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.

Green Gas plant to inject £60 million into local economy

Britain’s leading green energy company, Ecotricity, has submitted a planning application for a Green Gas Mill at Sparsholt College – a partnership that will inject £60 million into the local economy.

As part of the unique partnership, Ecotricity will finance and build the Green Gas Mill, with an initial £10 million investment, and will also help fund the development of a renewable energy centre, where the college can train the workforce necessary to support the green gas revolution coming to Britain.

Ecotricity introduced the concept of making green gas from grass in Britain early last year[i], and if the company’s application to Winchester City Council is accepted, the Green Gas Mill will pump £3 million into the local economy every year for the twenty years of its operation.

Dale Vince, Ecotricity founder, said: “We have to stop burning fossil fuels, and green gas will play a big part in helping us to achieve that in Britain – it’s good for our economy, because we’ll no longer need to import those expensive fossil fuels; it’s good for the environment, because it’s carbon neutral and creates new wildlife habitats; and it’s good for farmers, because it allows them to diversify, rely less on farming livestock, and build a more sustainable future.

“The world signed up to the limiting temperature rise to well below 2 degrees C at the Paris Climate Conference last year – that included a long term goal of being carbon neutral after 2050 and eventually carbon negative, which means taking more carbon out of the atmosphere than we put in. They’re big ambitions – and green gas is essential to that vision.

“Sparsholt is one of the first Green Gas Mills we’re looking to build in Britain – one of the first in what will be a green gas revolution in this country. And what’s particularly special is that, together with Sparsholt, we’ll be helping to train the green gas engineers Britain will need.”

The Sparsholt College Green Gas Mill, fuelled by locally harvested grass, could produce enough clean gas to power the equivalent of 4,000 homes every year.

Tim Jackson, Sparsholt College principal, said: “We’ve carried out public consultation over the past four months with local councils, farmers and residents – and the feedback has been a mix of those who are very positive to those with concerns about the impact on local roads and the visual landscape.

“I am pleased to say that we were able to provide facts and explanations to address most of the concerns and look forward to responding to more of those as these arise.

“The Green Gas Mill is the next step on the journey towards Sparsholt College developing our status as a ‘Centre for the Demonstration of Environmental Technologies’, which is being supported by Ecotricity and through a grant from the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership.

“Creating our own green gas on site will massively cut our environmental impact and reduce our energy bills – which have made up an increasing portion of our budget over the past few years, money that could be better spent on educating our students.

“However, the fact we can share the financial and environmental benefits of this project with the local farming community is a massively positive outcome for the college.”

Up to eight specialist professional jobs will be created to run the Green Gas Mill, while the new supply contracts with farmers – providing the grass and rye feedstock required to supply the anaerobic digestion process – will also reinforce existing jobs.

Feedback from local residents has most frequently focused on concerns about extra traffic and the routes chosen to transport feedstock.

Tim continued: “We have addressed residents concerns in the planning application and can reassure people that the Green Gas Mill will only receive normal farm traffic such as tractors and trailers which are typical of the countryside.

“We will ensure deliveries don’t happen during peak traffic times, tractors stick to main roads wherever possible, do not go through Sparsholt village, and in fact even at the busiest times of year during harvest, feedstock movements would represent a very small proportion of existing college traffic and be well within the capacity of the highway network.

“The Green Gas Mill will be a key component in the College’s development of a Centre of Excellence that will produce specialist professionals to work for the green gas industry, training engineers, plant managers and technicians in what is a growth area across the agriculture, energy, waste, water and food processing sectors.”

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Stephen Fry to join the building & construction industry at Ecobuild 2016

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Stephen Fry has been announced as the special guest at Ecobuild 2016, the UK’s largest show dedicated to construction and energy.

The erudite writer, actor and campaigner joins a lineup of industry visionaries, leaders and experts.

Stephen will be interviewed by broadcaster Will Gompertz at the culmination of the day’s conference programme on Wednesday 9th March.

