Construction news

• Final HS2 TBM starts drive towards Euston

  17-03-2026 08:39 via constructionenquirer.com
  HS2 has started the final tunnel bore on the project from Old Oak Common station in west London towards Euston.
  Euston is the second bored tunnel underneath the capital – after the Northolt Tunnel – and is being constructed by the Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture.
  The 198-metre long machine operates as a 24/7 underground factory, excavating the earth and installing concrete segments into rings to create the tunnel.Overall, on both bores of the tunnel, 48,294 concrete segments wi
  
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• Go-ahead for Manchester Garden Village

  19-03-2026 09:00 via constructionenquirer.com
  Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council has resolved to grant planning consent for revised proposals for 2,150 new homes at Godley Green Garden Village.
  The news follows a £17.4m funding deal towards upfront enabling works and supporting infrastructure from Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
  Godley Green Garden Village will provide up to 2,150 new homes, in addition to a host of community facilities and amenities, including a new primary school, sports pitches, two local centres. allotme
  
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• McGoff resets leadership to fuel next growth phase

  19-03-2026 08:49 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Manchester-based contractor McGoff Group has overhauled its senior structure to support expansion across build-to-rent, elderly care and childcare schemes as revenues surge across its core construction arm.
  The business is ditching its single group director model for construction services and moving to standalone leadership teams headed by new MDs across its key divisions as workload ramps up.
  Main trading arm McGoff Construction Services is expected to post a strong rise in revenue in the year
  
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• Second-generation nuclear reactor demolition era begins

  19-03-2026 08:48 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The UK’s next wave of nuclear decommissioning has moved a step closer after the regulator signed off the transfer of Hunterston B to public sector control ahead of full dismantling.
  Government decommissioning body, Nuclear Restoration Services will take over ownership of the North Ayrshire reactor from EDF on 1 April.
  This will be the first Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor station to enter formal decommissioning – marking a major shift as Britain begins retiring its second-generation nucl
  
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• Amey tops construction minimum wage breach list

  19-03-2026 08:47 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Amey has been named as the highest-profile construction firm to underpay workers in the Government’s latest national minimum wage crackdown after failing to pay £169,447 to 2,608 staff.
  The infrastructure services contractor is the standout name in a list of around 30 firms, largely made up of smaller subcontractors and specialist trades, representing a small 7% slice of all firms named by the Government for breaches.
  This is the first ‘naming round’ since the Chancellor&
  
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• Amey tops construction mimumum wage breach list

  19-03-2026 08:47 via constructionenquirer.com
  Amey has been named as the highest-profile construction firm to underpay workers in the Government’s latest national minimum wage crackdown after failing to pay £169,447 to 2,608 staff.
  The infrastructure services contractor is the standout name in a list of around 30 firms, largely made up of smaller subcontractors and specialist trades, representing a small 7% slice of all firms named by the Government for breaches.
  This is the first ‘naming round’ since the Chancellor&
  
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• Willmott Dixon wins £39m college upgrade

  19-03-2026 08:23 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Willmott Dixon has been chosen by the Department for Education to deliver a £39m education building at Hopwood Hall College’s Rochdale campus.
  The project procured via the DfE Construction Framework will see demolition of the existing college buildings and their replacement with four-storey educational facility spanning 75,000 sq ft on the St Marys Gate campus.
  Construction is expected to commence imminently with the new building scheduled for completion towards the end of 2028.Micha
  
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• Balfour pleads not guilty after nuclear site death

  18-03-2026 17:35 via constructionenquirer.com
  Balfour Beatty Group Limited has pleaded not guilty to health and safety offences following a worker fatality at AWE’s Aldermaston nuclear site.
  The firm appeared at High Wycombe Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning for a prosecution instigated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the UK’s independent nuclear regulator.
  The charges relate to an incident which occurred at the Aldermaston site in West Berkshire on 6 July 2023 when Stuart Cook, 58, a construction worker from Ea
  
