Construction news

• Winners named for £2bn Healthy Homes framework

  26-04-2024 08:14 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Midlands and southern housing procurement group, Central Housing Investment Consortium, has named the consultant and contractors to have secured places on its £2bn retrofit and building safety works framework for social homes.
  The Healthy Homes Framework is intended to help deliver net zero and building safety targets for the sector.
  It will provide the social housing sector with consultancy services, fabric first measures, ventilation systems, renewable energy and heat systems, house refu
  
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• Balfour wins design for £690m Skye transmission job

  12-06-2024 09:14 via constructionenquirer.com
  Balfour Beatty has clinched the first phase of the £690m Skye 132kV reinforcement project for Scottish and Southern Electricity Network Transmission.On completion the project will ensure the supply of secure, clean electricity to thousands of homes and businesses across the Hebrides and West Highlands.
  The detailed design and development phase, valued at £32m, will see Balfour provide technical solutions for a new 137km, 132kV double circuit overhead line between the existing Fort Au
  
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• Construction output falls for third month running

  12-06-2024 08:57 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Construction output fell sharply in April marking the third consecutive monthly fall since a small uplift was recorded in January.
  The 1.4% contraction in activity was caused by decreases in both new work (- 1.9%), and repair and maintenance (-0.8%).
  According to fresh data published this morning by the Office of National Statistics, survey returns suggested heavy rainfall and strong winds dampened activity during April.The latest figures will be a blow to the Government, which yesterday set out
  
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• Plan in for Leeds 27-storey block of flats

  12-06-2024 08:27 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Scottish developer Drum Property Group has lodged plans for its first major scheme in Leeds to build 390 flats.
  The developer plans to demolish Morgan Sindall’s old offices at Evolution House, off Springwell Road in Holbeck, to make way for the residential scheme.
  The project will consist of two brick buildings configured in L-shape.
  One warehouse-style building will rise to 12 storeys and boast a rooftop terrace, while the abutting tower will rise to 27 storeys
  The development site is loc
  
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• Amey switches kit supplier

  12-06-2024 08:22 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Amey has decided to end its plant and equipment hire deal with HSS after nine years.
  HSS confirmed the switch in a stock exchange update this morning on its largest customer.
  It said:”HSS Hire Group Plc announces that, following a retender process it has been notified by Amey Plc of its decision to move to another supplier for the provision of its equipment rental managed service contract.
  “The supplier agreement will end early December 2024 subject to any transitional services that
  
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• Student and resi developer Fortis goes under

  12-06-2024 07:58 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Student and residential specialist Fortis Developments Limited has gone into liquidation.
  The Cheshire based developer has been in business since 2012 with 15 successful schemes under its belt containing 3,800 apartments.
  Fortis had a construction division called Beaumount Morgan Developments which went into administration two years ago owing subcontractors and suppliers £7m.Begbies Traynor is the liquidator at Fortis and a statement of affairs shows debts of more than £19m.
  These in
  
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• Track workers scatter to avoid runaway rail trolley

  12-06-2024 07:55 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has launched a probe after a runaway track trolley hurtled towards a team of workers.
  In the early morning on Sunday 26 May a track trolley ran away on a descending gradient towards a site of work and a team of track workers.
  The trolley came to a stop after it collided with equipment being used for moving rails within the site of work. The track workers had seen the runaway trolley approaching and moved clear of its path before the collision occurred.No on
  
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• Firms readied for £1.5bn Parliament estate upkeep deal

  11-06-2024 21:23 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Firms have been put on alert for the tender race for places on a new £1.5bn framework to deliver the programme of on-going repairs and improvements to the Houses of Parliament and wider estate in London.
  The new Parliamentary Construction Partnership Framework will replace the existing MEPFS (Mechanical, Electrical, Public health, and Fabric Safety) Framework, which expires on 15 March 2025.
  Works under the new framework will cover the medium term investment into the early 2030s, rather th
  
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• Planning for new homes plunges to record low

  11-06-2024 09:24 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The latest Housing Pipeline Report from the Home Builders Federation shows that in the 12 months to March 2024, the number of new homes and sites given planning permission has fallen to the lowest level since the data collection started in 2006.
  The HBF warned that the housing pipeline is significantly smaller now than it was even during the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.
  It added: “The figures also illustrate the stark challenge a new Government faces to increase housing supply
  
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• £100m Digbeth 33-storey flats job out to bid

  11-06-2024 09:23 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The development arm of Clarion Housing is inviting tenders for a £100m high-rise homes scheme in Digbeth, Birmingham.
  Latimer plans to deliver 483 flats in a part 33 and part 9 floor scheme bounded by Clyde Street and the High Street and is now looking for a contractor to deliver the scheme which is presently in planning.
  The site is home to a former Safestore industrial facility and surrounding hard-standing car parking.Regeneration of this former brownfield land will provide much-ne
  
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• Ex-Galliard boss to lead Battersea next building phase

