Europcar Vans & Trucks, the commercial vehicle division of Europcar Mobility Group UK, is giving the construction sector insight into flexible fleet solutions at UK Construction Week. As the construction industry moves forward following the disruption caused by the pandemic, one of the major issues for many companies is effectively managing fleet utilisation. The challenge is ensuring they have a ‘fit for purpose’ fleet of commercial vehicles which meets their rapidly changin

HS2 has invited six firms to tender for advanced civil works (ACW), a two-part enabling works contract for the phase 2a route from the West Midlands to Crewe The £240m advanced civil works contract splits work along the route into two separate packages with one contractor delivering the works on the northern sections and a separate contractor delivering works for the southern sections. Invited bidders include: BAM Galliford Try John Graham Kier Laing O’Rourke Skanska. Given t

The UK is facing increased delays in securing bricks and blocks, as the shortage of HGV drivers and price increases continue to impact the materials crisis, says John Newcomb, CEO of the Builders Merchants Federation and Peter Caplehorn, CEO of the Construction Products Association In a joint statement, John Newcomb, CEO of the Builders Merchants Federation and Peter Caplehorn, CEO of the Construction Products Association revealed the industry is currently in a better positio

Costain shut down a section of the M6 smart motorway widening project after a 13 tonne excavator was upended in the central reservation last Friday (17th Srptember 2021). The excavator operator is understood to have escaped without injury but was shaken after his machine toppled backwards into a central reservation drainage trench on the Costain project just north of junction 21A. Thomas Plant had the short radius excavator on hire, which was being used by Manchester drainage

North East construction firms are being urged to attend an emergency summit to address the deepening materials shortage crisis Construction Alliance North East (CAN) is working with other regional bodies to stage the Construction Products & Materials Summit to address the worsening materials shortage crisis. The materials shortages summit will be held on October 1 and is a direct result of discussions between CAN, the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) and Civil Engin

Employees at engineering company Cleveland Bridge are being advised to prepare for redundancies as administrators fail to find a buyer Cleveland Bridge is now preparing to end production later this month. Administrators FRP said they “must prepare for the prospect that the business will cease to trade” after 20 September. Administrators had been optimistic about securing a buyer to save the business, which collapsed on 22 July. However, redundancies will also now start among

Norman and Jane Thornton, a married couple from Telford, directors of the construction company Norjan (Properties) Limited, have been banned for 9 years each after diverting over £124,000 away from creditors Norjan (Properties) Limited went into liquidation in July 2020 with liabilities over £411,000. The Liquidator discovered that Norjan had informed its major client to direct payments into a new bank account from January 2020. This account belonged to a third party and over

ISG has started enabling works this morning on a battery gigaplant for manufacturer Britishvolt in Cambois, Northumberland. Sources estimate the 2.7m sq ft factory project, which has been designed by Italian architect Pininfarina, could be worth approaching £300m. Richard McDonell, Britishvolt Project Director, said: “Today is a historic day as it marks the start of construction on the UK’s premier Gigaplant, Britishvolt – a landmark event for UK manufacturing and the automot

The government has allocated £8.6bn for affordable housing over the next five years to deliver around 119,000 homes The Affordable Homes Programme funding will deliver around 119,000 homes, including 57,000 for ownership, 29,600 for social rent and 6,250 affordable rural homes. The funding injection could support up to 370,000 jobs across the country for homebuilders, SME developers, and wider businesses supporting the housebuilding industry such as electricians and plumbers.