Building News is an information portal for all professional building specifiers. Here you can find all of the latest construction news from around the UK and the rest of the world.

Solar farm planning applications almost double with subsidy cuts looming

Planning applications for solar farms have soared since the Government announced it was consulting on plans to end subsidy schemes for solar farms that produce 5 megawatts (MW) of power or below.

The recent data, compiled by construction data experts Barbour ABI for Building magazine, shows that a record 83 applications for solar farms worth a total of £431m were put in for planning in July, 73 of which were for proposed 5MW or below solar farms.

The research goes on to show that almost two thirds of the solar projects put in for planning in July submitted their applications on or after the 22nd of the month, the day DECC launched a consultation on closing the renewables obligation (RO) for solar farms at 5MW or below in capacity.

To make a comparison, 45 applications were submitted for the entire month of June, where as 51 were submitted in just ten days between the 22nd and the 31st of July, immediately after the subsidy cut announcement.

Commenting on the figures, Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said “It was not surprising to see a flood of applicants trying to get projects in the planning pipeline immediately after the announcement of the Government’s solar subsidy clawbacks.”

“The Government’s stance on solar is that falling costs have made it easier for the industry to survive without subsidies, particularly with the drop in prices for wholesale electricity prices. “

“However the risk here is that diminishing subsidies could falter a growing industry, potentially putting it under major jeopardy. Up to 27,000 jobs are at risk over the coming years in solar alone, not mentioning other renewable technologies, if more subsidy cuts are on the way.”

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That sinking feeling when… sinkholes and construction

Sinkholes have replaced Jeremy Corbyn this week as the centre of media attention, following the opening up of a huge sinkhole in St Albans. The appearance of the massive 66ft diameter and 33ft deep hole in a suburban street resulted in several families in the surrounding area being evacuated from their homes during the night.

There are several reasons why a sinkhole may appear, both natural and manmade. Even the construction industry can be responsible for the ground disappearing from beneath our feet. Whilst there is little we can do to prevent naturally occurring sinkholes, many occurrences have actually been caused by construction-related activities such as drilling, mining, excavation, broken water or drain pipes, heavy structures built on soft soil and heavy traffic. Sinkholes can also form when the land surface is changed.

It is difficult to ascertain what exactly caused the sinkhole in St Albans; however the number of sinkholes appearing across Britain has been steadily increasing – probably even since the advent of irrigation. The drying out of the ground below through the process of abstraction or the saturation caused by a burst water pipe have been causing sinkholes for years.

Construction has undoubtedly played a part in the increase, particularly over the last 100 years. By its very nature, the built environment morphs and changes the environment around us; inadvertently redirecting water into weak points underground. These weak points get larger and more unstable until eventually pits form with almost no prior warning, swallowing cars, houses, and sometimes even people.

Sinkholes are dangerous, inconvenient and costly to repair. As you read this, work is currently underway to fix the hole in St. Albans that appeared last week. The hole will be filled with foamed concrete – a slow and expensive process that is expected to take several days. Residents of Fontmell Close, St Albans had to evacuate their homes following the sudden appearance of a gaping 10m deep hole in their street.

According to the Evening Standard, an emergency access road was created for residents to get their cars out via a playing field behind the site, and the reception centre at nearby Batchwood Sports Centre was used to yesterday and today by people wishing to shower or take shelter.

Needless to say, the cost and the upheaval created by the St Albans sinkhole is something we would all do best to avoid. Whilst natural sinkholes are inevitable and cannot be prevented, there are perhaps steps that could be taken by us as an industry to curb the manmade ones. Good practices such as regularly performing maintenance on underground water systems and plumbing, site surveys and creation of adequate drainage can help deter that sinking feeling. It’s like the old proverb says; “a stitch in time saves nine!”

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Architect Zaha Hadid storms out of BBC interview

2016 update: The amended version of Zaha Hadid’s plans have now also been scrapped in favour of a new model designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. The new design will still come with a hefty price tag of 153bn yen (£825m), however this is a drastic reduction in cost when compared to Hadid’s original design proposal, which would have cost in excess of 252bn yen – giving it the controversial accolade of being the most expensive stadium ever to be built.

Original story:

Starchitect Zaha Hadid cut an interview on BBC Radio 4 short following a disagreement with presenter Sarah Montague.

