Construction news

• £500m house building framework opens for bids

  22-01-2025 08:05 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Contractors and consultants are being invited to apply for spots on a North West social housing consortium’s £500m framework.
  The invitation to tender has opened with three lots for contractors and seven for consultants for JV North’s framework.
  Construction lots range from upwards to £4m, £4m to £12m and £12m and over.Consultant lots are open for architectural services, employers agents, purchaser agents, engineers, clerks of works, principal designers
  
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• Watch HS2 start final tunnel drive to Euston

  28-01-2026 09:05 via constructionenquirer.com
  HS2 started its drive into the heart of London yesterday as the first of two giant machines began work on the Euston Tunnel.
  The TBM was manufactured by Herrenknecht AG in Germany and shipped over to the UK in 2024 before being carefully lifted into and reassembled in the giant underground station box at Old Oak Common.
  Engineers from HS2’s London tunnels contactor, Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture (SCS JV), have been working to prepare the machines for their tunnelling mission over t
  
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• Safety regulator to pull plug on toughest Gateway 2 legacy cases

  28-01-2026 09:03 via constructionenquirer.com
  The Building Safety Regulator is preparing to reject its most problematic legacy Gateway 2 cases as it formally exits the Health and Safety Executive to become a standalone body.
  The regulator has confirmed it is now reviewing the final 29 long-running legacy schemes on a case-by-case basis and will reject applications that cannot be resolved within the next one to two months.
  Assessors say information gaps on some projects remain too wide to close, meaning developers will be forced to start aga
  
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• Materials suppliers warn of bleak 2026 without housing stimulus

  28-01-2026 09:00 via constructionenquirer.com
  Construction materials suppliers have issued a stark warning that 2026 risks becoming another lost year for the industry unless urgent action is taken to revive housing demand.
  The Construction Leadership Council’s Material Supply Chain Group says market conditions remain bleak, with no meaningful recovery visible across housing, residential repair and maintenance or major commercial work.
  The group is calling for a targeted housing stimulus to restore confidence, unlock stalled demand and
  
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• Birmingham switches firms on £3bn council housing upkeep

  28-01-2026 08:49 via constructionenquirer.com
  Birmingham City Council has rung the changes among contractors maintaining its housing stock, lining up a new trio to take over long-term repairs and upkeep across the city.
  From July 2026, Equans, Wates and Mears will run day-to-day repairs, planned maintenance and improvement works on around 60,000 council homes.
  The new 10-year framework arrangement split across four city regions could be worth up to £3bn, with the option to extend for a further five years.10-year Birmingham housing mai
  
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• Boulevard Construction set for London resi scheme

  28-01-2026 08:35 via constructionenquirer.com
  Boulevard Construction has been chosen by developer London Green Ltd to build a 90-flat residential scheme in Waltham Forest.
  Boulevard was set up in October 2023 and its website uses some former Henry Construction jobs to highlight its experience.
  Henry Construction Projects went into administration in June 2023 owing suppliers more than £43m.
  One of the founding directors of Boulevard was Sean Dundon who resigned from his role last month.Dundon is married to former Henry boss Mark Henry&
  
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• Robertson to finish hospital job hit by Merit collapse

  27-01-2026 12:50 via constructionenquirer.com
  Robertson Construction North East has been appointed to complete the new £35m Berwick community hospital where work stopped last November when original contractor Merit collapsed into administration.
  Robertson will now complete survey work to enable the development of a construction programme and take over management of the new hospital site in the middle of February.
  Damon Kent, managing director of Northumbria Healthcare Facilities Management, said: “The last few months have been d
  
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• RLB selects Sypro to transform contract management

  27-01-2026 12:12 via constructionenquirer.com
  Contract management software specialist Sypro has announced a three-year partnership with global construction, property and management consultancy, Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB).
  The agreement will see Sypro’s contract management software – a project oversight and collaboration hub – play an integral role in driving forward RLB’s digital transformation initiative, which aims to modernise project delivery through centralised data, greater visibility across contracts and smar
  
