Author Archives: Will Ing

The UK will struggle to radically improve the energy efficiency of its building stock due to a lack of “green collar” construction workers, according to Turner & Townsend.  A new report published by the consultant says in-demand green trades now command annual salaries of £134,000, with wages having soared by…

Build UK chief executive Suzannah Nichol is among a handful of construction figures to be recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours.  Other individuals included in the honours list include senior civil servants working on construction policies and former and current bosses at firms including Taylor Wimpey and Arup. Nichol has…

Galliford Try has been picked to build the £69m Paisley Grammar Community Campus.  The contractor will deliver facilities for up to 1,380 pupils, including all-weather sports pitches, a 300-seat theatre, a dance studio, teaching kitchens and music suites.  The scheme, designed by Ryder Architecture, received planning permission in January and…

Bam Nuttall has been fined £2.345m after a worker drowned in the River Aire in 2017.  Gary Webster was removing debris from the bottom of weir gates at Knostrop Weir, in south Leeds, with another worker when their boat capsized.   The boat had been pulled into turbulent water caused…

Wates has appointed former Lendlease veteran Brian Long as its new group health, safety and wellbeing director.  Long will join the family-owned contractor in September and sit on the group’s executive committee, reporting to chief executive Eoghan O’Lionaird.  Long previously worked at Lendlease for more than 17 years, latterly as…

Construction output fell for a third consecutive month in April as heavy rain and strong winds buffeted the UK. Construction output fell 1.4 per cent from March, down to a total value of £14.94bn - the lowest level since June 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).  Output…

The Conservative Party has pledged to invest in apprenticeships, infrastructure and housing if it remains in power next month.  In an 80-page manifesto published this afternoon (11 June), the Tories unveiled policies including investment in rail, road and energy infrastructure as well as boosting housebuilding on brownfield land (see more…

Van Elle has been fined £233,000 after a 52-year-old man died on a site in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway.  Gary Dobinson, an HGV driver employed by a separate company, was struck and killed by the mast of a piling rig at residential development Hallmeadow on 21 January 2021, according to…

Tide Construction has reported a fall in pre-tax profit despite an 11 per cent jump in revenue.  The London-based company, which specialises in building high-density residential schemes using modular methods, has reported a pre-tax profit of £7.1m for the year ending 31 August 2023 - down from £11.1m a year…

United Utilities has named seven partners to help deliver £3bn of major infrastructure work.  Kier, Murphy and Costain have been picked by the North West water company alongside C2V (a VolkerStevin/Jacobs joint venture), Mott Macdonald Bentley and MWH Treatment.  The works form part of United Utilities’ £13.7bn investment plan for…