Home » Author Archives: Rob Horgan

Author Archives: Rob Horgan

Planned Cumbrian coal mine faces twin legal challenges

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Two legal cases are being prepared to challenge plans for the first new coal mine in the UK since the 1990s. Communities secretary Michael Gove granted planning approval for the £165m Woodhouse Colliery in Cumbria last month. The decision immediately caused controversy, with Climate Change Committee chairman Lord Deben saying…

‘No decision made’ on HS2’s Euston station spoil removal plans

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“Further work” is needed to come up with a solution for removing tonnes of spoil from HS2’s Euston station site, the company has confirmed. Earlier this year Sir Douglas Oakervee was commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) to assess options for transporting excavated materials away from the Euston site.…

Balfour Vinci JV starts HS2 spoil-removal conveyor belt

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A joint venture between Balfour Beatty and Vinci (BBV) has begun, using a conveyor in a bid to reduce the number of HGV movements to and from its HS2 site. The 254m-long conveyor is being used to remove spoil from the Long Itchington Wood Tunnel, for use on other HS2…

Murphy appoints new chair

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J Murphy & Sons has announced John Creswell as the company’s new chairman. Creswell will succeed Alastair Kerr, who is stepping down at the end of the year after a decade in the role. Creswell is currently a non-executive director at Capita, and he has previously held board positions at…

SCS gains extra funding for HS2 Euston tunnels job

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HS2 Ltd has awarded the Skanska, Costain and Strabag joint venture (SCS JV) an additional £78m for its role in delivering the approach tunnels into Euston station. The total contact is valued at £1.2bn and the additional funding is within contingencies already set aside in HS2’s £44.6bn phase one budget.…

Would-be Everton owners commit to funding £500m stadium construction

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A US consortium has committed to funding the completion of Everton FC’s £500m Bramley-Moore Dock stadium as part of their takeover bid. The consortium is spearheaded by former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon, and includes Minneapolis-based Talon Real Estate chief executive Maciek Kaminski and US businessman John…

Tideway reports £100m cost rise on London’s Super Sewer

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Tideway has reported a further £100m cost increase on its London Super Sewer project. Tideway’s overall cost estimate has risen to £4.3bn from its original budget of £3.52bn, announced in 2014. That is £190m more than was reported in last year’s annual report and higher than the £4.2bn cost estimate…

Inspiring Women Awards shortlist revealed

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The shortlist for the Inspiring Women in Construction & Engineering Awards has been revealed. In total, 40 entrants across seven categories are in the running to claim a prestigious gong at the awards ceremony, sponsored by Curtins and Willmott Dixon. The seven categories recognise the women and teams who stand…

50 firms sign up to Inspiring Women pledge

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Some 50 construction and engineering firms have committed to improving gender equality in the sector by signing up to the Inspiring Women in Construction and Engineering Pledge. The pledge, launched one year ago, is now a Construction News and New Civil Engineer joint initiative to encourage companies to prioritise equality,…

UK’s first net-zero procurement guide released for construction projects

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Scape Scotland has launched the UK’s first procurement vehicle to deliver public-sector projects that meet net-zero standards. The new Lifecycle procurement solution is available across all of Scape Scotland’s construction procurement frameworks, covering £2bn worth of projects to be delivered over the next five years. The new Scape guide –…