Construction news

• SMEs dominate £650m northern housing upkeep framework

  06-12-2021 23:06
  
  EN:Procure, the procurement arm of regional social housing consortium Efficiency North, has awarded spots on its new housing installation, servicing, maintenance and repairs framework to 37 contractors.
  Nearly nine out of 10 firms winning places on over 50 lots are SMEs. An estimated £650m work pipeline will be shared among these firms over the four-year lifetime of the framework.
  Efficiency North is growing its social housing landlord membership across the whole of the North of England an
  
  Read more

• Government plan to ban poorly performing firms advances

  06-12-2021 14:59
  
  The government has detailed plans to give it new powers to bar contractors with poor track records of delivery from winning future public contracts.
  The big shake-up is outlined in the procurement green paper published today, which sets out plans to replace hundreds of complicated and bureaucratic EU rules with simpler and more flexible rules.
  If passed by Parliament next year, these will give Government more power to exclude previously poorly performing suppliers and contractors, such as firms
  
  Read more

• Construction output shows fastest rise in four months

  06-12-2021 11:19
  
  Construction buyers reported the fastest rise in output  in four months in November with commercial work leading the way.
  The bellwether IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI Total Activity Index hit 55.5 in November – up from 54.6 in October.
  There were also signs that the worst phase of supplier delays may have passed, with the portion of survey respondents citing longer delivery times falling to 47% in November compared with a peak of 77% in June.A steeper rise in commercial construc
  
  Read more

• Fit-out firm BW forecasts return to growth next year

  06-12-2021 09:23
  
  Specialist London and south east fit-out contractor BW Workplace is forecasting a return to a strong financial performance next year after a revenue falls during the pandemic.
  Latest published accounts for the end of 2020, show the pandemic shutdown knocked revenue back by around 12% to £180m.
  Although swift action to control costs saw pre-tax profits rise on the previous year from £1.8m to £4.6m, representing an operating margin of 2.6%.
  BW also received Government furlough su
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• University to offer courses in concrete road repairs

  06-12-2021 09:09
  
  A new qualification in Concrete Pavement and Construction Maintenance has been launched by National Highways and the University of Derby.
  The move is designed to plug the predicted skills gap in successfully delivering repairs and renewals of concrete roads.
  National Highways is spending £400m in the next three years to improve the quality of existing concrete roads across the country – but 60% of the current specialist concrete workforce is set to retire within 10 years.To fill this
  
  Read more

• Union officials face new probe into blacklist collusion

  06-12-2021 08:26
  
  Construction union Unite has launched a new search for evidence of collusion with blacklisting in the industry by officers of the union and its predecessors.
  A panel of lay members with personal experience of blacklisting will now oversee the gathering of evidence to be fed into an independent QC-led inquiry.
  The panel is made up of Dave Smith, Chair of the Blacklist Support Group and the two Unite Executive Council Members for the construction sector, blacklisted electrician Frank Morris and T
  
  Read more

• Go-ahead for £180m Milton Keynes tower scheme

  06-12-2021 08:11
  
  Developer First Base and investor Patron Capital have gained planning for the £180m redevelopment of the Saxon Court former council office building in Milton Keynes.
  The 2.35-acre site, which will be known as MK Gateway, will see the original former council building extended upwards by three floors and a  landmark 27-storey apartment built beside it.
  The MK Gateway project is designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners
  The overhauled Saxon Court building will provide office space wh
  
  Read more

• Energy prices to drive second wave of materials cost hikes

  06-12-2021 08:10
  
  Cost consultant Arcadis is predicting a second wave of materials price inflation in 2022 driven by high energy costs.
  While materuals and product proce jumps will be last pronounced than this year, tender price inflation is still expected to be between 3-5% in 2022.
  This time around energy prices will create the upward pressure rather than raw material shortages.Due to the high energy intensity involved in their manufacture, products such as bricks, glass, cement and concrete are particularly ex
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Builder jailed after demolishing wall on colleague

  06-12-2021 08:07
  
  A builder has been jailed for three years and three months following an investigation into the death of a labourer on a site in Hampshire in 2019.
  Paramjit Singh, 48, of Southampton, was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter following a two-week trial at Winchester Crown Court.
  On Friday he was sentenced to three years and three months for the gross negligence manslaughter charge.Singh was also sentenced to 20 months for safety breaches which he had admitted previously. Both sentenc
  
  Read more

Follow @new_constructio on Twitter!