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• Contractor J Smart plans new industrial hub

  18-03-2026 16:46 via constructionenquirer.com
  Developers Manse LLP and contractor J. Smart & Co have formed a joint venture and submitted a planning application to North Lanarkshire Council for a new industrial and logistics development at Eurocentral.
  The proposed Eurocentral Gateway scheme will deliver over 200,000 sq ft of new industrial and logistics space in one of Scotland’s most established and sought-after distribution locations.
  Work will involve construction of two high-specification industrial buildings of approximately
  
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• Final phase of London’s Elephant Park gets green light

  18-03-2026 14:48 via constructionenquirer.com
  The final piece of the Elephant Park regeneration in London’s Elephant and Castle area has secured planning, paving the way to close out more than a decade of transformation across the 10-acre site.
  Developer Hub is bringing forward the 1.2-acre mixed-use development, known as Chords. This will consist of 695 co-living flats and 20 three-bed family homes alongside community infrastructure, including a new NHS health centre.
  Designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, the scheme will be deliv
  
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• HMRC promotes digital tax changes – with print ads

  18-03-2026 13:37 via constructionenquirer.com
  HMRC chiefs are reminding construction sole traders about digital tax changes with a print based advertising campaign.
  Making Tax Digital changes comes into force next month and require construction sole traders with qualifying income over £50,000 to maintain digital records and send quarterly updates via HMRC-recognised software.
  But the government publicity campaign for the changes is being pushed through the industry’s dwindling range of shrinking print titles.One contractor said:
  
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• Caddick bags £25m Durham student flats job

  18-03-2026 09:17 via constructionenquirer.com
  Caddick Construction has landed a £25m design and build deal to deliver a 232-bed student scheme in Durham as it ramps up regional growth.
  The contractor will build the Melbury Court development off Old Dryburn Way for Whitesmocks, adding to its expanding North East pipeline.
  The PBSA scheme will provide modern student flats alongside landscaped public realm to improve the surrounding setting.Completion is targeted for summer 2027 ahead of the 2027/28 academic intake.
  The award marks anoth
  
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• Laing O’Rourke wins £3.2m High Court payout in film studios row

  18-03-2026 08:54 via constructionenquirer.com
  Laing O’Rourke has secured a £3.2m High Court victory after successfully enforcing an adjudication decision in a payment dispute with client Shepperton Studios.
  The Technology and Construction Court ruled that Shepperton must pay the sum plus VAT and interest following a row over an interim payment from a £331m design and build contract in 2021.
  Laing O’Rourke had originally sought to enforce a £5.6m adjudication award in its favour but the court reduced the final s
  
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• Wates buys its head office building

  18-03-2026 08:53 via constructionenquirer.com
  Wates Group has purchased its long-standing head office in Leatherhead, Surrey.
  The acquisition of the 37,000 sq ft Wates House comes after the contractor has leased the building for 20 years.
  Eoghan O’Lionaird, Chief Executive of Wates Group, said: “As a purpose-led business, everything we do at Wates is driven by reimagining places for people to thrive.“Securing the future of Wates House – our home for more than two decades – strengthens Wates’ long-term com
  
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• Beard gives away £4.5m as profits hit £9m high

  18-03-2026 08:50 via constructionenquirer.com
  Beard has capped a record year by handing half its £9m profit back to communities as turnover surged 16% to £230m.
  The family-owned contractor chose to donate £4.5m to regional charities instead of boosting shareholder dividends, marking one of the biggest philanthropic moves seen among UK regional builders.
  Strong trading was driven by a busy delivery year, with 62 projects completed across its South of England patch and a steady stream of framework and direct award wins.Opera
  
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• Morgan Sindall starts £28m steel decarbonisation centre

