Buildings

The developer behind the London MSG Sphere has withdrawn its planning application, claiming the scheme has become a “political football”. The 90 metre-high, 120 metre-wide spherical arena, which would have stood near the Olympic Park in east London, has been embroiled in a multi-year planning battle since Madison Square Garden…

HG Construction has landed a £75m student scheme in Bristol. The high-rise specialist contractor will deliver a 706-room development comprised of four blocks ranging from five to 15 storeys. The project, for client Studio Hive, is on Silverthorne Lane, at the centre of Bristol’s Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, which is…

Kier, Wates and Morgan Sindall’s housing arm Lovell have been named alongside dozens of SMEs on a £346m building-improvements framework. The four-year Fusion21 framework can be used by public sector organisations including housing, education and healthcare providers across the country. Works that can be procured include the installation of kitchens,…

A £350m estate-regeneration scheme in central London has been redesigned to meet new regulations requiring a second staircase in high-rise buildings. Six buildings in the second and third phases of the redevelopment of the Ebury Estate in Pimlico, containing up to 555 flats, are now set to contain two stair…

The government wants to increase the amount of construction training on traditional building methods and materials to help retrofit old homes. In a review of the barriers to improving energy efficiency in listed and conservation-area homes, three departments jointly highlight workforce shortages as a major issue for carrying out retrospective…

The firm that produced the combustible cladding panels which helped spread the Grenfell Tower fire will not attend an event for survivors and bereaved, according to a report. Later this month, Grenfell Testimony Week is set to feature speakers testifying about their experiences of the tragedy and is part of…

A London borough is racing to replace recently collapsed Westridge Construction on the redevelopment of a travellers’ site, while a West Sussex council has picked a substitute builder to finish a housing development. Westridge Construction entered administration in September owing 872 trade creditors a total of £11.3m, according to a…

An embattled regeneration scheme in Southampton has stalled again after the contractor pulled out. Drew Smith, now known as Countryside Partnerships, signed a contract with Southampton City Council in 2021 to build three plots containing 273 homes as part of the £100m Townhill Park regeneration scheme. Countryside Partnerships is part…

Somerset Council has signed three contracts worth a combined £140m for road maintenance and improvement works in the county. Kiely Group will deliver surface-treatment services, including road surface dressing, footway crack sealing, ironwork strengthening and support, preparatory drainage, patching and cleaning, and post-surfacing road markings, studs and high-friction surfacing. Heidelberg…

Kier, ISG and Galliford Try are among the firms to have landed slots on a £1bn framework for public-sector projects in the North West of England. The contractors are among 11 to win places on the North West Construction Hub’s Medium Value Construction Framework, which runs until 2026. The agreement…