The audience can expect to hear Fry’s forthright and entertaining views and insights around issues close to his heart – areas that will resonate with the Ecobuild audience. The session will afford audience members a rare opportunity to ask questions in a Q&A session.

Martin Hurn, Director of Ecobuild, said: “Stephen personifies the spirit of Ecobuild to inform, entertain and inspire the industry. He is the most exciting speaker we have welcomed in Ecobuild’s history of thought leadership. We couldn’t have hoped for a better conclusion to what promises to be a fascinating day on the Ecobuild Arena.”

After the discussion, Fry will go on to host the prestigious BD Architect of the Year Awards dinner held at ExCeL that evening. Recognising excellence across 13 categories, the awards celebrate the very best practices currently operating in the UK.

For further information about Ecobuild 2016 which takes place from 8th to 10th March at London’s ExCeL, visit www.ecobuild.co.uk.

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Government tax avoidance measures could cost development industry £660m a year

Government plans to clamp down on tax avoidance could have the unintended consequence of causing the UK to lose out on as much as £660m development a year – the equivalent to the construction of Westfield London every year, and approximately 9,000 construction jobs.

The British Property Federation (BPF) has warned that Government proposals to restrict the tax deductibility of interest – which will essentially increase the price of debt – could have a disproportionate effect on debt-reliant industries such as real estate and infrastructure.

The Government has been consulting on recommendations made by the OECD to combat multi-nationals ‘shifting’ profits between different jurisdictions in order to take advantage of the lowest tax rate. It is proposing to restrict the tax deductibility of interest to within 10-30% of a company’s earnings. Interest costs are currently wholly deductible for tax purposes, subject to certain anti-avoidance conditions being met.

The BPF supports the aims of this initiative but is concerned that the proposals go beyond what is necessary to combat tax avoidance and will actually harm investment in UK towns and cities.

In its response to the consultation, the BPF has warned that increasing the overall cost to real estate borrowers will likely lead to a decrease in investment in real estate – a sector which contributes 5.4% of the UK’s Gross Value Added, and which is responsible for building new homes and turning around struggling town centres. It notes that the measures could also affect the UK’s global competitiveness as an investment location and argues that pensioners – who collectively own swathes of real estate through their pension funds – will end up with lower returns as a result of the proposals.

The BPF recommends that interest payments to unrelated parties be given full tax relief, as they pose a very low risk of tax avoidance. The Government should also wait to see how other OECD countries implement the measures so as to not end up out of line and lose competitiveness. Finally, the BPF argues it makes no sense for tax exempt investors such as REITs to be subject to the proposals.

Ion Fletcher, director of policy (finance) at the British Property Federation, commented “While we are wholly supportive of the Government’s plans to clamp down on tax avoidance, the current proposals go much further than is necessary and are particularly punitive for capital intensive industries like real estate. Almost a million jobs around the country rely on sustained investment in commercial and residential property and the proposals put these at risk.

“By making sure the proposals work with – rather than against – the grain of capital intensive industries, the Government could clamp down on tax avoidance without damaging the prospects of regeneration projects throughout the country. We hope that by working with Government, we can come up with a framework that tackles tax avoidance without damaging investment.”

Bill Hughes, head of real assets at Legal & General Investment Management, said “At a time where the private sector’s investment in the totality of the built environment needs to increase, there is a risk that the BEPS initiative acts as a material disincentive. It is critical that the regime is shaped in such a way as to avoid acting as a brake on long-term institutional investment in regeneration and infrastructure, the vast majority of which is for the public benefit.”

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Wet weather adds to construction’s woes

New construction activity contracted by 14% during the final quarter of 2015 on a year earlier, according to figures released today (14th January) by industry analysts Glenigan.

The value of new work starting on site fell across the residential, non-residential and civil engineering sectors of the industry. Over 2015 as a whole, starts were down 4%, with both non-residential and civil engineering sectors having declined. This is the first annual decline recorded by Glenigan since 2009, and follows growth of 10% in 2014.

