News

UK construction continues to be “battered by economic headwinds and sudden, ad hoc policy change”, Glenigan has concluded in its latest quarterly assessment. The data insight provider’s latest Construction Review, covering the three months to the end of September 2023 (Q3), showed that starts on site were down 40 per…

A “significant increase” in infrastructure spending is needed from the private and public sectors over the coming decades to meet the UK’s future challenges, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has said. In his foreword to the second NIC five-year assessment, commission chair Sir John Armitt described a “pivotal moment in…

A Scottish council has paused a requirement for its new housing to meet the Passivhaus sustainability standard, amid concerns over high costs. Last week, members of Midlothian Council backed a motion to pause the pursuit of Passivhaus compliance in future housing developments until the council could better consider its costs…

Dozens of construction firms and other contractors have been named on the government’s latest list of firms that deliberately defaulted on tax. According to the official list, several small contractors defaulted on hundreds of thousands of pounds each, with one owing almost £2m. Every few months, HMRC publishes information on…

A man has been fined for illegally working as a security guard at a construction site in Rhondda, South Wales. On 8 January, South Wales Police responded to an alarm at the site, where Aymen Essa was working. They found that Essa, who was working at a site on an…

Bellway has set aside £30.5m to resolve a structural building-safety issue at a 12-year-old London housing block – and said it is investigating whether similar issues exist with other buildings. In the company’s preliminary results for the year to 31 July, it set aside £49.6m for “legacy building-safety improvements”. Bellway…

Costain has hired two non-executive directors, including the former chief executive of Amey. Steve Mogford and Amanda Fisher are set to join Costain’s board on 1 November and 1 December respectively, and will serve as members of the contractor’s audit, nomination and remuneration committees. Fisher ran Amey from 2019 until…

The Ladder Association has raised “serious concerns” that unsafe and potentially dangerous ladders are being sold online to UK builders and consumers. In research commissioned by the association, 70 per cent of the commercially available multiple-purpose ladders tested did not to meet “minimum safety requirements”. The products that failed the…

Morrison Construction has been named as the main contractor on the £40m redevelopment of Aberdeen market. Aberdeen City Council intends the site – part of city centre regeneration plans – to become a “destination venue featuring international-style food, drink, and a retail market”. Council documents from December 2022 cost the…

The government hailed a raft of smaller transport schemes as it announced the much-rumoured cancellation of parts of HS2, but those plans have done little to cushion the blow “I am cancelling the rest of the HS2 project. And in its place, we will reinvest every single penny – £36bn…