A subsidiary of Stewart Milne Group overseeing the planned construction of 3,100 homes near Aberdeen has gone into administration. FRP Advisory is now running Countesswells Development Limited (CDL) which was overseeing work at the Countesswells new town. Around 900 homes and several commercial properties and community facilities have been built or are under construction on the site. A spokeswoman for CDL told the Press & Journal: “We are extremely disappointed that CDL, set

Work has begun on the 850m-long main station box at HS2’s Old Oak Common station, as concrete frame and substructure specialist, Expanded, started on site. Expanded has been appointed by Balfour Beatty, VINCI SYSTRA joint venture (BBVS), HS2’s Station Construction Partner responsible for the construction of the new HS2 Old Oak Common Station to deliver the main station box. The Main Station Box The station box is a reinforced concrete structure that will form the frame and ba

According to the BCIS Materials Cost Index, the cost of construction materials has reached a 40 year high, and continues to escalate Increased global demand in the construction sector, combined with the complex impacts of the pandemic have resulted in unprecedented shortages, delays and increased prices of materials and labour across the economy. Within the UK, complications resulting from Brexit have exacerbated this situation, affecting all aspects of trade and labour avail

Contractor Readie Construction has lost an appeal after it was ordered to pay a supplier more than £220,000 for aggregates which “turned to slurry” after heavy rain on a warehouse building job. Geo Quarries Ltd supplied aggregates in 2018 to help build a sub–base between the ground–bearing slab of a new warehouse in Wootton, Bedfordshire and associated hard standings that Readie was constructing. Readie claimed the materials were defective after heavy overnight rain caused th

A Private Member’s Bill is calling for the mandatory licensing of construction companies to ban cowboy builders The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has said that the licensing will help to protect both consumers and reputable builders. Under current laws, anyone can call themselves a builder without having to provide any evidence of training, qualifications or experience. The only protection available to customers who have fallen foul of cowboy builders is contract law, w

Piling contractor Cementation Skanska has committed to using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) on all its plant fleet, including piling rigs, from 1 January Following a successful trial of using HVO on a Liebherr LB36 piling rig with a 390kW engine, Cementation Skanska has committed to cut carbon (CO2e) and harmful air emissions by converting fully to HVO. The decision to use Green D+ will lead to significant carbon savings compared to red diesel. Supplied by Green Biofuels Lt

The traffic commissioners said operators of wheeled loading shovels must ensure they have looked at new guidance issued on the safety of their operation, after nine fatalities in the last four years. Six of the deaths were within the waste and recycling sector and the health and safety executive (HSE) said poor visibility was a significant problem. Larger capacity buckets have been fitted to some machines, which the TCs said further reduced forward visibility. The new safety

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has fined Grant Thornton £1.3m for the statutory audits of the 2015-2017 financial statements of Interserve plc Interserve plc, now in administration, was a large, high-profile business with a number of public-sector clients and there was significant public interest in the audit conducted. The following sanctions have been imposed: Grant Thornton: A financial sanction of £1.3m, adjusted for mitigating factors and admissions / early dispos

Cement producers are planning to hike prices by £15 a tonne blaming high energy costs for the biggest single increase in decades. The big industry-wide hike amounts to around a 16% jump and will come into force at the end of this year. It threatens to send a shock wave through construction taking the annual rise to an unprecedented 30% over the year. One contractor warned: “This is going to hit everybody but also major projects very hard. A jump like this will impact planned