Two construction companies have been fined for “appalling” standards at a building site in the London Borough of Merton. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted principal contractor, Kubik Homes Ltd, and the subcontractor, Bellway Developments Ltd after visiting the site in Wimbledon on several occasions. Kubik Homes Ltd, of High Street, Wimbledon, pleaded guilty

Water ingress can be a significant risk factor for underground cable installations but innovative DOYMA technology from Germany can be used to address that risk. At Victoria Underground Station, where Transport for London is investing in a significant upgrade programme, the electrical installation includes connecting a new build ‘North Ticket Hall’ to the existing South

More than 900 jobs will be created and thousands more secured after transport secretary, Justine Greening, approved a £4.5bn contract to supply Britain with the next generation of intercity trains. Some 596 railway carriages will be built at a brand new train factory in the north east of England. Agility Trains, a consortium made up

The building of the £18 billion Hinkley Point power station in Somerset has been thrown into doubt after the government decided to put the project on hold, just hours after developer EDF had given it the go-ahead. The South West reactor was expected to become Britain’s first new nuclear plant for a generation, but in

Construction of a new ‘dementia-friendly’ home aimed at learning how better to support those living with the condition will begin on the BRE Innovation Park this Autumn. The 100sqm Victorian house will be adapted to cater for different types, and stages, of the debilitating illness, and is aimed at allowing sufferers to live independently by

Building Information Modelling (BIM), says Neville Glanville, should not be just about 3D data but about ensuring that every organisation has rapid access to the in-depth information required to drive effective cooperation and collaboration at every stage of the design, build, and operate lifecycle The government’s commitment to Building Information Modelling (BIM) is about driving

Construction has started on the Basketball Arena as Shona Robison MSP, Minister for Public Health and Sport in Scotland, visited the Olympic Park with the Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), John Armitt.The Basketball Arena will play a key role during the Olympic Games, with 12,000 seats for the Basketball preliminaries and quarter-finals, as

In January, the government announced a £1.2 billion starter home fund to prepare brownfield sites for new homes. It believes this will fast-track the creation of at least 30,000 new starter homes and up to 30,000 market homes on 500 new sites by 2020 – helping deliver the commitment to create 200,000 starter homes over

The latest Government house building figures show that levels of new supply remain far below that needed to hit its ambition of one million homes by 2020. Overall, 139,030 new homes were built in England in the year to June 2016, an increase of six per cent over the previous year, according to the latest

Ramboll has completed the redevelopment of the Lighthouse building in Kings Cross. The final elements of construction work marked the end of a renovation project on the historic seminal building in London, which now boasts an additional storey and a mezzanine level. Situated adjacent to Kings Cross Station the iconic Grade II listed building, which

On 15 February 2011, Cotswold Geotechnical (Holdings) Limited became the first company to be convicted of corporate manslaughter under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Guy Bastable, Partner at BCL Burton Copeland, provides an experts view. The conviction came two and a half years after Alexander Wright, a junior geologist and employee of

Small builders will benefit from a £100 million cash boost to recognise and support their important role in keeping the country building, Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said today. The Housing Growth Partnership will act as a dedicated initiative that will invest alongside smaller builders in new developments, providing money to support their businesses, helping get

Construction output is forecast to increase 5.5% in 2015 according to the latest forecasts from the Construction Products Association; however, growth is expected to slow in the following two years due to the impacts of election uncertainty. Construction output is forecast to increase 5.5% in 2015, which is more than double the rate of growth

An adjudication judge has come down wisely against those who may use the other side’s poor state of financial health as a reason for not paying, says Sarah Shemmings The construction industry generally likes the adjudication process because it provides a relatively quick dispute resolution, even if it is only temporarily binding. But even still

Output in the UK’s construction sector has risen for the first time since May, according to the latest figures, with housebuilding leading the way in September. For the first time in four months, the Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed above the 50.0 no-change value, reaching 52.3 and well above July’s seven-year low

The engineering industry needs to tone down its use of images of men in hard hats if it is to inspire more young people to forge a career in the industry, an organisation that awards MBS scholarships to engineering students is claiming. Sainsburys Management Fellows (SMF) says surveys it has taken among second and third

A total of 15 industry-led projects have received a cash boost in the latest round of funding by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). The mix of successful bids in the Flexible and Structured funding scheme, includes training to kick-start the careers of under-represented groups, a programme to use drones to reduce health and safety

A development in Somerset shows why mixed use is the development pattern of the future. Or so its developer thinks Do housing and commercial buildings work well together? Carl Haley, managing director of Persimmon Homes Severn Valley, certainly thinks so. The building group is heavily involved in the creation of a new enterprise area where

A local authority-controlled company has teamed up with Warwickshire County Council to deliver the UK’s first “Sunesis” school. January saw work start on the UK’s first “Sunesis” school. Sunesis is a joint venture between builder Willmott Dixon and Scape, a Nottingham-based local authority-controlled company that works to drive down building procurement costs for the public

Tim Rook, Chairman of Woodpecker Energy UK, maps out a few reasons why biomass could be the answer to carbon neutral heating and low carbon living. Biomass heating is a no-nonsense answer to carbon neutral heating, and an effective way to provide low-carbon, affordable warmth while complying with building and environmental regulations, so it is

Leading British businesses, engineers and experts will come together in a new national innovation centre in Wales focussed on compound semiconductors, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced today bringing vital investment and jobs to the area. On a visit to Cardiff University ahead of a major speech on the UK and welsh economies, Osborne