In fact only a handful of sectors saw rises in project starts during 2015. These were the private housing, industrial, education and utilities sectors.

Glenigan’s monthly index of project starts had already fallen into negative territory during the three months to November, but the extreme weather conditions in December have brought a starker pace of decline.

Commenting on this month’s figures, Allan Wilén, Glenigan’s Economics Director, said: “The wettest December on record has added to the industry’s woes. Moreover sites will stay waterlogged for some time, hindering starts in the new year.”

“We expect the upcoming output figures to reveal another quarterly decline in construction activity. The lack of new projects starting in 2015 will cause a New Year hangover for growth in early 2016.”

Glenigan’s data suggests a lack of confidence among the construction industry’s clients. The value of work receiving detailed planning approval* increased by 15% in 2015, but this has failed to translate into workers on site.

Mr. Wilén concluded: “There is a significant pipeline in place to fuel construction growth in 2016. However clients are currently not pressing ahead with planned schemes at the same rate we witnessed during 2014.”

The Midlands and Northern regions of England fared best during 2015. The East Midlands, East of England and North East of England were the only three parts of the UK to record growth over the year, though declines across the other Northern and Midlands regions were modest. In London, Southern England and Scotland the decline in new work has been more stark. The value of starts fell by 11% in the Capital in 2015.

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Construction industry’s Best Practice Hub hailed a great success

  • Over 38,000 visits in first year
  • 95% users would recommend Hub to rest of industry
  • Mental health, noise and occupational cancer most visited sections

The Best Practice Hub – a free online resource for the industry to share their considerate practice by showcasing examples, innovations and case studies – is proving to be a key resource for the construction world.

Launched by the Considerate Constructors Scheme just 12 months ago, at the request of Scheme registered sites, companies and suppliers, the Hub has already been visited over 38,000 times with over 1100 examples of best practice uploaded.

All data on the Hub is easily searchable using keywords or by filtering through the Scheme’s Code of Considerate Practice or Monitors’ Checklist. Users can therefore search the Hub for best practice ideas in the areas of appearance, community, environment, safety and workforce.

To date, the issues of mental health, noise and protection from the sun are the most searched topics. During 2015, the Scheme produced a ‘Spotlight on…mental health’ and ‘Spotlight on…occupational cancers’ to help drive awareness of best practices in these critical areas, both of which have proved highly popular.

The majority of large contractors, a substantial number of SMEs and many suppliers have already submitted numerous examples of best practice, recognising the benefits of collaboration in helping to improve the industry’s image as a whole. Top contributing companies include: Bouygues UK, Jerram Falkus Construction Limited, Kier Group, Mace, Mick George Limited, Skanska, The Berkeley Group Holdings plc and Wates.

Kier Group’s Director of Group Corporate Responsibility Alan Smith said “We are pleased to be one of the top contributors to this brilliant hub. It is in every contractor’s best interest to share their innovative examples for improving the image and reputation of our industry among the public and customers alike. These don’t have to be either major or expensive examples; often the best ideas are the simplest. The best practice examples Kier project teams have loaded into the Hub to date clearly demonstrate the breadth and simplicity of being considerate – from green travel plans and bug hotels to health & well-being toolbox talks and restroom posters.”

Helle Dorrington, an Architect from Berkeley Homes West London commented “The Hub has provided an invaluable tool for our teams to use. We regularly use it to get inspiration and share best practice. There are lots of great ideas about how to work better with local communities, improve safety and look after the wellbeing of staff.”

Considerate Constructors Scheme Chief Executive Edward Hardy said “The industry is recognising how collaboration is fundamental to addressing key issues such as mental health, occupational cancer risks, improving community relations, tackling skills shortages and encouraging innovation. The Best Practice Hub is proving to be an essential way for the construction industry to achieve this greater collaboration and, by doing so, helps continue to raise standards across the industry as a whole”.

