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.

Call to Government to back infrastructure plan to de-carbonise UK buildings

As the Government prepares to publish its Clean Growth Plan, a major alliance has called for an ambitious new infrastructure programme to help to decarbonise the UK’s buildings and, in the process, boost the economy.

With one-third of UK carbon emissions coming from buildings, the report, “Affordable Warmth, Clean Growth”, recommends a comprehensive Buildings Energy Infrastructure Programme and dedicated delivery agency to achieve major energy savings and de-carbonise the UK heating supply. Prepared by leading consultancy Frontier Economics, it sets out an action plan to make all homes energy efficient within 20 years.

Achieving this goal will require the adoption of world-leading quality standards for retrofitting and constructing homes, area-based schemes led by local authorities, additional funding sources that won’t raise energy bills and financial incentives to encourage households to take up energy-saving measures.

Key recommendations include:

  • A target for all homes to be brought up to an energy performance rating of C (on the A to G scale) by 2035, with all low-income households achieving a C rating by 2030
  • A requirement for new homes to be constructed to a zero-carbon standard by 2020
  • Subsidies for all low-income home-owners to make energy efficiency renovations to their properties
  • A demonstrator programme to test the most attractive schemes to unlock able-to-pay households’ investment in energy saving renovations, including zero interest loans, low interest equity loans you don’t have to pay back until a home is sold and salary sacrifice schemes like those for childcare vouchers
  • Changes to Stamp Duty to encourage renovations when people move home
  • Tax allowances for private landlords and 50% subsidies for social landlords to undertake energy efficiency renovations

It also recommends strengthening regulation in the private rented sector from 2025 to prevent landlords from renting out homes which have below average energy performance, and applying sensible minimum standards when homes are sold to help address health risks and deaths caused by excessive cold. The regulations and minimum standards, properly enforced, can significantly bring down the cost of the programme to the public purse.

There are 19 million homes in the UK with needlessly poor levels of energy performance (below a C rating). Up to a quarter of the energy consumed in homes could be saved cost-effectively, with the technical potential for energy use in homes to be cut in half. Despite this, the level of funding for energy efficiency measures has been cut by 50% since 2012 and the number of major insulation and efficient heating measures being installed has crashed by 80%. The alliance is calling on the Government to reverse that fall and to make buildings’ energy performance a capital infrastructure investment priority.

The Rt Hon. Lord Deben said in support of the report: “This is market failure at its most pernicious and the Government needs to intervene to make the free market work. This is a properly constructed infrastructure programme that provides a cost-effective way of meeting our climate change objectives while significantly reducing the cost of living for a huge proportion of the population”.

Claire Thornhill, an author of the report from Frontier Economics said: “Buildings are an integral part of our energy infrastructure system. If we are to de-carbonise in a cost-effective way and keep energy bills as low as possible we need an integrated and ambitious infrastructure programme to de-carbonise our buildings.”

The Plan would require public investment in household energy efficiency to be increased by £1.1 billion per year – from £0.6 billion today to £1.7 billion. A previous Frontier Economics report that analysed Government data found that an energy efficiency programme achieves comparable economic returns to other infrastructure programmes.

The Government plans to spend £170 billion on housing, economic infrastructure and R&D programmes up until 2021/22. However, buildings energy performance does not yet feature in the Government’s infrastructure plans despite the fact that it would help households to save on average £270 every year off their energy bills, boost the economy and reduce the need for new energy supply infrastructure investment elsewhere. The Building Energy Infrastructure Programme is designed to leverage in £3.9 billion of private investment per year.

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Global standards vital to boosting infrastructure investment

The adoption of regulated internationally recognised standards can increase the UK’s ability to attract private infrastructure investment to offset the fall in public sector spending, according to a new paper which was launched by the RICS at the Labour Party Conference today.

According to the paper, the adoption of regulated internationally recognised standards can increase the UK’s ability to attract private infrastructure investment to offset the fall in public-sector spending.

Launched at the Labour Party conference in Brighton at an event attended by Shadow Housing Minister Tony Lloyd, the paper titled “Attracting Infrastructure Investment Through International Standards” sets out the case for using International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS) to attract private investment in infrastructure projects.

Successfully enticing investors will play a vital role in Britain to mitigate recent contractions in the construction sector as Brexit discussions continue.

With the UK’s ageing infrastructure currently depleting and at capacity, and public sector investment set to fall from to 1.4%t of GDP by 2020 – from 3.2% in 2010 – the private sector has a critical role to play in updating and delivering new infrastructure.

ICMS is a key tool in managing investments, providing certainty to industry and attracting investment.