An interview intended to discuss her winning the 2016 RIBA Royal Gold Medal quickly descended into the British-Iraqi architect fiercely defending her Qatar World Cup stadium against allegations of worker deaths and denying the spiralling costs of her proposed Tokyo Olympic stadium.

Hadid has been announced as the 2016 recipient of the RIBA Royal Gold Medal, making her the first female architect to be awarded considered one of the most prestigious accolades within the profession. However, a little taken back at the questions that the BBC asked, Dame Zaha Hadid said that there had not been a “single problem in the stadium in Qatar” in response to Sarah Montague’s questions regarding the alleged 1,200 migrant worker deaths at the Al-Wakrah stadium for the 2022 football Qatar World Cup.

Zaha responded “It is absolutely untrue; there are no deaths on our site whatsoever. I sued someone in the press for it. You should check your facts.”

Last week heard reports that Zaha had made the decision not to proceed with her bid to construct the Olympic stadium in Tokyo after the scrapping of her original design, which was met with public and professional protest over the £2bn construction costs.

“I didn’t pull out of the Japanese project,” Hadid corrected, “It’s a very serious story. It’s a scandal. We won this competition three years ago, it was an international competition entered by many Japanese architects and we won it.”

The interview ended abruptly when Zaha concluded “Don’t ask me a question if you don’t want me to answer. Let’s stop this conversation right now.”

The Qatari government say that the very serious allegations of 1,200 worker deaths since the country were announced as hosts of the next world cup are categorically untrue. Others argue that the deaths are directly linked to the current construction boom as a result of the pending World Cup, and therefore deaths on projects such as infrastructure and hotels should be included when monitoring world cup fatalities. Either way, Zaha confirmed there have been no deaths on her site.

Listen to the short but heated interview below:

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Osborne urges China to invest in Northern Powerhouse

Chancellor George Osborne announced today that there are “unprecedented opportunities” for China to play their part in funding the development of a Northern Powerhouse.

The Chancellor revealed a selection of opportunities for investments worth up to £24bn at an event being held at the city of Chengdu in China. Coined the “Northern Pitchbook,” Osborne presented a series of regeneration and infrastructure investment projects to senior investors.

Some of the projects included in the Northern Pitchbook are:

  • Opening up the bidding process to build HS2 to Chinese firms and investors on Thursday, offering contracts worth £11.8bn to build the high-speed rail line.
  • Manchester Place regeneration, which consists of creating three new areas of more than 10,000 homes with a combined value of over £3bn.
  • Sheffield Retail Quarter will look to provide new homes within the city centre and also centrally located offices.
  • South Bank regeneration, which will cover over 130 hectares within Leeds city centre.

The Chancellor said “As we continue to work more closely with China, we have an unprecedented opportunity to secure significant investment into some of our most ambitious projects across our Northern Powerhouse.

“From Liverpool to Newcastle, we are opening up our doors to investment that will not only help us to grow and create jobs, but will allow us to build infrastructure to rival any region in the world.

“The North of England is already a magnet for foreign investment into the country and we’ve seen with announcements from Nissan and Hitachi into the North East recently highlighting how perfectly poised our Northern Powerhouse is to attract the eye of global companies.”

Encouraging the Chinese and British firms to work together in joint tender bids for HS2 phase one is a stark contrast to the wishes of opposing Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has vowed to renationalise the railways if he becomes Prime Minister.

Mr Corbyn said last week “We know there is overwhelming support from the British people for a People’s Railway, better and more efficient services, proper integration and fairer fares.”

“On this issue, it won’t work to have a nearly but not quite position. Labour will commit to a clear plan for a fully integrated railway in public ownership”

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Commercial & retail construction at its strongest for more than four years

The total value for commercial & retail construction contracts in August were worth more than £1.5 billion, the highest in over four years, based on a three month rolling average.

According to the latest Economic & Construction Market Review from Barbour ABI, it was a busy August for the commercial & retail sector but in particular office construction, which dominated the sector for the month with 84 per cent of the total value of contracts awarded.

To put the growth of commercial & retail contract values into perspective, the last three months have each had more than double the value when compared to that in May. August also experienced an increase of more than 70 per cent when compared to the same month last year.

London led all regions with over 60 per cent of the total amount of commercial & retail contract values in August, including eight of the top ten biggest projects. Contracts for major office developments were finalised including the £150m Park Place development in Canary Wharf and the £100m Marble Arch project in Westminster.

