Construction news

• Firms on standby for £4.5bn Southern Construct Framework

  17-03-2022 08:13 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Procurement group Southern Construction Framework has put firms on alert for the forthcoming race for places on its £4.5bn fifth-generation deal.
  Nine winners of the previous three-year deal now face a fight to retain their places. They include relative newcomers Sir Robert McAlpine and Mace, alongside regular winners BAM, Galliford Try, ISG, Kier, Morgan Sindall, Wates and Willmott Dixon. The 1oth sselected contractor Midas collapsed
  Ahead of going out to tender for the Construct Framewor
  
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• Housing drags down fledgling construction recovery

  05-03-2026 11:23 via constructionenquirer.com
  Construction buyers have reported an accelerated downturn in February sinking signs of a recovery at the start of this year.
  The bellwether S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) registered 44.5 in February – down from January’s seven-month high (46.4) and the 14th consecutive monthly fall.
  Residential building remained the weakest-performing segment in February (index at 37.0) and the rate of decline accelerated since January.Commercial construction ac
  
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• Taylor Wimpey to spend £150m this year on safety defects backlog

  05-03-2026 09:10 via constructionenquirer.com
  House builder Taylor Wimpey plans to spend around £150m this year fixing fire safety defects as it ramps up remediation work to fix a backlog of fire safety work.
  The firm has now revealed that previously hidden defects involving cavity barriers behind brickwork and render account for up to two-thirds of the steep £222m hike in its cladding remediation provision last year.
  The problems only emerged after intrusive investigations and updated Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAE
  
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• Tower crane collapses in London

  05-03-2026 09:07 via constructionenquirer.com
  A tower crane jib is understood to have collapsed on a site in west London on Wednesday.
  Site photos shared with the Enquirer show the aftermath of the failure on the residential site.
  No-one is believed to have been injured in the incident.
  The Enquirer has contacted firms understood to have been involved for comment.
  
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• Near-1,000 homes approved for Isle of Dogs site

  05-03-2026 08:24 via constructionenquirer.com
  London’s Tower Hamlets council has approved plans for a near-1,000 home twin-tower scheme on the Isle of Dogs at Mastmaker Court in Millharbour.
  The hybrid planning application will see two existing warehouse buildings demolished and replaced with two residential towers delivering co-living and affordable housing alongside community and education facilities.
  The development has been designed architect Squire & Partners for site owner Pirin Limited and its development partner Fifth Stat
  
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• Keltbray lays foundation for HS2 Curzon Street station

  05-03-2026 08:12 via constructionenquirer.com
  HS2 has reached a major construction milestone at its Birmingham terminus after completing the last of 2,011 concrete piles that will support the foundations of Curzon Street station.
  The huge piling programme, delivered by the Mace Dragados joint venture with Keltbray marks the end of a critical substructure phase on the 400m-long city centre station.
  Each reinforced concrete pile has been sunk between 6m and 24m deep into the ground to form the backbone of the new seven-platform terminus, whic
  
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• Go-ahead for Preston 500-home plan at shopping precint

  05-03-2026 08:11 via constructionenquirer.com
  Plans to bulldoze Preston’s ageing St John’s Shopping Centre and replace it with three residential towers, shops and a new NHS health hub have been given the green light.
  Members of Preston City Council’s planning committee have just backed the scheme with outline consent, clearing the way for a major reset of the city centre site after more than 60 years of retail use.
  Developer Wansfell Ltd will now move forward with outline proposals to demolish the existing precinct and adj
  
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• Go-ahead for Preston 500-home plan at shopping precinct

  05-03-2026 08:11 via constructionenquirer.com
  Plans to bulldoze Preston’s ageing St John’s Shopping Centre and replace it with three residential towers, shops and a new NHS health hub have been given the green light.
  Members of Preston City Council’s planning committee have just backed the scheme with outline consent, clearing the way for a major reset of the city centre site after more than 60 years of retail use.
  Developer Wansfell Ltd will now move forward with outline proposals to demolish the existing precinct and adj
  