Revenue generating projects

The paper also calls on government to take a more proactive role in supporting infrastructure by identifying projects that will generate revenue, providing guarantees to minimise investor risk during the construction phase and providing certainty by seeking cross-party support for projects.

Mo Rahee, RICS Infrastructure Policy Manager said “Like the International Financial Reporting Standard, the International Construction Measurement Standard provides a level of certainty – through transparency – to investors. Effective and accurate reporting of capital expenditure can only benefit the construction sector by providing investors with accurate information that inform their investment decision process.

“Government can also support the sector by identifying projects that will generate long-term revenues and have cross-party support. This will be vital to ensure infrastructure is updated and new projects are delivered.”

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Construction workers threaten strike at Hinkley Point as pay offer rejected

Construction workers employed at Hinkley Point have overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer in the longstanding dispute over pay and bonuses on the project.

The unions concerned, Unite and the GMB, will now go ahead with notifying the companies concerned of their intention of holding an industrial action ballot and then progress to ballot members for strike action.

The workers overwhelmingly rejected the proposed pay increase, with over 95 per cent voting against the proposals in a consultative ballot. Members were told that the rejected offer was the best that could be achieved “through negotiations”.

The dispute, which has been ongoing since the spring, concerns the pay of workers engaged on civil engineering contracts at Hinkley Point which is the largest construction project in Europe. There are already over a 1,000 workers employed on these contracts at Hinkley Point.

Negotiations on the pay offer have involved the client EDF and the main contractor BYLOR (the principal contractor Laing O’Rourke and Bouygues TP) as well as the unions.

A ballot for strike action was called off in June after an interim agreement on bonus payments was agreed. The three month agreement was extended into September in the hope that a permanent deal could be made.

One of the principal issues is that the pay rates for workers on civil engineering contracts are significantly below the rates of workers covered by the mechanical and engineering (M&E) contract.

Unite national officer for construction Jerry Swain said “Members have made their views clear; the unions warned the amount of money being offered was not sufficient and this has proved to be the case.

“The client and contractors need to understand that this is a high profile, complex project, built in a tightly controlled secure zone, which is being built in an isolated part of the UK. It cannot and will not be built on the cheap.

“For too long the construction industry has treated workers on civil engineering projects as the poor relations and these attitudes are no longer acceptable. The employers have set the benchmark with the mechanical and engineering agreement they need to come forward with an offer that meets our members’ expectations.

“There is a window between now and the commencement of any industrial action to still resolve this dispute, provided the client and the contractors come back with an improved offer. The unions are fully prepared to return to the negotiating table if an improved offer is put forward.”

Phil Whitehurst, GMB national officer for construction, said “The ballot result is a clear indication that the national officers of both GMB and Unite have to get back round the table with EDF as matter of urgency.

“We will be seeking meetings with EDF as soon as possible to solve this situation on behalf of our members.”

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Grenfell must renew focus on health, safety and wellbeing

Commenting on the formal opening of the Grenfell Tower inquiry today, CIH director for Northern Ireland Nicola McCrudden said: “The tragedy of Grenfell Tower has rightfully created a renewed focus on housing and health, and ensuring that these awful events never happen again. The victims and everyone affected by this tragedy are owed this, and more.”

Ms McCrudden said “We need a UK-wide discussion about the value and the future of social housing.

“For every person who fears for their safety after the tragedy, there are many more who cannot secure a home or who are struggling to keep their home.

“Fundamentally, everyone deserves to live in a safe home. Everyone should be able to close their front door and know that they are out of harm’s way.”

Ms McCrudden was speaking ahead of the CIH annual conference on health and housing today in Belfast. She said ensuring that people were safe and secure in their homes went far beyond physical housing standards as highlighted by Grenfell.

“We have an ageing population that wants to stay in their homes and communities. We need to adapt existing homes to meet their needs and ensure their wellbeing. We also need robust planning for more housing options for older people.

“Housing with care options can help people to regain independence and skills to care for themselves, including when they are discharged from hospital.

“Delays in discharging patients is one of the factors that prevents hospital beds being freed up, and increases pressure on A&E departments.

“Every waiting-list target in health is being missed in Northern Ireland. Housing can play a central role in relieving pressures on our health service, reducing demand for costly health and social care interventions.”

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Construction industry forecasts good news for UK contractors and manufacturers

Construction Industry Forecasts for 2017 to 2019 estimate an overall rise of 7.4% for new-build infrastructure in the UK this year, with a continuation of 6.4% next year. It’s news that bodes equally well for leading suppliers of concrete repair and protection solutions such as Sika, as an increase in new buildings will inevitably lead to defects in newly-poured concrete requiring onsite attention.

