HS2

Organisational change is one of the crucial caveats to the prime minister’s approval of the HS2 project.

The prime minister’s fulsome backing for HS2 is good news for the construction sector. With luck, the Oakervee review will prove to be the final episode of government indecision about the landmark project, though I doubt it will be the last inquiry into it. But with a project of HS2’s…

Looking back, 2019 racked up a grim tally of business failures, with roughly one contractor going bust every fortnight. Sadly, there is not much reason to suppose that 2020 will prove any kinder to overstretched firms struggling with sticky cashflow. The economic backdrop certainly seems unlikely to help. While December’s…

Former deputy chair of the Oakervee Review Lord Berkeley produced his own HS2 review yesterday, having left the panel in November. In his “dissenting” report, Lord Berkeley claimed it is likely the project will open late and over budget, costing £107bn at 2019 prices. Lord Berkeley also criticised the project’s procurement,…

It has been quite a year for construction. CN editor Lem Bingley has a look back at some of the highlights – and, inevitably, low points

Back in March I wrote about the optimistic vision for the West Midlands that Andy Street energetically trumpeted from MIPIM. The mayor of the West Midlands couldn’t have been more ebullient as he launched £10bn of investment opportunities ranging from infrastructure and regeneration to residential schemes at Cannes’s international property…

There will be no clarity on the fate of HS2 before the general election. The Oakervee Review – the speedy, six-week study promised by freshly installed PM Boris Johnson back in July – took more than three months to conclude and won’t now report its findings until after the country…

Things are moving so fast in UK government circles at the moment that it’s becoming increasingly impossible to guess what will happen next. While I was writing this piece, the number of MPs backing Boris Johnson’s plan to leave the EU with or without a deal by October 31 has…

When prime minister Boris Johnson first announced the plan to review HS2 shortly after settling in to No 10 in July, the official line was that it would review the project's 'scope', and focus on whether greater efficiencies could be found. Today we had confirmation that the review will go…

It was this morning confirmed that the prime minister's review into HS2 will decide whether the project should continue and what its costs could amount to. It also confirmed the panel that will be examining these issues. The review will be chaired by Doug Oakervee, with Lord Berkeley acting as deputy chair…