News

Earlier this month, Construction News revealed emerging plans for a new initiative for contractors to collaborate on promoting the sector through schools outreach. Specialist firm the School Outreach Company is working with senior sector figures on plans to raise £100,000 with the aim of creating a network of five regional…

A drop in new work and depressed infrastructure activity contributed to falling UK construction output in December last year, according to the latest official figures. The sector contracted by 0.5 per cent in December compared with November, with a total value of £15.25bn, Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows.…

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has announced an investigation into National Highways over concerns its performance has dropped. The regulator announced yesterday (14 February) that in July 2023 it identified multiple “potential risks” regarding National Highways’ capital portfolio and asset-management strategy. It said some of those risks had…

Northumberland-based offsite specialist Merit Holdings Ltd has reported strong turnover and pre-tax profit growth in its latest annual accounts. Revenue reached £94.3m for the year ending 30 June 2023, marking a 48 per cent year-on-year increase compared with the 2021/22 total of £63.7m. Turnover in 2020/21 was £41.8m. In his…

Vistry has won a contract to develop 5,000 build-to-rent (BTR) homes for Sigma Capital Group. The developer’s subsidiary, Countryside Partnerships, agreed a deal to develop the properties across the UK for Sigma’s BTR brand Simple Life Homes. Vistry said it would deliver the homes over the next five years “across…

A self-employed construction contractor who fraudulently obtained a £20,000 Covid bounceback loan has been ordered to pay back half the amount. Adam Lennard, 58, was given an eight-month jail sentence, suspended for 15 months, and ordered to pay back £10,000 to the public purse, according to a statement by the…

Any cut to HS2’s landscaping specification budget could have a “significant” impact on the rail line’s carbon-saving agenda, the mega-project’s independent design panel has warned. The money-saving potential for  via cuts to landscape specification is also “small” compared to other avenues, according to the latest biannual report published by the…

Turnover at family-run Welsh contractor C Wynne & Sons Ltd has more than doubled and is forecast to break the £100m barrier, according to its latest annual accounts filed with Companies House. Data for the year ending 31 July 2023 shows that revenue increased from £32.9m to £71.1m, generating a…

The government has unveiled plans to extend permitted development rights for demolishing buildings and replacing them with housing. In 2020 the government introduced a rule that allowed the demolition of residential, office or industrial buildings built before 1989 without planning permission if they are replaced by a home or housing…

London Assembly members have urged London mayor Sadiq Khan to review Greater London Authority (GLA) housing funding agreements with Barking and Dagenham Council after a balcony collapsed at a Bouygues-built housing scheme.  Members of the assembly unanimously passed a motion calling for the review and also called on the mayor…