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• Holborn Circus refurb to start this year

  27-01-2026 08:34 via constructionenquirer.com
  Developer Tishman Speyer is set to appoint a contractor shortly for the major refurbishment of its landmark Holborn Circus property in Farringdon.
  Construction is set to start in the second half of this year at the former headquarters of Sainsbury’s.
  Refurbishment will transform the building into a highly sustainable, contemporary office destination. Plans include the creation of new internal atriums, a reimagined ground floor and basement plus the addition of a new roof terrace.Tishman Sp
  
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• Tower crane drivers start strike action today

  27-01-2026 08:30 via constructionenquirer.com
  Work will be disrupted on some the country’s biggest construction sites today as strike action by tower crane drivers starts.
  Drivers at leading crane rental company Wolffkran, represented by Unite, will hold the first in a series of 24-hour strikes today then every fortnight after that.
  Around 90 drivers are union members among the crane rental giant’s 123 operators.The drivers are unhappy at the lack of pay rises over the last three years.
  But Wolffkran claimed it has made a &ldquo
  
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• Costain wins £123m M5 gigafactory junction job

  27-01-2026 08:14 via constructionenquirer.com
  Costain has secured the job to design and build a new junction on the M5 in Somerset to serve the UK’s biggest electric vehicle battery plant.
  Sir Robert McAlpine is building the £4bn gigafactory for Agratas at the Gravity site between Puriton and Woolavington, near Bridgwater.
  The five-year new junction project, dubbed ’22A’, was agreed for a £123m price and will alleviate pressure on the motorway.Constraints on the junction’s placement arise from the nearby
  
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• Muse lined up for 1,600 homes in Gateshead Baltic Quarter

  27-01-2026 08:13 via constructionenquirer.com
  Gateshead’s long-trailed Baltic Quarter regeneration has edged closer to reality after the council struck a pre-development deal with Muse and ECF to drive forward a 1,600-home mixed-use scheme.
  ECF – the joint venture between Homes England, Legal & General and Muse – will now work with Gateshead Council to shape funding, phasing and delivery of the long-term scheme. The Baltic Quarter sits at the heart of the council’s regeneration strategy launched last autumn.
  Earl
  
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• Arup Binnies JV picked to plan £600m southern water pipeline

  27-01-2026 07:25 via constructionenquirer.com
  An Arup Binnies JV has been drafted in to plan an 80km strategic water pipeline at the heart of Southern Water’s Thames to Southern Transfer scheme.
  As technical partner the JV will take the project through its design and planning phase as well as supporting procurement of a main contractor.
  The Thames to Southern Transfer (T2ST) will move up to 120 million litres of water a day from the planned White Horse Reservoir in Oxfordshire into Hampshire, easing pressure on over-abstracted rivers
  
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• Bolton turns to MEPC for £200m town centre reset

  26-01-2026 18:15 via constructionenquirer.com
  Bolton has appointed developer MEPC to reboot plans for the £200m redevelopment of the Crompton Place shopping centre after years of delays.
  The developer, now owned by global investment manager Federated Hermes, beat Urban Splash to take control of the stalled scheme, which will see the 280,000 sq ft centre demolished and replaced with a residential-led mixed-use development.
  The overhaul is aimed at resetting the historic heart of Bolton town centre, with new homes, reworked public space
  
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• Barratt Redrow to start 900-home London high rise scheme

  26-01-2026 09:07 via constructionenquirer.com
  Barratt Redrow is lining up a start on the first phase of its 900-home Bollo Lane regeneration in West London after clinching a forward funding deal with build to rent specialist Grainger.
  The agreement paves the way for construction of an opening tranche of 195 rental flats, marking Grainger’s first BTR partnership with a major housebuilder.
  The first phase has secured detailed planning consent and Gateway 2 approval from the Building Safety Regulator, clearing the way for work to begin w
  
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• Tender prices set to rise by up to 5%

  26-01-2026 09:01 via constructionenquirer.com
  Construction tender prices are set to rise by up to 5% as capacity constraints threaten delivery of schemes.
  New data from professional services company Turner & Townsend in its Winter 2025 UK Market Intelligence report (UKMI) forecasts a rate of tender price inflation (TPI) of 3.5% per year across real estate and 5% for infrastructure through 2026 and 2027.
  The report warns that sustained cost escalation is putting pressure on the viability of new projects at a time of economic uncertainty.
  