  11-06-2024 09:08 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Former Galliard Homes boss Don O’Sullivan has become chief executive of the developer behind the iconic Battersea Power Station redevelopment.
  As CEO, he will lead the continued development of the former industrial brownfield site following the restoration and public opening of the Grade II* listed Power Station.
  He joins as the Mayalsia-owned developer submits plans for phase 3c of the vast scheme.This brings forward the last two remaining  buildings of architect Gehry Partners desig
  
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• Renew buys utilities contractor Excalon

  11-06-2024 08:33 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Infrastructure maintenance giant Renew has acquired utilities contractor Excalon in a deal worth up to £26m
  Renew said the move will allow it to expand into the electricity transmission and distribution market.
  Salford based Excalon specialises in the provision of high voltage infrastructure to the UK electricity sector and has a number of long-term frameworks with electricity Distribution Network Operators (DNO) across the UK.The initial consideration of £22m has been funded from th
  
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• Van Elle fined £233,000 after piling rig kills driver

  11-06-2024 08:19 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Van Elle has been fined £233,000 after a 52-year old HGV driver was struck and killed by the mast of a piling rig at a housing site in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway.
  On 21 January 2021, Gary Dobinson, who was employed by another company, visited the Hallmeadow development with his lorry to collect and transfer the piling rig owned by Van Elle.
  As the mast of the rig was being lowered in preparation for its transportation, it suddenly collapsed and struck Dobinson. Site workers and the emerg
  
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• Direct delivery model pays off as Murphy profit soars to £67m

  11-06-2024 08:08 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Murphy’s direct delivery model yielded strong returns last year with pre-tax profit soaring 50% to a record £67m.
  As the wider industry battled with supply chain challenges, Murphy’s marked improvement in performance saw operating margins jump from 3% to 5%.
  Group revenue marginally declined 5% to £1.42bn in 2023, primarily due to the timing and completion of projects in Canada, although this was offset by continued revenue growth in both Ireland and the UK.Staff headcoun
  
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• JTRE starts £400m 21-floor London tower scheme

  10-06-2024 11:21 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Slovakia-originated London developer JTRE has given the go-ahead to start work on a £400m mixed-use scheme on the Capital’s Blackfriars Road.
  The 220 Blackfriars Road scheme delivered in partnership with Southwark Charities will see a 21-storey office block and a second smaller tower, at 15 storeys that will encompass 64 almshouses with charity hub and community hall.
  Specialist firm Downwell Enabling has started demolition of the current Edward Edwards House building on the site, af
  
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• Bid race starts for up £95m repairs to PFI hospital

  10-06-2024 09:31 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The race has started for the job to repair serious defects at a mental health hospital built under PFI just over a decade ago.
  Roseberry Park Hospital in Middlesbrough opened in 2011 but has had problems with its roof, plumbing and fire safety system.
  Now Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust, which won a battle to terminate its contract with the original PFI provider, is looking for a firm to carry out an extensive programme of defect rectification works.Planned works to blocks 1 and 9 at the sit
  
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• R G Carter construction profits up despite 24% revenue fall

  10-06-2024 09:02 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The construction arm of the R G Carter Group delivered better profits last year despite revenue falling 25% to £228m.
  Chairman Robert Carter said a selective approach to the clients the firm worked with had helped to raise profitability with pre-tax profit jumping to £6.3m from £1m previously
  He said:  “Our core activity of construction is trading well. Turnover in 2024 is forecasted to be in line with that achieved in 2023. This reflects our continued selective appr
  
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• Building Safety changes slow down construction recovery

  10-06-2024 08:45 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The ongoing impact of the new building safety regime could hamper the fledgling recovery underway in construction.
  Experts at Arcadis have highlighted a very confused market in their latest analysis.
  The consultants are forecasting higher levels of construction inflation from 2026 onwards even as the industry’s recovery struggles to take-off in 2024 and 2025.This will be due to resource constraints and the impact of delayed procurements on the future shape of the supply chain.
  Contractors
  
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• Knight Build owed money for work on UK’s poshest street

  10-06-2024 08:22 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Knight Build has been left chasing unpaid bills for basement work on a development on the UK’s most expensive street.
  The contractor had been working on a major basement excavation and planned frame build at 18-19 Buckingham Gate in Westminster where two old houses have been demolished to make way for a luxury apartment complex,
  Knight Build started work in March 2022 on the street where the average house price is £9.6m.But the firm terminated its contract in June 2023 following paym
  
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• Winvic ranks top of May contracts league

  10-06-2024 08:21 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  A flurry of contract wins saw shed and multi-room specialist Winvic fly to the top of the contracts league in May.
  Among its new orders, Winvic secured a 1.2m sq ft warehouse for Yusen Logistics UK at SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton, marking the first major build at the site. It also clinched three linked residential towers of 10, 12 and 14 storeys for 451 flats at Sweet Street in the Holbeck area of Leeds.
  Sisk ranked second in the month after confirming its £340m contract for the new No
  
