Author Archives: Joshua Stein

Two of the UK’s biggest construction contractors have won plaudits for promoting gender equality within their businesses. Costain and Willmott Dixon, which placed 12th and 19th respectively in the most recent CN100 list, were both named in The Times’ annual Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality list. The list recognises…

Tilbury Douglas has failed in a legal claim that Arup should pay it £6m because of defective designs at a mixed-use development in Edinburgh. The contractor had alleged that Arup produced designs that were “incapable of implementation” on the revamp of the former Haymarket railway yard in central Edinburgh. But…

A concrete structures specialist has recorded a jump in profit and turnover, despite citing the impact of inflation. MPB Structures, based in Northamptonshire, penned a pre-tax profit of £4.7m in the year to 30 September 2023, up on the £3.9m it made in the previous 12 months, newly published accounts…

McAleer & Rushe has reported a fall in profit as it unveiled turnover targets for 2025. The Northern Ireland-based design-and-build contractor tabled a pre-tax profit of £11m for the year to 31 December 2023, a slight decrease on the £12.1m for the previous year. Its pre-tax profit margin therefore decreased…

The Labour Party has promised to overhaul planning rules and fund infrastructure in a bid to revive the economy. In a 132-page manifesto published ahead of the 4 July general election, the Labour Party pledged to shred planning constraints for infrastructure and housing, adding that it would reform delivery of…

The Green Party has said demolition work should require a full planning application, unless already included in a local development order. In its 46-page manifesto released on Wednesday (12 June), the party said it would tighten the rules around demolition if it enters government after the general election on 4…

Balfour Beatty has scooped a job to deliver the first phase of a 137km power line job in Scotland. The contractor will deliver the design and development phase one of the £690m project for Scottish and Southern Electricity Network (SSEN). Balfour Beatty’s job at the site will be worth £32m.…

Contractors have been alerted to a bumper workload to keep the Palace of Westminster safe. A new £1.5bn framework will help “prevent future deterioration” of the site’s mechanical, electrical, public health, fire and life safety systems, as well as its building fabric, roofing and stonework, according to a prior information…

Babcock Rail is bracing itself for a lack of clarity on government plans to restructure the UK’s rail sector. The contractor has been carrying out “regular reviews” on plans for a publicly-owned Great British Railways (GBR) company but said it considered government infrastructure policy as a “key uncertainty”. The comments…

Construction deserves a bigger focus in government and is too often viewed as an “afterthought”, the outgoing boss of Wates Construction Group has said. “For too long, for an industry that employs so many people and that adds so much to the economy, construction is seen as an afterthought by…