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• Costain to exceed 4.5% margin target after strong year

  26-01-2026 08:48 via constructionenquirer.com
  Costain has capped another solid year of trading with margins beating its 4.5% run-rate target.
  In an end of year trading statement this morning, Costain said it also ended the year with a stronger than expected £190m cash pile and confidence in a step-change in performance ahead built on major contract wins.
  Work wins since include a utilities delivery partner role at Sellafield worth up to £1bn over 15 years, a five-year extension to its project controls contract with EDF valued at
  
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• Sizewell awards site safety gear contract

  26-01-2026 08:34 via constructionenquirer.com
  Sizewell C has appointed Suffolk Safety Solutions as its primary supplier of personal protective equipment (PPE) across the giant nuclear construction site.
  Over the next three years, Suffolk Safety Solutions will supply Sizewell C’s growing workforce with essential safety wear, including hard hats, high-visibility clothing, and protective eyewear.
  The company is a partnership between PPE and workwear specialist Mathias & Sons Ltd and Suffolk-based portable accommodation provider Porta
  
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• Demolition starts for £250m Glasgow Charing Cross scheme

  26-01-2026 08:18 via constructionenquirer.com
  Demolition has kicked off at Glasgow’s Charing Cross Gateway, marking the first visible step towards a £250m transformation of a key city centre site.
  Reigart Contracts has moved onto the Elmbank Gardens plot after being appointed by CXG Glasgow to clear two 1960s-era buildings, paving the way for phase one of the 730,000sq ft complex spanning Elmbank Gardens and Tay House on Bath Street.The opening phase will deliver 750-bed student accommodation on land at the corner of Bath Street
  
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• Van Elle plugs into power grid boom as revenue jumps 16%

  26-01-2026 08:17 via constructionenquirer.com
  Van Elle is banking on the UK’s power grid upgrade boom to pull margins back up after a mixed first financial half that delivered strong top-line growth but thinner returns.
  The ground engineering specialist lifted revenue 16% to over £73m in the six months to 31 October 2025, powered by a jump in General Piling and another strong showing from Specialist Piling & Rail.
  But underlying operating profit dipped to £2.0m from £2.2m with operating margin squeezed to 2.8% fr
  
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• ‘James Bond’ builder fined for threats to HSE inspectors

  23-01-2026 14:25 via constructionenquirer.com
  A builder who threatened safety inspectors and told them his name was James Bond has been fined.
  David Robert Lane, 59, was the site manager of an extensive cottage refurbishment in Staffordshire when unsafe work caught the attention of two inspectors from the HSE.
  The pair had been carrying out routine inspections in the Rugeley area on 11 February 2025 when they saw two people on the site accessing a roof from the bucket of an excavator.There were around ten workers on the site and when the in
  
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• ‘James Bond’ builder fined after threats to HSE inspectors

  23-01-2026 14:25 via constructionenquirer.com
  A builder who threatened safety inspectors and told them his name was James Bond has been fined.
  David Robert Lane, 59, was the site manager of an extensive cottage refurbishment in Staffordshire when unsafe work caught the attention of two inspectors from the HSE.
  The pair had been carrying out routine inspections in the Rugeley area on 11 February 2025 when they saw two people on the site accessing a roof from the bucket of an excavator.There were around ten workers on the site and when the in
  
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• Another immigration raid on huge warehouse site