So, what is this positive outlook for the country’s new building output based upon? Well, a number of factors across a number of key infrastructural sectors appear to be driving the optimism. Forecasts for the harbours and waterways sector are particularly encouraging, with year-on-year growth predicted thanks to huge waterside projects planned across the country in the coming years.

There’s the Aberdeen Harbour Expansion project for example. Commencing in September this year, the £350 million scheme – due to be completed in 2020 – will see the existing site expanded to include a facility for oil industry decommissioning work. Other upcoming UK harbour projects include a £135 million redevelopment of the port of Dover, and a £10 million project to build a new link-span bridge at the Port of Heysham in Lancashire.

Water spend

Upgrades in water treatment works are also continuing nationwide as part of Asset Management Period 6 which runs from 2015 to 2020. Water firms will have spent more than £44 billion in that time on improvement works agreed by water industry regulator, Ofwat, that include the Severn Trent Water’s Birmingham Resilience project, Wessex Water’s integrated supply grid, and the modernisation of United Utilities’ Davyhulme wastewater treatment plant. Work on London’s £4.2 billion Thames Tideway Tunnel project, which is being financed and delivered by an independent provider, is also boosting construction in this sector.

Spending on road maintenance is also expected to rise. Highways England has a maintenance budget of £1.3 billion over its first fixed five-year investment period, which began in 2015/16. In 2017/18, expenditure on maintenance is set to increase to £258 million, from the £254 million allocated for 2016/17.

Thereafter, it is expected to increase in 2018/19, before slowing in 2019/20. However, 97% of the roads network is governed by local authorities, which are financially-constrained due to cuts in central government funding since 2010. Whatever monetary restrictions councils face there is little doubt the condition of the country’s roads require urgent address, as an Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey (ALARM) report revealed a 13-year backlog of local roads maintenance in England.

Energy drive

Infrastructure repair and maintenance is also expected to increase in order to maintain the country’s energy provision. With a delay in the building of nuclear power stations, National Grid announced it would be retaining the services of existing power plants initially earmarked for closure. Structural maintenance is likely to be required to extend the lifespan of the plants which will be held in reserve to boost electricity supplies if and when required.

Construction Industry Forecasts – headline figures for 2017 to 2019

  • Construction output to grow by 1.6% in 2017 and 0.7% in 2018
  • Private housing starts to rise by 3.0% in 2017 and 2.0% in 2018
  • Infrastructure construction to grow by 7.4% in 2017 and 6.4% in 2018

Construction Industry Forecasts for public housing repair, maintenance and improvement is a little less encouraging, with output in this sector expected to remain flat in 2017 and 2018, whilst commercial offices output is expected to fall by 1% and 12% during the same period. However, prospects for the builders of the nation’s infrastructure, and the contractors and manufacturing firms required to maintain it remain distinctly good. It would seem the UK is building towards a brighter future.

For more information click here.

By Charles Pierce, National Sales Manager – TM Refurbishment

Charles Pierce

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Grenfell fire increases demand for building works

A survey carried out by US recruitment firm Manpower has found that of more than 2,000 UK employers confidence among public sector firms had improved radically in the last three months, in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Participating British businesses were asked how they viewed the jobs market and whether they had plans in the pipeline their workforce over the next 12 months. Those in the UK construction trade reported a net employment outlook of +11% for the final quarter of 2017.

That represents the strongest outlook of any UK sector and a 6% increase on the third quarter.

The Grenfell Tower fire in June spread through cladding on the building which subsequently failed safety tests, claiming at least 80 lives.

Many other public housing projects — predominantly high-rise buildings — have since failed safety tests due to unsafe cladding.

James Hick, managing director for Manpower Group Solutions, said expansion in the UK construction trade was driven by those bids to improve public housing.

Hick commented “Construction hiring often slows in the winter months, but the UK is set to buck the trend this year — our data suggests this could be the strongest fourth quarter for hiring since 2005.

“Some of this work is the urgent testing and repair that is being carried out up and down the country on much of Britain’s public housing stock.

“The state of housing in the country is under the microscope like never before and the need for both building and remedial work have caused demand in the construction industry to shoot up.

“The tough reality lurking beneath all these positive indicators is that these hiring intentions may not come to fruition because of difficulties attracting and retaining skilled employees.”

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New clean energy projects set to power 3.6 million homes

Eleven new energy projects worth up to £176m per year have been successful in the latest competitive auction for renewable technologies, the government has announced this week.

The projects, which are set to generate over 3GW of electricity, enough to power 3.6 million homes, demonstrate that the UK continues to be an attractive place to invest in clean energy.

