Four contractors become associate CCS members

Bovis Lend Lease, Wrekin, Totty Construction and Mulalley are the first companies to become associate members of the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS).

Associate membership, which costs £3,000 a year, allows contractors to register themselves as well as their sites with the scheme, which aims to "improve the image of construction".

It is open to companies that have all their of sites registered with the CCS, and which have achieved an acceptable level of compliance on those sites.

CCS chairman David Hardy said: "It is our desire that CCS associate members will provide leadership and innovation to the rest of the industry." In return, "they will be provided with useful benchmarking information that will compare their performance in key areas with the national average".

CCS membership grew by 40% last year, and now accounts for around 15% of UK construction activity. The CCS expects to register its 10,000th site this year.

Half of the participating sites are being registered by contractors wanting to take part in the scheme, and half by clients keen to ensure their construction work has minimal impact on their neighbours.