The Labour Party will create a taskforce to choose sites for a generation of new towns to be announced within a year if it is elected, according to the party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner. Rayner told delegates at the UKREiiF property conference in Leeds that independent experts will be appointed…
Laing O’Rourke can continue with a claim for breach of contract against an adviser it employed on a defective PFI mental health hospital, a judge has ruled. The contractor is suing consultant Sweett for £20.4m over independent testing work carried out by cost and management firm Nisbet, which Sweett acquired…
Mark Reynolds is stepping down as chief executive of Mace after more than 12 years at the helm, amid a massive governance shake-up at the tier one contractor. Reynolds, co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), joined the firm as chief executive in 2012 after serving as programme director for…
As retirement looms, the prospect of letting go of a business you built up from nothing can be painful. But the process was made a little easier – certainly financially – around 10 years ago. At that point, former chancellor George Osborne introduced tax breaks on companies opting to sell…
The director of a Cornish housebuilder has been fined more than £60,000 after workers were exposed to asbestos during a hotel demolition job. Paul Stephens, director of Stephens Developers Ltd, pleaded guilty at Truro Crown Court to breaching asbestos regulations, according the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The prosecution by…
Proposals for a new hospital in County Durham could move forward after Ben Houchen was re-elected as Tees Valley mayor. Conservative politician Houchen secured his third term in the post after running on a platform including a pledge to replace the University Hospital of North Tees. Houchen has pledged to…
Bam Construction has confirmed that an air conditioning failure that scuppered this week’s opening concert at its Manchester Co-Op Live arena was unrelated to a previously-discovered issue with ductwork. The Co-op Live arena called off Wednesday night’s (1 May) scheduled Boogie Wit Da Hoodie show after part of an air…
The competition regulator “plucked a figure almost from thin air” when fining demolition firm Keltbray £20m over cover bidding, the firm’s legal representative claimed yesterday in an appeal hearing. Keltbray’s fine, initially reduced to £16m after agreeing a settlement, was the biggest among the 10 demolition firms that were fined…
The number of construction firms facing significant financial pressure has risen almost 40 per cent over the past year, according to data from a leading insolvency practice. Begbies Traynor’s latest ‘Red Flag Alert’ today showed 83,559 companies in the sector were facing “significant financial distress”, up 38.6 per cent on…
Alan Mak has been formally appointed as construction minister, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has told Construction News. The MP for Havant succeeds Nusrat Ghani, who left the role on 26 March, after 16 months in post. Mak becomes the 25th holder of the construction portfolio this century, and…
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