The government is committed to investing in clean technology and driving economic growth as set out in our ambitious Industrial Strategy and upcoming Clean Growth Plan.

The competitive approach is continuing to drive cost reductions in the renewable energy industry – the cost of new offshore wind projects starting to generate electricity from 2022-23 are now 50% lower than the first auction held in 2015. The other successful technologies, Advanced Conversion Technologies and Dedicated Biomass with Combined Heat and Power, also achieved significant savings.

Competition has also driven down the costs for consumers. The capacity delivered in this auction cost up to £528m per year less than it would have in the absence of competition.

Projects are to be delivered across Great Britain from Wales to the Scottish Highlands and the West Midlands from 2021.

Minister for Energy and Industry, Richard Harrington, said “We’ve placed clean growth at the heart of the Industrial Strategy to unlock opportunities across the country, while cutting carbon emissions.

“The offshore wind sector alone will invest £17.5bn in the UK up to 2021 and thousands of new jobs in British businesses will be created by the projects announced. This government will continue to seize these opportunities as the world moves towards a low carbon future, and will set out ambitious proposals in the upcoming Clean Growth Plan.”

This investment will help the UK meet its climate targets while supporting jobs in Britain’s growing renewable industry. The UK has the largest offshore wind capacity in the world and low carbon businesses have a combined turnover of £43 billion, employing 234,000 people.

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Hiring on the up as construction sector confidence grows

  • Construction sector confidence also up, boosted by social housing repairs
  • Skills shortage time-bomb lurks on the horizon
  • Hotels and restaurants sector slumps as consumer spending dips

Against the backdrop of record employment and ongoing Brexit negotiations, ManpowerGroup reveals that employers have recorded a one point uptick in optimism with a national Outlook of +6%. A surge in positivity among public sector employers is a key factor in the improved national picture, with hiring intentions in this sector up 4 points to +2%, the biggest rise since 2015.

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 2,100 UK employers. It asks whether employers intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming quarter. It is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind and is used as a key economic statistic by both the Bank of England and the UK Government.

James Hick, Managing Director for ManpowerGroup Solutions commented “This is the first time in over a year that public sector hiring plans have been in positive territory. June’s general election outcome was seen in part as a rejection of austerity, and it looks like the public sector is powering on, as hiring ramps up. At the beginning of the year there were 86,000 vacancies in the NHS; the government recently announced that it will train an additional 1500 doctors a year and create 20,000 new mental health posts. With the health service so heavily dependent on EU nationals, these hiring targets are going to be extremely difficult to meet. And that’s just the NHS – there are also tens of thousands of vacancies in other government departments.”

High demand for construction workers is also buoying national jobs optimism. Construction is the most upbeat sector this quarter, up six points to an Outlook of +11%. Hick continues: “Britain’s builders are as optimistic now as at any time since the financial crisis. Construction hiring often slows in the winter months, but the UK is set to buck the trend this year – our data suggests this could be the strongest fourth quarter for hiring since 2005. Some of this work is the urgent testing and repair that is being carried out up and down the country on much of Britain’s public housing stock. The state of housing in the country is under the microscope like never before and the need for both building and remedial work have caused demand in the construction industry to shoot up.”

However, there are also signs that the positive effects of these short to medium-term factors are hiding real pressure points in the labour market as chronic skills shortages and a squeeze on disposable incomes could prick the good news bubble.

Hick explains “The tough reality lurking beneath all these positive indicators is that these hiring intentions may not come to fruition because of difficulties attracting and retaining skilled employees. Take construction, where companies are reporting a stronger pipeline of work than they have for years. However, without a pool of skilled workers to actually do the work, buildings will go unbuilt and projects will flounder. There is lots of talk around what we need to do to fix the UK’s ailing housing market at present but politicians’ promises are just hot air without the essential skilled talent needed to deliver these programmes.”

“The housing market holds another potential pressure point once interest rates inevitably start to rise. Wage growth has also been lagging inflation in the past few months and this gap looks likely to increase. People are starting to feel the pinch, and possible rising interest rates will only exacerbate this. The early signs of this can be seen in the 6 point slump in the Hotels and Restaurants sector, which is heavily dependent on discretionary consumer spending. We have recently seen restaurant chains such as Jamie Oliver’s “Jamie’s Italian” brand closing sites and some restaurant brands are scrapping expansion plans as consumer spending looks set to dip and the competition in this crowded market gets tighter.”

Regionally, confidence in London, where housing and the broader cost of living is the highest, has halved to +4 since last quarter. The East of England forecast tops the charts at +11, while employers in the South East maintain their confident streak with an Outlook of +10. Another winner is Northern Ireland following the DUP-negotiated “supply and demand” deal resulting in a cash injection of at least £1 billion. This has already boosted hiring optimism in Northern Ireland, where employers report a surprise jump ahead of the UK national average to +7% this quarter.

