Developer MEPC has confirmed Bowmer + Kirkland as main contractor for the 4 Angel Square speculative office scheme at NOMA, Manchester. Construction will start in the next few weeks on the 11-storey block, with completion due in early 2023. The 200,000 sq ft office scheme will be an operational net zero carbon building. Paul Pavia, head of development at MEPC, said: “Commercial real estate was already beginning to see genuinely incorporating sustainability into the design and

Balfour Beatty has closed its manufacturing site making parts for the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C until further notice after 22 of the 90 staff contracted Coronavirus. NHS test and trace staff have been alerted and the site was subject to an extensive deep clean over the weekend. Balfour Beatty confirmed last night (July 27) that construction at Hinkley Point has not been affected. A spokesperson said: "Having engaged with Public Health England and Bristol C

Many skilled trades like bricklayers, carpenters and electricians can now work in the UK after Brexit after being classified in the Tier 2 category, which allows a five-year stay. But contractors are worried that they still face disruption because several roles remain outside of the proposed new system. Andy Mitchell, chairman of the Construction Leadership Council, has written to business secretary Alok Sharma warning that construction needs further dispensations. UK constru

Twilio, the leading cloud communications platform, today announced the results of a global survey measuring the impact and outlook of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses’ digital engagement strategies. Twilio powers communications technology for organisations across a range of sectors, giving it first-hand insight into the ways in which the pandemic has impacted customer and business communications. To better understand this impact, Twilio surveyed over 2,500 enterprise decis

Construction companies furloughed just over three-quarters of a million staff during the coronavirus outbreak from March to the end of June. The number accounts for 59% of eligible staff with 75% of eligible firms using the coronavirus job retention scheme at some point in the last five months. New figures from HM Revenu and Customs reveal that £2.6bn was paid out to 171,400 firms making claims for support for staff. From now on the number of staff on furlough is expected to

Logik Developments has submitted plans for a major commercial building that will form part of Manchester’s £1bn Mayfield masterplan. The plans will see the developer transform land on Baring Street – next to the Mayfield Park – to create 215,000 sq ft of commercial office space and a 170,000 sq ft hotel. If granted approval, the developer aims to start construction in early summer next year. The proposed scheme will become part of the Mayfield Masterplan launched by U+I, whic

A woman has died and at least four people have been injured after a tower crane collapsed onto houses in East London yesterday. A Wolff luffing crane at a 62-flat housing site in Bow is understood to have toppled over backwards. The jib crashed into the roof of two nearby terraced homes while the tower came down on the under-construction scheme. Firefighters arrived at the scene and spent several hours freeing people trapped inside the damaged house. Eyewitnesses said the cra

Following a slowdown in new orders as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, BAM Construct UK is in discussions with its workforce to shed up to 150 jobs - about 6.5% of its workforce. In a company statement, BAM Construct UK said: "...has begun a process of discussions that could lead to up to 150 redundancies, or around 6.5% of our workforce. “We take this step reluctantly and with deep regret. Our people are what make BAM the most collaborative built environment enterprise

It is one of engineering’s most impressive double acts - a father and son from Britain’s best-known construction family have joined forces to create the world’s first hydrogen digger. JCB chairman Lord Bamford and his son Jo, who runs Ryse Hydrogen and Wrightbus, have spent two years working on the construction industry’s first ever hydrogen-powered excavator and a further year testing the prototype. This ‘world-first' will enable JCB to continue leading the sector on zero an