NEWSBRIEF

Kier to redevelop Daily Mail building

Kier Build has been confirmed as the winning contractor for a £36 million design and build contract to redevelop the old Daily Mail building near Fleet Street in London, EC4. The contract for Hilstone Corporation involves preserving part of the 1920s fa‡ade along with the perimeter basement walls. A new seven-storey office with two basement levels will then be built to create 25,000m2 of commercial office space.

Gleeds to manage £38m PFI project

Gleeds Management Services has been appointed to project manage the £38 million PFI development on behalf of the Health and Safety Laboratory in Buxton, Derbyshire. The PFI scheme is led by Investors in the Community, a partnership between Rotch Property Group and J Henry Schroder and Co. PS Turner is building contractor. The project will relocate operations from Sheffield to the Buxton site to provide 12,000m2 of research laboratories and offices.

£8.4 million office job for Wates

Wates Construction has won an £8.4 million contract to build new offices for McKay Securities in Reading. The three-storey building scheme will provide 7,728m2 of office space with car parking and landscaping.

Bracknell calling for Overbury

Overbury, the fit-out and refurbishment specialist, has continued its expansion into the Thames Valley market with the relocation of the Kingston offices to Bracknell. Its new address is Unit 11 Bracknell Beeches, Old Bracknell Lane West, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 7BW. The London team is still based at 77 Newman Street.

Demolition raises standards

The Institution of Demolition Engineers has introduced more demanding standards for admission to membership. An examination has now replaced the submission of a 2000 word thesis as the qualification for becoming a member of the IDE. The first dozen candidates for the new entry route sat the exam in June.

London roads are in worst condition

Dramatic evidence of deteriorating conditions on London's roads is revealed by the latest survey of traffic speeds. According to Department of Transport statistics, the speed of traffic on trunk roads in the morning rush-hour has fallen by 11mph around London. In the capital itself rush-hour speeds have fallen by 8mph to 19.8mph. The figures show that while all of Britain is affected, apart from Yorkshire which shows a slight improvement, London's roads are by far the worst.

Tunnel blast kills two

Two firemen were killed and 15 other people seriously injured following a fire and explosion in a road tunnel being built in Norway. The incident happened after a welding flame ignited insulation material and the fire spread to dynamite being used to blast out the tunnel in the town of Drammen, about 30 miles south of the capital Oslo.

CITB health and safety on CD-ROM

Three of the Construction Industry Training Board's latest health and safety publications are now available on CD-ROM for the first time. Its latest interactive computer training programmes, covering fire prevention on site, forms and notices, and a health and safety awareness quiz, were first launched in March this year on computer disk.