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Mayor’s focus on small construction sites can help solve London’s housing crisis

The London Housing Strategy’s strong focus on bringing forward more small sites will help solve the housing crisis by opening up the market to SME house builders, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Commenting on the draft London Housing Strategy, Barry Mortimer, Director of FMB London, said “If we’re to build the number of new homes Londoners need, we must urgently make much better use of the many existing small sites that are dotted all over London. In doing so, we will the strengthen the capacity of SME house builders to build more new homes and perhaps even attract some new SME firms into the market. FMB research has consistently shown that a lack of available and viable land is the main factor stunting the ability of small builders to deliver more homes. Indeed, over half of SME house builders believe that the number of small site opportunities is, if anything, decreasing.

“We therefore welcome strongly the Strategy’s proposal for a presumption in favour of appropriate residential development on small sites, which goes further than proposed changes to national policy as laid out in the Government’s Housing White Paper. The ‘Small Sites, Small Builders’ programme will also link up public land owners with small builders, which could make accessing public land easier for small firms. We also welcome moves which will mean that less of the Community Infrastructure Levy is payable upfront on small sites. This will really help with cash flow for smaller builders and make the economics of small scale development slightly easier.

“The London Housing Strategy therefore marks a step forward in empowering smaller house builders in London. In order to reach the 50,000 new homes London needs to build each year, this renewed emphasis on small sites is vital. However, all such progress could be undermined if the Mayor fails to protect small sites from onerous levels of developer contributions. National planning guidance states that planning obligations should not be sought from developments of ten units or fewer, but implementation of this policy in London is patchy at best. Unless the Mayor, and London Boroughs, recognise the need to minimise burdens on the very smallest developments, SME builders will continue to struggle to enter the market.”

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The interior design trends that devalue a house the most

  • Wood panelling, avocado bathrooms and built in bars named as fixtures most likely to put UK homebuyers off
  • On average UK homebuyers would reduce their offer by a massive £5,000 if a property still had an avocado bathroom
  • 324,000 UK homes still have outdated avocado bathroom suites

Research into the nation’s most hated retro décor trends by Bathrooms.com has revealed the 10 interior design trends most likely to devalue your home are:

  1. Wood panelling (46% of UK homebuyers wouldn’t buy a property if it still had old fashioned wood panelling)
  2. Avocado bathrooms (44%)
  3. Built-in bars (41%)
  4. Woodchip (41%)
  5. Artex ceilings (40%)
  6. Heavily patterned carpet (35%)
  7. Textured wallpaper (34%)
  8. Crazy paving (33%)
  9. Brick fireplaces (33%)
  10. Built in wardrobes over the bed (30%)

According to the study, UK homebuyers would look to knock £4,877.46 off the purchase price of a property if it still had an outdated avocado bathroom suite. One in six of us (16%) would expect to pay at least £5,000 less and 6% of 25-34 year olds would seek a price reduction of at least £10,000.

New year – new bathroom?

It would seem despite the nation’s love for all things interior design, just over one per cent of the British public (1.2%) still have one of the infamous avocado suites lurking in their bathroom – this equates to a staggering 324,000 of the notorious green eyesores still at large in the UK.

The Avocado Amnesty

Following the results from the research, Bathrooms.com has launched an ‘Avocado Amnesty’ to help the nation upgrade their bathrooms. The bathroom retailer has pledged to help every avocado bathroom owner get a stylish new bathroom they can be proud of – from a complete bathroom makeover, to free baths and more.

If you are, or you know someone who is still living like it’s the 70s, head to the Avocado Amnesty here.

Almost three quarters of the UK (75%) think avocado bathroom suites are ugly and three out of four people (71%) say if they bought a new home and it had an avocado bathroom suite, it would be the first thing they’d rip out. But despite this, a fifth of UK homeowners (20%) confess they’ve never updated their bathroom, and around a quarter of the UK (23%) admit to being embarrassed by their outdated bathroom when their friends come over to visit.

Commercial Director at Bathrooms.com, Harshad Gorasia commented “Once upon a time, avocado bathroom suites were the height of fashion and a statement feature for homes up and down the UK, but now they tend to look tired, outdated and in need of recycling. Given that so many of us have never updated our bathrooms, it’s not surprising to see there are still over 300,000 in the country. More than half of the nation says a relaxing bath is their favourite way to unwind and de-stress, so we think everyone should have a bathroom they’re proud of, where they can relax, switch off and have a good soak at the end of a long day.”

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