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VIDEO: Construction worker amazes with hammer tricks

An astounding video has emerged on YouTube of a construction worker demonstrating an amazing ability to perform tricks with his hammer reminiscent of Bruce Lee with nunchucks!

The video begins with US construction worker Justin Fiddler throwing the tool around in the air whilst an offscreen commentary says “How’s it going folks, today we are doing a video for a stiletto hammer.”

He then proceeds to carry out an impressive series of tricks by throwing the hammer around in the air, making it spin, balance and even bounce with perfect accuracy and control.

Justin concludes the video with the quip “A well balanced tool, one of the best in the industry.”

Watch the video below:

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BREAKING NEWS: Forth Road Bridge to reopen tomorrow (but not to HGVs!)

Scottish transport minister has announced that one of the most important bridges in Scotland in terms of trade traffic will reopen to all vehicles except HGVs from 6am on Wednesday.

The bridge was closed earlier this month after a 20mm crack was found in the steelwork.

This is much earlier than the date of 4th Jan for reopening given last week, which would have been exactly a month after it was closed.

Amey’s Mark Arndt said last week that their engineers were “working around the clock to get the bridge reopened to that timetable,” but suggested that the opening date in January was entirely dependent on weather.

Heavy goods vehicles will not be allowed to use the bridge and will be required to continue to use alternative routes indefinitely.

The transport minister said that interim repair work has now been completed, which has allowed the bridge to be reopened ahead of schedule.

The sheer scale of the chaos and crisis caused by the closure of the Forth Road Bridge has undoubtedly had a negative impact on Scottish Economy, among other problems. Since the closure, the surrounding roads have regularly seen tailbacks of up to 11 miles on diversion routes. Some 70,000 vehicles cross the bridge each week day prior to closing.

The full economic impact on the economy has not yet been assessed, but just a few years ago bridge management estimated the closure of just one carriageway cost the Scottish economy a staggering £650,000 a day.

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Highways England helps young people consider construction careers

Young people from across the county have been given an insight into the wide range of career opportunities available in the construction industry.

A Highways England-led team delivering road improvements in the East of England met with teens at the Huntingdonshire Careers Fair, held at Wood Green animal shelter this week.

The event, part sponsored by Highways England, was aimed at 15-16 year olds who are at a critical point in making their career choice.

More than 600 young people attended and met a wide range of Highways England employees and contractors, to learn more about the opportunities and skills involved in developing and constructing road projects of all sizes.

Adam, a local student who attended the fair, said “I am looking into a career path in design or engineering and it was great to see the range of opportunities the A14 scheme offers. I am in my final year of A-Levels and I was particularly interested in the design portfolio and was able to discuss the possibility of gaining work experience with the possibility of an apprenticeship starting in August 2016.”

Barry Andrews, one of the Highways England project managers present at the fair, said “I was delighted to represent Highways England at the Huntingdonshire careers fair. This was a great opportunity to engage with the potential engineers, technical specialists, project managers, team executives and apprentices of tomorrow on behalf of Highways England.”

“I passionately believe that the young people within our community are the future in which we must invest now and I will continue to support such valuable and creditable endeavours.”

Kirstie Dawe, one of Highways England’s apprentices who also supported the event, continued “I am on the Business Administration Apprenticeship at Highways England. For me, going to the careers event at Wood Green was a great opportunity to encourage young people to consider a career at Highways England and make them aware of the variety of career paths available from apprenticeships to graduate schemes.”

Among the team present were also employees from Highways England’s supply chain and representatives from the £1.5bn A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon major project, which is due to start construction next year subject to statutory processes. The scheme is local to Huntingdon and is set to provide many career opportunities in the coming years.

Chris Taylor, Director of Complex Infrastructure at Highways England, who oversees the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon major project, said “Construction is a really dynamic industry to work in and offers a huge range of interesting career opportunities – from contract and commercial management, to archaeology and ecology, as well as the more obvious construction and engineering paths.”

