of results
Laing O’Rourke’s various UK construction divisions have shown a remarkable upheaval in profitability in the past 12 months. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Halve landfill, says WRAP
Pressure is growing on the construction industry to halve the amount of materials waste going to landfill in the next six years. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Terex has sold 13 new and two used site dumpers
Stories on… Terex, Sandhurst Equipment Sales, J&M Construction and Fineturret. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Construction must face up to its olympic challenge
Since it was announced in 2005 that London will host the 2012 Olympics, it appears that every architect and building contractor has been desperate to.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is warning van
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is warning van and light truck operators not to get caught out by the 1 January deadline for the introduction.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Speedy Hire unveils £16m pre-tax profit
Speedy Hire has announced an interim pre-tax profit of £16m (£13m), representing a rise of more than 20%. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Scots target 10% recycling
The Scottish Executive has become the first administration in the UK to specify a minimum amount of recycled content on construction projects. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

G McGreevy loses out in repayment appeal
A County Down contractor has lost an appeal against a ruling that it must repay nearly £30,000 to the taxman. more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

Concrete Centre: flooding costly
The Concrete Centre has warned developers that building new homes without flood resilience in recognised flood risk areas like the Thames Gateway.... more
(29 November 2006 00:00)

RDAs call for more funding for Thames Gateway and Crossrail
Three of the regional development authorities (RDAs) behind the Thames Gateway have warned that Canary Wharf's growth could "hit a brick wall" if the.... more
(28 November 2006 16:45)

CPRE says PPS3 planning policy should emphasise urban revewal
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has set out what it wants to see from the Department for Communities and Local Government's (DCLG).... more
(28 November 2006 16:00)

Planning approval delays three times over targets, says HBF
New figures released by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) have revealed that local authorities take an average of 248 days to issue planning.... more
(28 November 2006 15:00)

London's West End calls for Crossrail and tram
Crossrail and the Oxford Street tram are crucial for the future prosperity of London's West End. That is the message delivered by the West End.... more
(28 November 2006 14:00)

£100m schools capital works framework up for grabs
The Harris Federation of South London Schools has advertised its main contractor framework deal worth up to £100m. more
(28 November 2006 12:00)

Renew Holdings makes further recovery
Renew is well on its way to recovery following what has been a difficult period, said chief executive Brian May this morning (Tuesday) as he unveiled.... more
(28 November 2006 11:00)

£19m loss for Laing O'Rourke's Midlands division
Laing O’Rourke’s various UK construction divisions have shown a remarkable upheaval in profitability in the past 12 months. The bad news is that.... more
(27 November 2006 12:00)

Trebling of interim pre-tax profit to £8.1m for Hyder Consulting
Hyder Consulting has enjoyed a surge in profitability, with its latest interim pre-tax profit figure trebling to £8.1m. more
(27 November 2006 10:00)

Mitie enjoys 30% surge in interim turnover to £590m
Mitie has enjoyed a 30% surge in turnover in the six months to the end of September to a new high of £590m. more
(27 November 2006 10:00)