NEWSBRIEF

Bovis Lend Lease wins £28.5m contract

Bovis Lend Lease has been awarded a £28.5m management contract from insurance giant Prudential for a mixed retail and office development in south west London. The work will include some demolition work so a 10-storey office block of 12,000m2 and eight two-storey retail units, totalling 3,500m2, can be built. Demolition contractor Brown & Mason has begun work on site. The construction programme is due to start in July and finish by October 2001.

Project team for Liverpool offices unveiled

David McLean Contractors has won a contract in the region of £8m from Royal & Sun Alliance to build a two-storey office block in Liverpool. Once finished the block will provide a new headquarters for the insurance company, as well as offices for the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo. Construction is due to start next month, and when completed will provide 92,900m2 of gross floor area. The project team also features architect KKA, structural engineer T D Bingham and quantity surveyor Capita.

better building design with proposed act

More innovative designs are expected within the construction industry if Government proposals for a rewording of section 7 (1) of the Building Act 1984 are accepted. Section 7 (1) currently carries a threat of liability if a builder does not follow the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions' approved documents, even if the builder is proposing a better alternative. But it is being proposed that the section be amended so the issue of liability remains with the courts. Construction minister Beverley Hughes believes the proposals will also lead to increased consumer choice and improved quality.

Amec on the wind

Amec has jumped into the renewable energy market with the acquisition of Border Wind which runs a nine-turbine wind farm on the pier at Blyth and is currently building three onshore wind farms around Hexham in Northumberland. The venture will be known as Amec Border Wind.

Ballast Wiltshier wins Leeds deal

Developer K W Linfoot has awarded a £4.1m contract to Ballast Wiltshier to design and build a new apartment block in Concordia Street, Leeds. The eight-storey residential block of apartments will overlook the River Aire and incorporate 83 flats, as well as underground parking facilities.

HIGHWAYSAGENCY vehicle to improve roads

The Highways Agency has launched a high-speed survey vehicle able to identify cracks in road surfaces as small as 2mm as part of its push to improve motorway and trunk road maintenance. The TRACS vehicle (TRAffic-speed Condition Surveys) can travel to up to 70mph using video cameras to scan the road surface and automatically process the data in real-time to detect surface cracks. HAchief executive Peter Nutt said: "The use of TRACS will remove the need to close lanes for maintenance inspections and will increase safety over current methods which involve inspectors examining the road on foot."

Knight Contracts and Clugston

In the 12 April issue of Contract Journal we stated that Knight Contracts is suing Clugston for £224,938.28. In fact, the companies are not in dispute and have both stressed that they enjoy a good working relationship.