  23-01-2026 08:57 via constructionenquirer.com
  Immigration authorities staged another raid at the Panattoni Park warehouse construction site in Swindon this week.
  Last month Immigration Enforcement officers and Wiltshire Police swooped on the logistics site where Winvic is one of the main contractors.
  During the December raid 30 workers were arrested.In the latest operation yesterday around 200 workers were spoken to, all of whom were working legally.
  Chief Inspector Carly Nesbitt said: “This is a great result for everyone involved in
  
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• MPB lands £37m Midland Metro Phase 2 civils job

  23-01-2026 08:52 via constructionenquirer.com
  MPB Structures has landed a £37m civil engineering package on Phase 2 of the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension, cementing its growing role on the Midland Metro programme.
  The specialist concrete contractor has broken ground on the next stage of the scheme for the Midland Metro Alliance, building on its earlier delivery of the Delta Junction works on Phase 1.
  The Phase 2 package hands MPB responsibility for the full civils scope, covering more than 600m of new infrastructure along
  
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• Balfour to start £108m Middlewich bypass this spring

  23-01-2026 08:40 via constructionenquirer.com
  Construction will start on the delayed Middlewich Eastern Bypass in Cheshire this spring.
  Main contractor Balfour Beatty was due to start work last summer but the job was delayed by funding worries.
  Cheshire East Council has given the green light for work to begin with a £53.8m main construction deal signed on the £108m scheme.Councillor Mark Goldsmith, chair of the council’s highways and transport committee, said: “This is great news for Cheshire East and those who drive
  
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• MPs call for fraud probe in solid wall insulation scandal

  23-01-2026 08:26 via constructionenquirer.com
  MPs have called for the Serious Fraud Office to investigate the ECO insulation programme after warning suspected fraud is likely far higher than regulators have so far uncovered.
  In a blistering report, the Public Accounts Committee said the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero designed ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme with no single organisation responsible for preventing or detecting fraud.
  This created gaps in data, accountability and oversight that allowed abuse to flour
  
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• HS2 final tunnel drive to Euston starts next week

  23-01-2026 07:55 via constructionenquirer.com
  Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture is set to start boring HS2’s long-awaited Euston tunnels next week, with tunnelling works launching from Old Oak Common.
  A team from SCS will drive a 4.5-mile twin-bore tunnel linking Old Oak Common to Euston using two tunnel boring machines, Karen and Madeleine.The first machine, TBM Madeleine, will be launched on the upline next week, with the second machine, TBM Karen, following around a month later on the downline.
  Once fully operational, the TBMs
  
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• Wates and Mount Anvil seal deal to deliver 1,100-plus London homes

  22-01-2026 15:40 via constructionenquirer.com
  London’s Southwark Council has signed development agreements with Wates Residential and Mount Anvil to deliver more than 1,100 new homes across the borough.
  The deals will see at least 1,129 homes built across eight sites in Peckham, Camberwell, Rotherhithe and Bermondsey.
  Of the total pipeline, at least 360 homes will be council-owned and managed, with the remaining 769 homes delivered for sale and other tenures.Wates Residential will deliver four schemes at Wickway on the Gloucester Grov
  
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• Worker dies on Winvic warehouse site

  22-01-2026 09:07 via constructionenquirer.com
  A worker has died after an accident at a warehouse construction site in Kent yesterday where Winvic is the main contractor.
  The man in his 30s was declared dead at the scene in Sittingbourne where a new logistics centre is being built for frozen food giant Cook Classic.
  A spokesperson for Winvic Construction told KentOnline: “We are deeply saddened to confirm that a fatal incident occurred at our Sittingbourne site on Wednesday, January 21, involving a member of our subcontractor workforce
  
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• Contractor hunt begins for £5.7bn Thames Water reservoir

  22-01-2026 08:45 via constructionenquirer.com
  Thames Water has started the hunt for a main works contractor for its £5.7bn White Horse Reservoir project in Oxfordshire.
  The procurement is being run as a two-stage competition with early contractor involvement for what would be the biggest water infrastructure build in a generation.
  The 150bn-litre raw water reservoir planned to be located to the south-west of Abingdon is intended to strengthen long-term drought resilience across the South East, securing supplies for around 15 million p
  
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