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• Refurbs power London office work to record high

  10-06-2024 08:18 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Sustained growth in London building upgrade activity has lifted office construction to a record high in the first three months of 2024.
  The volume under construction hit an all-time high of 16.4m sq ft across 127 schemes by March, according to the latest Deloitte London Office Crane Survey.
  Much was fed from work starts in the previous two quarters of growth, but even in a slightly slower start to the year new project starts totalled 4.2m sq ft, the first time three consecutive quarters have top
  
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• M&E firms warn of persistent skills shortages

  07-06-2024 08:55 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Specialist contractors in the mechanical, electrical and plumbing sectors are warning that ongoing systemic skills shortages are now holding back growth.
  The latest quarterly survey supported by the main electrotechnical sector trade bodies paints a picture of an overriding issue that has now been a serious concern for the last four quarters.
  The warning comes as the sector also reports growing workloads and orders driven by big data centre and lab work for larger firms and decarbonising program
  
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• Scaffolder dies from chemical burns

  07-06-2024 08:12 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Tata Chemicals Europe Limited has been fined £1.125m after a young father died following an incident while erecting a scaffold tower at a chemical plant in Northwich.
  Michael Densmore, from Halewood in Merseyside, died following complications to the wound he sustained after his right foot slipped into a trough containing a liquid chemical calcium hydroxide – more commonly known as ‘milk of lime’ – causing chemical and thermal burns.
  The 37-year-old father-of-four wa
  
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• Wates rejigs businesses as veteran leader retires

  06-06-2024 22:23 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Wates Construction managing director Paul Chandler is retiring at the end of this year, after a 42-year career in construction.
  The industry veteran joined Wates from Skanska in 2017 and grew the construction arm from around £700m to £1.3bn turnover, delivering profitable growth year on year.
  His decision to retire comes as Wates chief executive Eoghan O’Lionaird makes changes to realign parts of the business.Steff Battle, presently managing director in Wates’ constructio
  
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• Southern Water names consultants for AMP8

  06-06-2024 22:23 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Southern Water has picked a seven-strong consultant team to steer its £7.8bn investment programme for the AMP8 (2025-30) period.
  The professional services framework is one of three critical frameworks to be used for the programnme, with capital delivery and network services still to be decided.
  The framework, which runs for an initial five years with the option to extend by another three years, is broken down into three lots:
  Asset Management support services (£80m)
  Mott MacDonald; A
  
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• Construction buyers see momentum building

  06-06-2024 10:43 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Construction activity continued to rise in May with industry buyers reporting positive momentum across all sectors.
  The bellwether S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 54.7 from 53.0 in April – the fastest rate growth rate in two years.
  For the first time since May 2022, all three monitored categories of house building, commercial and civil engineering saw activity increase.New business rose for the fourth consecutive month, and at a solid pace that was t
  
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• Bouygues bags £80m London NHS diagnostic centre job

  06-06-2024 09:32 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Bouygues UK has been appointed lead contractor to design and build an £80m ambulatory diagnostic centre at West Middlesex University Hospital.
  The facility for by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will provide vital diagnostic and treatment services in cancer, renal and imaging for local residents in Hounslow, Richmond and Ealing.
  The project includes five storeys of new build, a rooftop plant and a small terrace area. On the ground floor there will be a new single stor
  
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• London £3bn schools framework out to tender

  06-06-2024 09:20 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Tendering is starting to refresh the line-up of firms for a major London and Home Counties schools framework for new build and retrofit work.
  London’s Haringey Borough Council is handling the procurement of the £3bn framework, which has been reshaped to allocate places for small and medium-sized firms as well as bigger players in the market.
  The Framework Alliance Agreement will replace the current LCP Framework (Major Work 19) which is due to expire in October 2024.It has been set u
  
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• Openreach fined £1.34m after engineer drowns in river

  06-06-2024 08:44 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Broadband network builder Openreach Limited has been fined £1.34m after an engineer died while trying to repair a telephone line.
  Alun Owen,32, from Bethesda, died after he slipped and fell into the River Aber in Abergwyngregyn and was swept away on 6 October 2020.
  An investigation by the HSE and North Wales Police found that a number of Openreach engineers had been attempting to repair the telephone lines, which ran across the river, over a period of two months. They had been working both
  
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• Road sweeper firm Go Plant went down owing suppliers £4.3m

  06-06-2024 08:17 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Road Sweeper Hire specialist went into administration owing its supply chain £4.3m.
  The firm’s debts are detailed in an update from administrator Alvarez & Marsal filed at Companies House.
  Administrators took charge of the firm in May and sold parts of the business for £2m to waste management contract Sweeptech in a pre-pack deal.Go Plant had 330 employees when it went under with 116 jobs saved by Sweeptech.
  The majority of redundant staff are now pursuing a claim for the f
  
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