Buildings

Downing has secured £227m of funding for a 1,790-room housing project in Manchester. The company, which is both a developer and contractor, received the loan facility from real estate lender Precede Capital and global financial services group Nomura, for use at its First Street project in Manchester. First Street, which…

Kier has been confirmed on a £65m Passivhaus school contract in Edinburgh. The building, Passivhaus Currie Community High School, will be one of the secondary schools built to the environmental standard in Scotland. Features of Passivhaus include a reduction in total energy usage by up to 70 per cent compared…

A 74,500 square metre prison build in Lancashire could still get the go-ahead despite being turned down for planning permission. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) put forward the plan for the major prison in Ulnes Walton, Chorley, in 2021, but although it was recommended for approval by planning officers, it…

Mace has been appointed to revamp the Woolgate Exchange in the City of London. The scheme to extend and refurbish the nine-storey building on Basinghall Street received planning permission from the City of London this week. The job, estimated to be worth £130m by construction intelligence provider Glenigan, is due…

More than 100 projects across the UK will share £2.1bn from the second round of the government’s levelling up fund, including major transport, tourism and city regeneration schemes. A total of 111 areas have been promised grants, which aim to drive economic growth, restore local pride and spread opportunity to…

A subcontractor worker has died at a hospital construction site in Aberdeen. The death of the 51-year-old man took place yesterday (18 January) at the city’s Foresterhill Health Campus, where Graham is the main contractor. Police Scotland confirmed it was called to a report of a man being injured but…

Wates has been selected to build 334 new homes in Barking, east London, as part of the latest phase of an £874m regeneration scheme. Developer Be First, which is owned by Barking and Dagenham Council, chose the contractor for the £142m Gascoigne Estate job.  Phase 3B of the scheme will…

A replacement contractor from the same group as the client has been appointed to a £9.8m housing complex in Liverpool following the collapse of Crossfield Construction. Merseyside-based HMS, part of the Torus Group, has been appointed by Torus Developments to the scheme, called The Vaults on James Street, in Liverpool’s…

Kier, Morgan Sindall, Vinci and Wates have joined a swathe of smaller contractors to secure places on a national framework worth £1bn. The firms are among 94 appointed by national framework provider Pagabo to its framework for medium-sized projects. The scheme is designed to provide a route to market for…

A funding gap has emerged for the £600m cultural quarter that is being built in London’s Olympic Park, after expected philanthropic donations failed to materialise, Construction News can reveal. The funder – the charity Foundation for Future London (FFL) – is now moving away from its former focus on capital…