Blog

Wates Residential and Havering Council have submitted plans for the redevelopment of the Waterloo Estate in Romford as part of a £1bn estates regeneration programme. Plans include the construction of 1,380 new homes, 550 of which will be affordable, across a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom properties. The Waterloo Estate is one of 12 sites set for work

Great Places Housing Group has awarded spots on its £750m Innovation Chain North (ICN) framework to 30 contractors. Caddick Construction, Lovell Partnerships, Seddon, Vistry Partnerships and Engie Regeneration are among the 30 contractors awarded places across 12 contracting lots on the 23-lot framework. These are divided into eight housebuilding, two groundworks and two modular lots. A further 83 companies were

The West Midlands Combined Authority plans to insist that developers use offsite construction on some projects in the region. Speaking to Construction News, combined authority housing lead Mike Bird said he believes the speed of offsite delivery outweighs what he described as its higher cost. “The idea is we encourage people to use these modern methods of construction (MMC),” he

Revenue for concrete and groundwork specialist Getjar jumped 30 per cent in 2019. Strong demand in London helped the firm’s turnover increase from £107m to £138.2m in the year to 31 August 2019. Major projects it worked on included Crown Place (pictured) for Mace, worth £23m to Getjar, and the London School of Economics’ Marshall Building, also for Mace. Pre-tax

Taylor Wimpey has brought back all its employees from furlough after it reported a “very high level of demand” in home sales. The housebuilder announced that all its staff had returned to work by the start of June, but with many still working from home as its offices remain closed to all but essential visits. Taylor Wimpey furloughed an unknown

Two of the UK’s largest brick and concrete product manufacturers are planning to cut as many as a combined 600 jobs amid plunging demand. Ibstock has begun consultations that could see 375 of its staff go, representing around 15 per cent of the company’s total workforce. Competitor Forterra is looking at cutting around 225 jobs, manly in its concrete product

Galliford Try subsidiary Morrison Construction has won a £42m contract to build a new manufacturing centre for the University of Strathclyde. The firm will deliver the 11,500 square-metre National Manufacturing Institute Scotland. It will be built in the advanced manufacturing district, located near Glasgow Airport, which was established last August. The scheme is comprised of three buildings, including a factory

Ilke Homes has announced a reorganisation of the business to help it generate revenue quicker. The modular builder has set up a new homes and development division to be led by managing director Ben Miller. According to the firm, the new unit merges Ilke Homes’ core business – manufacturing offsite homes directly to clients – with a ‘turnkey’ development solution,

Clients must be flexible to ensure workers are safe on sites working extended hours, an Arcadis managing director has said. Arcadis MD of buildings Edel Christie told Construction News that if work on site is rushed to make up for lower productivity during lockdown, it could increase coronavirus risks to the health and safety of workers. Christie said: “Social distancing

Kier has won a £97.1m contract to build a new facility at a Birmingham hospital. The contractor was appointed by the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust to deliver a new four-storey building at Heartlands Hospital in the east of the city. The contract was procured through the ProCure22 (P22) framework. Once complete, the 18,000 square-metre facility will contain 120