Mayor approves more than 800 new homes in Barnet

A major development in north west London of 844 new homes – of which 41 per cent will be affordable – has been approved by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.  Plans to redevelop the disused Pentavia Retail Park in... View Article

Specification – The key to effective cost management

Avoiding under-specification on UK driveways is key to achieving cost objectives in construction. Consider for example, drainage where manhole covers with inappropriate load-bearing capacities are sometimes causing installations to be revisited by developers to make repairs, costing several hundred pounds... View Article

Double award win for Sika Sarnafil projects at SPRA awards 2019

Market-leading single ply roofing manufacturer Sika Sarnafil and two of its Registered Contractors have triumphed at this year’s Single Ply Roofing Association (SPRA) Awards. The awards, which recognise best practice within the single ply roofing industry, saw Exeter-based Progressive Systems Ltd take home... View Article

Turley warns of truncated northern housing supply

Planning and development consultancy Turley is warning government that local authorities in northern England are paring back housing delivery because of its National Planning Policy Framework. The framework sets out government planning policy for England. However, the consultancy says its... View Article

Strategic Land Group comments on IEA White Paper

Paul Smith, MD of Strategic Land Group, commented on the IEA Housing White Paper: “The IEA white paper raises some important points – it clearly evidences how the current system constrains supply and drives up prices, for example. It also... View Article

Modular manufacturer ilke Homes win top construction award

ilke Homes, one of the UK’s leading offsite modular manufacturers, has won the Offsite Award at the Constructing Excellence Yorkshire and Humber (CEYH) 2019 Awards. The award recognises ilke’s work at Keepmoat Homes Hawthorne Avenue development in Hull, in partnership with the home... View Article

Will localism raze or raise the roof?

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) report, titled ‘Raising the Roof’, is thankfully not claiming to be the silver bullet to solve the housing crisis but, instead, earnestly builds on industry proposals. Penned by Jacob Rees-Mogg MP and Radomir Tylecote,... View Article

Making builders licenced

For a profession which affects so many people’s lives, arguably more than most others, the housebuilding industry is a strikingly under-regulated one. Doctors have a distinctly profound effect on their clients, namely (normally) improving how their bodies function. With such... View Article

The big question about climate change

The real question to ask about climate change is not whether it’s a problem or how bad it is, but what are you, and/or your company you work for going to do about it? Following the successfully headline-grabbing Extinction Rebellion... View Article

Upward trend for wooden hi-rise

Until recently, there was a growing movement in the UK to build tall buildings using timber. There are ancient Chinese timber pagodas which are many storeys high, but going tall with timber is something the western world has struggled to... View Article

Plan for 283 council homes moves ahead

The biggest council house building programme in Aberdeen in more than half a century took another major step forward today as plans progressed for 283 new homes. First Endeavour LLP is set to deliver the housing units at Wellheads Road... View Article

No Cabinet consistency for construction, says FMB

Sarah McMonagle, Director of Communications at the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), said: “The slate couldn’t have been wiped any cleaner when it comes to the PM’s new Cabinet. Not one single Secretary of State or Minister who the construction... View Article