News

Infrastructure projects are being held back in rural areas due to inflated material prices, MPs have warned. In a House of Commons adjournment on infrastructure procurement on Monday (20 February), two MPs from the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) argued that creating a centralised access point for…

Multiplex has started construction work on a 50-storey residential tower at Bankside Yards by the River Thames in central London. The Australian contractor is working with building-frame subcontractor Keltbray and facade subcontractor Scheldebouw on the 250-flat tower, which is part of the £3bn Bankside Yards regeneration led by developer Native…

A roofer and council worker have been jailed for defrauding New Forest District Council out of more than £88,000, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said. Mark Diaper, who worked at a now-defunct roofing company in Southampton, was found to have bribed council maintenance operative Richard Cullen to secure work…

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has taken over the criminal investigation into the death of a worker on Laing O’Rourke’s Everton Stadium project. Michael Jones, 26, died from head injuries on 14 August last year at Bramley-Moore Dock. Jones died after being crushed between a scissor ladder and a beam,…

Wates and Equans are among 100 contractors named on a bumper framework focusing on social-housing repairs. Wates’ property arm, Wates Property Services, and Equans Regeneration scooped spots along with Seddon Construction, Mitie’s property services business and Lovell Partnerships on the £3.2bn framework, which is run by social-housing consortium Efficiency North.…

Sir Gareth Rhys Williams has been appointed as chair of roads body National Highways. Williams was announced as chair following a “competitive selection process”. He replaces Dipesh Shah, who stepped down from his role at the end of 2023 when his three-year term came to an end. Williams joins from…

Unite Students and Balfour Beatty have signed separate deals to develop university student halls with a combined worth of more than £400m. Balfour Beatty is set to build 1,899 bedrooms with the University of Sussex in a £200m deal, while student-accommodation giant Unite announced a separate, £250m joint venture (JV)…

Lendlease has reported an A$173m (£89.7m) pre-tax loss in interim results after making further provisions to deal with dangerous cladding in the UK. The publicly listed Australian contractor and developer has put aside a further A$22m (£11.4m) to tackle its historic building-safety liabilities in the UK, it revealed in interim…

McLaughlin & Harvey has reported an £8.6m pre-tax loss, which it blamed on macroeconomic conditions and problem jobs. In the 12-month period to 30 June 2023, the County Antrim-based firm turned over £736.6m but delivered a margin of -1.2 per cent amid loss-making projects, inflation and labour supply issues. The…

Laing O’Rourke has denied claims from Unite that unqualified electricians are working unsupervised on the £555m Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium for Everton Football Club. The union warned of a risk of “catastrophic damage” occurring after allegedly seeing electricians-mate contracts stating that the junior workers may not be supervised. Electricians mates would usually…