Commenting on the figures, Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said “After an unstable start to the year, commercial & retail construction has picked up dramatically to the point where August has been the strongest month for more than four years.”

“It’s not surprising to see London dominating the sector once again. As a global city, we’re seeing more and more demand for office space in the capital, hence the massive projects awarded contracts this month. Even with the recent spike in office construction work being put on hold, this isn’t putting off investors rolling the dice with new projects looking towards the future and the potential gains to be made from London property.”

“Over the last three months and in particular August, demonstrates that there is a major demand for office space and willingness from investors to spend and commit to new projects. The long term growth for this sector is looking positive, and when commercial & retail is strong it can often be a sign that the economy as a whole is performing well.”

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Lack of green policies damaging UK industry

Following a recent spate of government cuts to renewable incentives and technologies, buildingspecifier hear from an industry expert to understand the impact this has been having on the UK renewables sector as a whole.

It appears that the latter half of 2015 has already seen the death of many earnest eco-friendly practices – first it began with the scrapping of the green deal shortly after an election victory, with no apparent replacement scheme to follow. The Green Deal was far from perfect – but following the subsequent assaults on environmental, ecological and energy matters that followed, such as the U-turn on Zero Carbon Homes building standards, the ending of subsidies for onshore wind farms and a failed attempt to begin fracking in Lancashire despite widespread public opposition, people are beginning to question the seriousness of this government’s commitment to the environment that we all have to live in and the validity of a speech once made by David Cameron where he expressed that he wanted to be “the greenest government ever.”

Most recently, the Department for Energy and Climate Change revealed their intentions to cut subsidies for solar energy by almost 90% from January in a consultation paper that was published earlier this month. This follows George Osborne underlining his determination to get the government’s nuclear energy programme moving by providing a £2bn government guarantee for the delayed Hinkley Point power plant project. So how is this affecting the section of the UK construction industry who specialise in green technology and renewable energy?

Silvio Spiess, founder and CEO of Innasol, the UK’s leading biomass business, comments on the recent green cuts and the uncertainty surrounding the industry.

“Heating constitutes 78% of the average consumer’s energy consumption. It is therefore a no-brainer that heating should be the government’s principal focus over the next few years.”

“The consistent degression of biomass technologies under the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive scheme clearly demonstrates that there is significant appetite in the UK for renewable heating. The tariff for domestic biomass has dropped by 47% over the last nine months, the tariff for small commercial biomass (up to 200kW) has dropped by 53% over the last 15 months – entirely due to consumer popularity. UK home and business owners are calling for affordable, clean energy.”

“The current uncertainty which surrounds renewable heating and other green technologies is only damaging the industry: consumers are less willing to invest in renewable heating technologies and green businesses themselves are less prepared to invest in their staff and infrastructure. By cutting green subsidies, the government is jeopardising the UK’s progression towards cleaner, greener, more affordable energy.”

“Innasol calls on the government to recognise this demand, and to commit to investing in renewable heating past Q1 2016. By reallocating budget to further invest in subsidies (like the Renewable Heat Incentive) to promote renewable heating, the government will propel the UK towards carbon emissions reductions and closer to the EU 2020 targets. Now is the time to act.”

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Construction of HS2 “will create 25,000 jobs,” says the Tories

The £43bn High Speed 2 project is expected to create employment opportunities to the tune of 25,000 jobs within construction, according to Transport Minister Robert Goodwill.
The minister predicted that 60% of the construction work involved in delivering a high-speed rail link between London and the North were expected to be awarded to small and mid-sized businesses.

Robert Goodwill said “We need everything from architects to aggregates, steel and surveyors, to engineers and environmental consultants.”

“We estimate that HS2 will create 25,000 jobs during construction and 3,000 jobs when in operation. Not just on site, but right across the UK.”

“The jobs that HS2 will create are an incredible opportunity for the UK, but also a major challenge. Because while we need 25,000 skilled professionals for HS2, our investment in the existing rail and road networks is creating another 20,000 jobs.”

“And that’s at the same time as we need skilled people for all our other great infrastructure projects such as flood defences, nuclear power stations and perhaps even Crossrail 2.”
“We need many more engineers, surveyors, construction workers, planners, drainage experts and even arboriculturists. So we are getting ready now. We will write into the statute book our commitment to create 3M apprenticeships by 2020, many of which will serve infrastructure.”