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• John F Hunt wins Euston Tower demolition

  04-03-2026 15:33 via constructionenquirer.com
  John F Hunt has been appointed by British Land under a PCSA to undertake the demolition and deconstruction package for the redevelopment of London’s Euston Tower site.
  The specialist previously completed the soft strip back in 2024 and will now bring down the 36-storey building bar the reinforced concrete core which will be retained to its full 126 metres in height.
  To enable this, a complex temporary works scheme has been designed by the John F Hunt engineering consultancy RKD, to strengt
  
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• GMI confirmed for green Manchester office scheme

  04-03-2026 12:37 via constructionenquirer.com
  Developer Bywater has confirmed  GMI Construction Group as main contractor at 35 Fountain Street – a new‑build scheme claimed to be the city’s most sustainable office block.
  Designed by Bennetts Associates, the building will retain the existing steel frame while incorporating a hybrid structure featuring cross‑laminated timber (CLT) to reduce embodied carbon.
  The scheme will comprise 87,000 sq ft across basement, ground and eight upper floors, including two newly con
  
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• Former Balfour chief to become Barratt Redrow CEO

  04-03-2026 09:15 via constructionenquirer.com
  Barratt Redrow has appointed Dean Banks as its next Group Chief Executive.
  He will join the Group in the final quarter of 2026 and succeed David Thomas who has decided to retire from the business after 11 years as Group Chief Executive and 17 years with the group.
  Banks will join from Australian infrastructure specialist Ventia where he has served as Group Chief Executive since 2021.Prior to that Banks was CEO for UK Construction Services at Balfour Beatty.
  Banks said: “I am proud and priv
  
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• Bouygues E&S contracting arm reborn as Equans Sci-Tech

  04-03-2026 09:13 via constructionenquirer.com
  Bouygues Energies & Services Contracting arm has been rebranded as Equans Sci-Tech in a move designed to target the UK’s fast-growing life sciences, technology and advanced manufacturing sectors.
  The business, now fully integrated into Equans following its acquisition by Bouygues Group in October 2022, will operate as a single-source specialist for mission-critical environments from bases in Glasgow and Manchester.
  The refreshed brand will focus on laboratories, cleanrooms and advanced
  
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• Trio bag £1bn concrete road replacement deal

  04-03-2026 09:12 via constructionenquirer.com
  Kier, Graham and Sisk have secured a new six-year framework to rebuild England’s ageing concrete motorway and trunk road network.
  National Highways’ near £1bn Legacy Concrete Roads Reconstruction framework will run from 2026 to 2032, spanning RIS3 and the start of RIS4, and will drive a major rebuild of England’s roads.
  So-called “legacy” concrete roads – largely built in the 1960s and 1970s – are concentrated along the eastern side of England, inc
  
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• Galliford Try lifts full-year outlook after 20% profit surge

  04-03-2026 09:03 via constructionenquirer.com
  Galliford Try has powered through the first half with a 20% surge in pre-tax profit and margins edging closer to its 2030 target of 4%.
  With 98% of this year’s orders in hand and improving markets in both building and infrastructure, the contractor said it expected full-year results to exceed market forecasts.
  Pre-tax profit climbed by nearly 22% to £24m for the six months to 31 December 2025, on revenue up 1.3% to £935m.
  Chief executive Bill Hocking said: “I’m most
  
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• Vistry boss Greg Fitzgerald announces retirement

  04-03-2026 08:39 via constructionenquirer.com
  Greg Fitzgerald is retiring from house builder Vistry.
  He will step down as Chair in May but will continue to serve as CEO for up to 12 months, or until a successor is appointed.
  Fitzgerald was Chief Executive of Galliford Try PLC from 2005 to 2015, having previously been Managing Director of its house building division. Prior to this, he was a founder and later, Managing Director of Midas Homes, which was acquired by Galliford Try in 1997.As Chief Executive, he transformed Galliford Try from a
  
