A coalition of built environment groups have said the government’s net-zero housing plans do not go far enough. Low Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI), a network of 1,000 professionals in the sector, says the Future Homes Standard could see housing built to lower environmental standards than today. The Department for Levelling…
Administrators for Britishvolt are speaking to new potential buyers after the company that struck a deal to buy it one year ago failed to pay what it owes. Britishvolt, which planned to build a £3.8bn vehicle-battery plant in Cambois, near Blyth, Northumberland, went into administration in January 2023. Weeks later,…
Police officers have carried out new interviews in the criminal investigation into the fatal building collapse at Didcot Power Station. Tomorrow marks the eighth anniversary of the tragedy. Four men – Michael Collings, Ken Cresswell, Christopher Huxtable and John Shaw – died after the boiler house at the disused coal-fired…
A payroll firm involved in a long-running dispute with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) over £8m of levy payments has lost large parts of its latest legal battle. In 2018, the CITB assessed that Hudson Contract Services (now known as Knot Builders) owed £27.4m (later revised to £7.96m) in…
Profit has fallen sharply at MJ Gleeson amid continued pressure on the housing market. The housebuilder saw pre-tax profit fall to £7.2m in the six months to 31 December 2023, down from £16.1m in the same period in 2022. Its revenue fell from £171m in the second half of 2022…
Sir Robert McAlpine has announced the sudden departure of chief executive Paul Hamer, and that he will be replaced with former Lendlease Europe boss Neil Martin. A statement shared by the contractor on Friday (16 February) said that Martin will start in post on Monday (19 February) and is joining…
A member of the public has died after apparently falling from a building site crane during the night. West Yorkshire Police said they were called to the site in Central Road in Leeds city centre just before 8am on Wednesday (7 February) after a body was found. A spokesperson said:…
Unite has said it is “alarming” that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not keep track of the number of investigations it carries out involving cranes. In December, Construction News reported on calls for the re-establishment of the national crane register in the wake of a number of site…
The High Court has refused an application by a director to remain in post after admitting his role in an illegal demolition cartel. Nicholas Brown, former managing director of Brown and Mason Group, agreed an undertaking in May last year with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to not serve…
Labour has almost halved its green investment plan for the next parliament. The opposition party, which has a large lead in opinion polls with a general election due to be held within the next 11 months, previously made a flagship commitment to a £28bn annual “green prosperity plan”. The plan…
Construction News Read UK Construction Industry News, Analysis, Opinion and data