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Offsite ignorance must be addressed to meet housebuilding targets

Much-needed homes could be built offsite and delivered ready to be assembled in order to meet increasing demand, if there is more understanding and clarity that the approach is competitive with more traditional methods of construction.

This conclusion is drawn from new research undertaken for the Scottish Government following its challenge to industry to “transform” the way new homes are built as a means to further increase sustainability, boost the rate of supply and create export opportunities to support the drive towards a low carbon economy.

Trade body Homes for Scotland engaged its members, who together deliver 95% of new homes built for sale, in order to assess industry awareness, appetite and readiness surrounding alternative construction methods such as offsite manufactured systems.

With improved quality, sustainability and speed of construction identified as drivers for an increase in the use of offsite construction, the report found no resistance to this in principle from home builders. However, the strong perception that offsite construction is more expensive was found to be the biggest barrier. Concerns were also expressed in relation to control over programming and the capacity of the supply chain to sharply increase output.

The report proposes 11 recommendations that could help address these issues, including how to overcome the knowledge and resource gaps that exists in relation to costing and R&D.

Homes for Scotland Chief Executive Philip Hogg (right) said “With the industry’s capacity to increase production in the wake of the economic downturn currently being hampered by shortages in both skills and traditional building materials, this report is very timely and provides a useful baseline from which to explore how the increased use of offsite construction could help overcome these challenges.”

“However, any such ‘evolution’ must be demand-led and supported by a proven business case that also provides the flexibility the private sector require in delivering products to their customers.”

Minister for Housing and Welfare Margaret Burgess added “We are committed to encouraging companies to utilise offsite modern methods of construction due to the number of potential benefits including economic and export opportunities. That is why we commissioned Homes for Scotland to carry out this research and engage with industry to determine their level of interest in adopting these methods.”

“We will work with the housing industry in Scotland to encourage them to look at these opportunities. This report from Homes for Scotland showing private house builders’ perceptions represents an important step in mainstreaming these techniques.”

Click here to access the “Research into Mainstreaming Offsite Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in House Building” report. 

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Celebs call to make renewables cheaper than fossil fuels

Climate change is arguably the biggest threat to stability and prosperity around the world. Experts agree that by 2035 the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will exceed the critical level consistent with a temperature rise of less than 2˚C.

Did you know that the sun delivers 5000 times more power to the surface of Earth than we could ever need? With the cost of renewables slowly but surely falling, something must be done to improve developmental knowledge of renewable energy, which currently recieves less than 2% of the world’s publicly funded research, development and demonstration.

The Global Apollo Program’s website says that their “aim is to accelerate the decarbonisation of the world economy through more rapid technical progress, achieved through an internationally-coordinated program of research and development over a 10-year period.”

An open letter has now been signed by several high profile scientists, businessmen and public figures urging world leaders and citizens of the Earth alike to back the principles of the Global Apollo Program ahead of the UN climate change conference talks which will take place in Paris at the end of 2015.

The letter reads as follows:

We the undersigned believe that global warming can be addressed without adding significant economic costs or burdening taxpayers with more debt.

A sensible approach to tackling climate change will not only pay for itself but provide economic benefits to the nations of the world.

The aspiration of the Global Apollo Program is to make renewable energy cheaper than coal within 10 years. We urge the leading nations of the world to commit to this positive, practical initiative by the Paris climate conference in December.

The plan requires leading governments to invest a total of $15 billion a year in research, development and demonstration of clean energy.

That compares to the $100 billion currently invested in defence R&D globally each year.

Public investment now will save governments huge sums in the future.

What is more, a coordinated R&D plan can help bring energy bills down for billions of consumers.

Renewable energy gets less than 2% of publicly funded R&D. The private sector spends relatively small sums on clean energy research and development.

Just as with the Apollo space missions of the 1960s, great scientific minds must now be assembled to find a solution to one of the biggest challenges we face.

Please support the Global Apollo Program – the world’s 10 year plan for cheaper, cleaner energy.