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• Consultation to start on merging CITB and ECITB

  04-03-2026 08:17 via constructionenquirer.com
  The government has announced that it will consult industry on the principle of the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) forming a single training body.
  The consultation is expected to run over 12 weeks and will be launched later this month.
  Tim Balcon CEO of the CITB said: “Regardless of the outcome we must continue to work to tackle the joint needs of industry – we need to be providing standardised levels of com
  
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• Galliford Try lands £16m Hartlepool school rebuild

  03-03-2026 15:45 via constructionenquirer.com
  Galliford Try has secured a £16m contract to rebuild St Helens Primary School in Hartlepool as a net zero carbon in operation scheme.
  The job has been awarded to Galliford Try Building North East and Yorkshire by the Department for Education and the Northern Lightings Learning Trust.
  The Headland-based school caters for 374 pupils, including additional resourced provision for 25 young people with Special Educational Needs.The replacement two-storey building will be delivered as a cost pilo
  
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• £231m London Barbican Arts Centre overhaul approved

  03-03-2026 15:24 via constructionenquirer.com
  The £231m overhaul of the Barbican Arts Centre in London has been given planning and listed building consent, clearing the way for a major retrofit of one of Britain’s best-known post-war landmarks.
  The go-ahead from the City of London Corporation unlocks long-awaited works to tackle ageing building fabric, poor accessibility and outdated infrastructure across the Grade II-listed Brutalist complex.
  The scheme, designed by Allies and Morrison with Asif Khan Studio and engineer Buro Ha
  
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• Wates veteran to drive Caddick subcontracting growth

  03-03-2026 09:15 via constructionenquirer.com
  Caddick has strengthened its specialist subcontracting businesses with the appointment of Mark Kearney as commercial director for CCL Facades and Caddick Civil Engineering.
  Kearney will head up the commercial functions of both businesses, operating from Caddick’s Wakefield and Durham offices and working closely with the respective managing directors to position the firms for sustainable growth.
  His remit spans key regions including Yorkshire, the North East, North West and Midlands, where
  
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• “Energy and optimism” at Kier after strong set of results

  03-03-2026 08:57 via constructionenquirer.com
  New Kier chief executive Stuart Togwell has unveiled a strong set of half-year results and hailed the “real energy and optimism” across the group.
  Results for the six months to December 31 2025 show pre-tax profits up to £32.6m from £28.6m last time as turnover ticked-up to £2bn from £1.97bn.
  Kier also hit its target of an average net cash position during the period for the first time in 13 years.
  Togwell – who took over the firm in November – said
  
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• Scottish Water unveils £13.4bn six-year spend plan

  03-03-2026 08:34 via constructionenquirer.com
  Scottish Water has set out a £13.4bn blueprint to protect and upgrade the water and wastewater network between 2027 and 2033.
  The publicly-owned utility said the six-year programme will future-proof ageing assets, tackle climate pressures and maintain what it claims are among the lowest charges in the UK.
  Of the £13.4bn total, £8bn is earmarked for maintaining and improving pipes, treatment works and other core infrastructure.
  The balance will fund operating and essential costs
  
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• Mears offloads education and health FM arm for £18m

  03-03-2026 08:23 via constructionenquirer.com
  Contractor Mears has sold its facilities management arm for £18m to sharpened its focus on housing.
  The group has sold Morrison Facilities Services Limited, which delivers FM work mainly across education and health, following a competitive sales process.The disposal completes another step in Mears’ strategy to concentrate fully on housing services.The business was sold on a debt and cash-free basis with a normal level of working capital.
  Mears bought Morrison Facilities Services back
  
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• BBA standards body has own accreditation suspended

  03-03-2026 08:15 via constructionenquirer.com
  The British Board of Agrement (BBA) has had its accreditation suspended and cannot currently issue safety certificates to building products manufacturers.
  The BBA is construction’s leading independent certification body with its approval logo seen as demonstrating fitness-for-purpose and compliance with building regulations.
  It is overseen by the government appointed UKAS National Accreditation Body which assesses and accredits certification and testing organisations across all industries.
  
