News

A Greater Manchester-based contractor has restarted work on a £50m Bristol high-rise delayed by Mid Group’s collapse. The Boatyard, a 152-unit affordable housing scheme, had sat unfinished for more than two years after contractor Mid Group went into administration in July 2022. The project has now kicked off again after…

A high-profile Parliamentary committee has announced a probe into the government’s progress in remediating high-rise buildings with dangerous cladding. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it would summon senior officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Homes England to give evidence. Its inquiry will delve…

By Gino Spocchia A criminal case brought against facade firm Lindner Prater, contractor Winvic and two other companies over the death of a man hit by a window falling from a building has been adjourned. The firms were due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court earlier this week (29 October)…

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) has announced changes to its unskilled worker certification in a bid to encourage site operatives to take up training. Executive director of operations Gary Mortimer said reducing how long Labourer cards are valid would encourage new industry entrants to apply instead for a ‘red…

A doppelganger company has been forced to change its name following a complaint from John Sisk & Son. The contractor contacted the Company Names Tribunal after the name ‘John Sisk Ltd’ was registered in August last year. Corby-based John Sisk Ltd has one director – Alexandra Anamaria Badita – and…

The costs of a landmark Lendlease project in Manchester have spiralled by nearly £100m amid “hyperinflation”, dozens of subcontractor claims and unexpected nesting falcons. Lendlease’s mammoth restoration of the Grade II* listed Manchester Town Hall was originally due to complete by June this year. In a report this month, Manchester…

The government has scrapped five National Highways road projects, saying it cannot afford them. Treasury documents released alongside yesterday’s Budget show that it is halting work on the A5036 Princess Way, A358 Taunton to Southfields, M27 J8 Southampton, the A47 Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Roundabout and A1 Morpeth to Ellingham schemes.…

A key steel reinforcement supplier is “considering its next steps” after ministers declined to call in a decision to redevelop its only UK production site. Steel giant ArcelorMittal, which claims to produce 30 per cent of the country’s steel reinforcement, told Construction News in May it would pull out of…

Tier one contractor Wates is setting up a new fit-out business headed by the former managing director of ISG Fit Out. Lee Phillips, ex-managing director of ISG Fit Out, will build and lead a team focusing on the London commercial fit-out and refurbishment market, Wates announced yesterday (30 October). The…

Leo Quinn, the boss with the biggest wage bill in construction, has given a cautious welcome to the Budget. Chancellor Rachel Reeves yesterday (30 October) announced a 1.2 percentage point rise in employers’ national insurance (NI) contributions and lowered the threshold at which employers start paying them. But Quinn, chief…