  18-03-2026 08:32 via constructionenquirer.com
  Morgan Sindall has started work on the South Wales Industrial Transition from Carbon Hub (SWITCH).
  The £28m research facility is designed to accelerate the decarbonisation of the steel and metals sector on a brownfield site at Port Talbot’s Harbourside.
  Morgan Sindall was first instructed under a design and build deal in 2023.SWITCH Harbourside, will be a purpose built, open access research hub supporting innovation across academics, industry and government.
  Its focus will help secto
  
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• Costain bags £45m Rugby sewage works upgrade

  18-03-2026 08:24 via constructionenquirer.com
  Costain has secured a £45m deal to upgrade key assets at Severn Trent’s Rugby Newbold sewage treatment works, extending a long-running partnership between the pair.
  The contractor will act as principal contractor and principal designer on the scheme, which runs to 2028, delivering new facilities and upgrading existing systems to boost operational resilience.
  Work will also increase feed and storm capacity at the site, forming part of Severn Trent’s wider AMP8 investment push ac
  
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• Barking Riverside doubles down with 20,000-home green light

  18-03-2026 08:08 via constructionenquirer.com
  London’s biggest single-ownership housing scheme has been scaled up after planners backed a major expansion at Barking Riverside.
  Developer Barking Riverside Limited has secured revised outline consent to deliver up to 20,000 homes on the 443-acre east London site – almost doubling the original 10,800-home consent.
  The decision from Barking & Dagenham councillors clears the way for a long-term build-out of one of the capital’s most significant brownfield regeneration p
  
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• Andrew Davison becomes joint MD at AGD

  18-03-2026 00:01 via constructionenquirer.com
  Plant hire specialist AGD Equipment Ltd has appointed Andrew Davison as Joint Managing Director.
  Davison brings over 25 years of experience in the piling and ground improvement markets, having spent most of his career with Keller and more recently working on HS2.
  Over the coming months Davison will be taking time to meet AGD customers and suppliers across the country.
  During his free time Davison races a Caterham car which has just been painted in the AGD orange livery. 
   
  
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• Flood defence pipeline swells with £1.4bn boost

  17-03-2026 09:25 via constructionenquirer.com
  The Environment Agency has unveiled details of a £1.4bn flood defence blitz to advance more than 600 schemes across England this year and next.
  Major schemes in the pipeline have already started and include the £59m Bridgwater tidal barrier (Kier), £37m Derby flood works (Sisk) and Kendal Flood Risk management scheme (VolkerStevin).
  The programme also spans small repairs works alongside a growing push on natural flood management to slow water upstream.
  Click here for full list
  
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• West Midlands Police attacked over abnormal loads

  17-03-2026 08:30 via constructionenquirer.com
  Plant chiefs have blasted West Midlands Police’s approach to abnormal load movements and are warning its behaviour could delay HS2 and other major  infrastructure projects.
  Under national rules, companies moving abnormal loads to construction sites are required to notify the police in advance – not seek permission.
  Most abnormal loads are safely self-escorted by trained operators with police escorts used only where there is a clear and exceptional risk.The Construction Plant-hir
  
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• One in four construction workers now under 30

  17-03-2026 08:30 via constructionenquirer.com
  Fresh site scan data of skills card-carrying workers shows the workforce is getting younger and better qualified, challenging long-held fears about an ageing site workforce.
  New figures from the Construction Skills Certification Scheme reveal that now more than one in four CSCS cards is held by workers under 30.
  It is the first tangible evidence that the industry is successfully attracting young talent after years of concern about a looming greying workforce time bomb.
  The figures mark an eight-
  
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• Bid races starts for £5.5bn flood defence super-framework

  17-03-2026 08:30 via constructionenquirer.com
  The Environment Agency has started the hunt for contractors and consultants for its next-generation £5.5bn Collaborative Delivery Framework 2 covering flood and coastal defence work across England.
  The eight-year programme will run from 2027 to 2035, replacing the current £3bn framework of contractors including: BAM Nuttall, Kier, Jackson Civil Engineering and VolkerStevin, with design partners Arup, Atkins, Jacobs and Jeremy Benn Associates.
  CDF2 will support the Agency’s nati
  