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• Galliford Try wins £60m RAF Lakenheath munitions hub

  02-03-2026 20:10 via constructionenquirer.com
  Galliford Try has been picked to deliver a £60m munitions handling facility at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.
  The job will be delivered for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation on behalf of the United States Air Force, which operates from the RAF Lakenheath base.
  The scheme includes three new munitions handling buildings covering storage, testing, maintenance and administrative functions.It marks the first project Galliford Try will deliver directly for the US Air Force, extending its defen
  
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• E+S slide rail systems now available from AGD

  02-03-2026 16:54 via constructionenquirer.com
  Hire specialist AGD is making a pioneering trench shoring system available to companies across the industry.
  E+S invented the first trench shoring systems in Germany in the 1950s. They were the first company to design the slide rail system which facilitates quick and easy installation of small cofferdams and excavation pits up to 9m depth.
  AGD  has just installed its first slide rail excavation pit and is now offering the system for sale or hire nationwide throughout the UK and  Irelan
  
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• Bovis seals £200m London Stock Exchange revamp

  02-03-2026 15:42 via constructionenquirer.com
  Bovis Construction has sealed a pre-construction services agreement to deliver a £200m overhaul of the home to the London Stock Exchange.
  The contractor beat rival bids from Structure Tone and Wates to secure the job with Oxford Properties and Hines to deliver the refurbishment, extension and full turnkey tenant fitout of the City landmark.
  David Cadiot, chief executive officer at Bovis, said: “Having successfully completed the original building in 2003, it’s a real privilege t
  
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• Byrne Group drops O’Keefe Demolition name

  02-03-2026 15:09 via constructionenquirer.com
  Byrne Group has rebranded its O’Keefe Demolition & Groundworks business to Byrne Demolition and Byrne Groundworks.
  Michael Byrne, Byrne Group Chief Executive, said: “This rebrand marks an exciting new chapter as we bring these specialist divisions under the unified Byrne Group banner. The change reflects our strategic intent to create greater integration, efficiency, and alignment across our services – enhancing our ability to deliver seamlessly across the full bu
  
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• Winners confirmed on £37bn hospital framework

  02-03-2026 12:55 via constructionenquirer.com
  The ten winning contractors have been confirmed for the £37bn Hospital 2.0 Alliance framework.
  The winners are:Bovis
  Dragados
  Integrated Health Projects (IHP) (Sir Robert McAlpine/VINCI)
  John Graham
  Kier
  Laing O’Rourke
  Morgan Sindall
  Sacyr
  Skanska
  Willmott DixonThe bid race opened 12 months ago and last summer a shortlist of 16 firms was announced.The firms missing out are BAM, Bouyges, FCC, McLaren, Multiplex and Sisk.
  Natalie Forrest, Chief Programme Officer at the New Hospital Pro
  
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• Gateway 2 legacy backlog cut to just three cases

  02-03-2026 09:11 via constructionenquirer.com
  The Building Safety Regulator has slashed its Gateway 2 legacy backlog to just three cases after shifting 18 of the most technically challenging schemes into a specialist complex case process.
  Fresh figures covering December to 25 February show the long-running pile of historic applications has all but cleared.At the start of December there were 60 legacy cases sitting in the system.
  That number has now fallen to three standard cases, with 18 high-risk or technically intricate schemes moved into
  
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• Major circular construction hub opens in Royal Docks

  02-03-2026 08:54 via constructionenquirer.com
  Ambitious plans to create Europe’s largest circular construction hub in London’s Royal Docks are underway with the opening of the facilities gates today.
  The new facility, delivered with Newham Council and climate charity Tipping Point East, will recycle and reuse construction materials that would otherwise head to landfill.
  Backers say it will become the largest circular construction hub in Europe once fully operational and forms the first phase of a wider Circular Economy Village p
  
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