Signed:
– Sir David Attenborough
– Professor Brian Cox
– Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever
– Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, Council on Energy Environment and Water
– Ed Davey, Former UK Energy Secretary
– Bill Hare, Founder and CEO, Climate Analytics
– Nilesh Y. Jadhav, Program Director, Energy Research Institute @NTU, Singapore
– Niall Dunne, Chief Sustainability Officer, BT
– Carlo Carraro, Director, International Centre for Climate Governance
– Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, Chair, Grantham Institute
– Mark Kenber, CEO, The Climate Group
– Ben Goldsmith, Founder, Menhaden Capital
– Sabina Ratti, Executive Director, FEEM – Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
– Lord Browne, Chairman L1 Energy
– Zac Goldsmith MP
– Professor Martin Siegert, Co-Director Grantham Institute
– Professor Joanna Haigh CBE, Co-Director, Grantham Institute and Vice President of Royal Meteorological Society
– Peter Bakker, President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
– Dr Fatima Denton, African Climate Policy Centre
– Denys Shortt, CEO, DCS Group
– Lord Turner, Former Chairman, Financial Services Authority
– Lord O’Donnell, Former Cabinet Secretary
– Lord Layard, London School of Economics
– Professor John Shepherd CBE FRS
– Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal

Watch the video below to find out more about the Global Apollo Program – a 10 year project that aims to coordinate international research and development and discover breakthrough clean technologies to tackle climate change.

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Electricity pylons to be removed from protected landscapes

Plans to reduce the visual impact of electricity infrastructure in nationally protected landscapes across England and Wales have reached a new landmark, following decisions by the project’s independently chaired Stakeholder Advisory Group.

In November 2014, twelve sections of high voltage lines in eight Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and National Parks were shortlisted as having the most significant landscape and visual impact, following a study overseen by leading landscape expert Professor Carys Swanwick.

Since then, National Grid and independent landscape consultants have done further technical work with considerable and highly detailed input from local stakeholders in each location. This has enabled the Stakeholder Advisory Group to prioritise four projects from the shortlist.

The Stakeholder Advisory Group’s decisions were made after a rigorous review of each shortlisted section of line. Members at a two-day meeting considered each project using a set of five guiding project principles from the Visual Impact Provision project’s policy.

These four projects will be taken forward over the next 12 months for detailed technical feasibility works which will include environmental studies, archaeological studies and engineering work ‘on the ground’. There will also be further significant engagement with local stakeholders and communities.

National Grid transmission lines which have been prioritised in protected landscapes are:

  • Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty near Winterbourne Abbas
  • New Forest National Park near Hale
  • Peak District National Park near Dunford Bridge
  • Snowdonia National Park near Porthmadog

Using a £500 million allowance made available by Ofgem until 2021, National Grid plans to reduce the visual impact of sections of high voltage overhead lines in these locations. A range of different ways of doing this has been considered in each location.
Given the sensitive nature of these protected areas, replacing existing overhead lines with underground cables has generally proved to be the preferred option both technically and in discussion with local stakeholders.

Chris Baines, Chair of the Stakeholder Advisory Group, said “Reducing the visual impact of pylons and power lines in our most precious landscapes is highly desirable, but it is also very expensive and technically complex so we have had to make some difficult decisions. Although four schemes have been prioritised, none of the locations on our original shortlist have been dropped and they will remain under consideration for future work to reduce the impact of National Grid’s transmission lines under the Visual Impact Provision project.”

Hector Pearson, Visual Impact Provision Project Manager, National Grid, comments “This is a unique stakeholder-driven project, and it continues to represent a major opportunity to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife, cultural and environmental heritage of some Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks. We will continue to work in partnership with stakeholders to not only mitigate the impact of our transmission lines in these areas but to also enhance the landscape, and deliver value for money.”

The Stakeholder Advisory Group is chaired by environmentalist, Chris Baines and comprises senior representatives from organisations including the Campaign for National Parks, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales, Historic England, Cadw, Natural England and the National Trust. It was established to help National Grid identify which transmission lines should be prioritised to make use of the £500 million allowance.

The protected landscapes that have not been prioritised are the Brecon Beacons National Park, High Weald AONB, North Wessex Downs AONB and the Tamar Valley AONB. These locations will remain under consideration for future work using the VIP allowance.

National Grid is also set to use part of the £500 million for smaller localised visual improvement projects which can be accessed by all AONBs and National Parks with existing National Grid electricity infrastructure.

Set to be launched in the Winter, this landscape enhancement initiative will to provide up to £24 million over six years. The aim will be to reduce the visual impact of National Grid’s existing infrastructure in AONBs and National Parks and improve the related visual quality of the landscape. A range of local visual improvement projects could enhance biodiversity, benefit cultural heritage or raise awareness of natural and historic features of a landscape.

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