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• Bid race starts for £5.5bn flood defence super-framework

  17-03-2026 08:30 via constructionenquirer.com
  The Environment Agency has started the hunt for contractors and consultants for its next-generation £5.5bn Collaborative Delivery Framework 2 covering flood and coastal defence work across England.
  The eight-year programme will run from 2027 to 2035, replacing the current £3bn framework of contractors including: BAM Nuttall, Kier, Jackson Civil Engineering and VolkerStevin, with design partners Arup, Atkins, Jacobs and Jeremy Benn Associates.
  CDF2 will support the Agency’s nati
  
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• Vistry appoints new chair as CEO succession plan gathers pace

  17-03-2026 08:29 via constructionenquirer.com
  House builder Vistry has drafted in Rob Woodward as its new non-executive chair, marking the start of a wider leadership reset at the partnerships specialist.
  Woodward will take the reins from Greg Fitzgerald at the AGM on 13 May, as Fitzgerald steps back from his dual role as executive chair and prepares to hand over as CEO within the next year.
  The move keeps succession plans firmly on track, with Woodward already embedded at board level after joining as senior independent director in 2024 to
  
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• Pothole crisis deepens despite funding rise

  17-03-2026 08:10 via constructionenquirer.com
  Local authorities across England and Wales are facing a record £18.6bn backlog of carriageway repairs that would take more than a decade to clear, according to the latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey.
  Despite highway maintenance budgets rising sharply, the annual report warns there is still no quick fix for the deteriorating local road network.
  The survey by the Asphalt Industry Alliance found average highway maintenance budgets rose 17%, reaching £30.5m per
  
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• Robertson uses blow-up roof to keep hospital dry

  16-03-2026 17:49 via constructionenquirer.com
  Contractor Robertson has turned to a giant inflatable roofing system to keep work moving on a £38m hospital redevelopment while wards below stay open.
  The inflatable tents have been installed as part of the RAAC replacement programme on the roof of Royal Bolton Hospital’s maternity unit.
  Robertson Construction North West has adapted the air-filled structures to sit on scaffolding at roof level. This creates a sealed weatherproof working area while crews remove reinforced autoclaved a
  
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• Kier-led consortium lands £200m fusion energy plant

  16-03-2026 14:48 via constructionenquirer.com
  A construction partner has been confirmed for the £200m redevelopment of the former West Burton Power Station in Nottinghamshire.
  The ILIOS consortium, led by Kier Group and Nuvia with partners AL_A  Architects, Aecom and Turner & Townsend will build the UK’s first prototype fusion energy plant.
  The winners overcame competition for the build contract from Inovus Infrastructure, consisting of Balfour Beatty and Vinci alongside AtkinsRealis, Mott Macdonald and WSP and a Ferrov
  
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• TClarke pulls off Agratas gigafactory job

  16-03-2026 09:11 via constructionenquirer.com
  TClarke is understood to have withdrawn from the mechanical and electrical delivery team on the £4bn Agratas electric vehicle battery gigafactory in Somerset.
  Industry sources said the building services specialist has stepped away from the Gravity Smart Campus project near Bridgwater following mounting “relationship problems” with client Agratas, the Tata Group’s global battery business.
  The move will see TClarke redeploy staff previously assigned to the project across ot
  
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• Bill for bailing out British Steel set to top £1.5bn

  16-03-2026 08:42 via constructionenquirer.com
  The cost to taxpayers of keeping production going at British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnace could exceed £1.5bn by 2028.
  Spending watchdogs at the National Audit Office said the Government has spent £377m so far to keep the site operational.
  The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) intervened last April after its Chinese owner Jingye threatened to close the loss-making site.The NAO said shutting the site would have resulted in a large number of job losses at Scunthorp
  
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