“The Huntingdonshire Careers Fair gave us a great opportunity to meet young people and talk to them about some of the fantastic prospects on offer in their local area and across the country.”

“We are committed to using the local workforce and businesses as much as possible. As well as delivering much needed journey improvements, we hope to leave a lasting legacy by improving skills and employment opportunities in the communities we are working for.”

Transport Minister Lord Ahmad said “Having a skilled workforce is essential if we want to build a strategic road network fit for the future. That is why the government is committed to delivering on its ambition for 30,000 transport apprenticeships by 2020, by investing in our next generation.”

“We welcome this Highways England initiative which demonstrates the wide range of careers options available in transport for high calibre young people.”

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Older workers crucial to curbing construction industry skills gap

The world’s population is ageing rapidly and with profound results. In response to these changes, the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has launched a report exploring the effects of the ageing population on the construction industry and outlined how the sector can adapt to meet some of the challenges.

‘Exploring the impact of the ageing population on the workforce and built environment’ is the second report from the CIOB to study the effects of the ageing population. Six years on from the first study, the research highlights the crucial role the built environment has to play in terms of improving the lives of older people.

In a survey of nearly 1,000 CIOB members, responses indicate that despite legislative changes to improve recognition of the ageing population and combat workplace discrimination, awareness of the ageing population and its influence on the built environment has slumped – when compared with the findings from the CIOB’s first report.

The research finds that the built environment has a crucial role to play in terms of improving the lives of older people through measures designed to enhance the accessibility and liveability of buildings. Retaining ageing workers’ knowledge and skills is also crucial, and the report sends a clear message to policymakers and industry leaders: to be successful, construction needs to see far greater investment and recognition of ageing workers.

With 19% of the construction workforce set to retire in the next five to ten years, the report finds that employers need to overcome stereotypes and repurpose, where necessary, job descriptions to attract and, most importantly, retain older workers. However, the CIOB is clear that this not be considered a substitute for investing in training, and should work hand-in-hand to help alleviate the ongoing skills crisis.

Whilst 57% of respondents acknowledged that it was ‘very important’ to retain ageing workers, this was not reflected in the number of respondents who stated that their workplace had measures such as flexible working, succession planning, mid-life career reviews or retirement planning designed to encourage an extension to longer working lives.

The benefits of mentoring are well documented. However, despite the overwhelming majority of respondents acknowledging this, only 63% confirmed that this measure was a regular feature in the workplace. Respondents pointed towards the difficulties obtaining high-calibre staff to deliver and participate in such schemes. Crucially, the report suggests that more needs to be done to make better use of ageing workers’ expertise and skills, and use this to help upskill younger counterparts.

Bridget Bartlett, Deputy Chief Executive of the CIOB said “The findings from this report indicate that the impact of the ageing population and the role of the ageing workforce have slipped down the agenda.

“However, if construction is to meet the skills crisis it faces and fill the 224,000 vacancies needed by 2019, employers should look to take additional steps to overcome the skills shortages they incur by reaching out to older workers. There is a huge opportunity to showcase to both young and old members of the workforce that construction isn’t all hard hats and hi-vis and that off-site opportunities are aplenty. We demand technical skills as much as manual skills.

“Employers must also recognise the skills of their existing workers and put in measures such as flexible working, career reviews or even retirement planning to encourage longer working lives. As our own research tells us, skills shortages in construction are compounded by those entering the industry not being suitably qualified for the position. We should take this opportunity to use older workers to tap into their skills and knowledge and ensure they are passed onto the next generation.”

A full copy of the research can be accessed from www.ciob.org/population.

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Britain to become more flood resilient following Storm Desmond

Environment Secretary announces work to identify additional flood protection measures in Cumbria.

Work to identify additional flood protection measures for Cumbrian communities affected by extreme weather events like the record rainfall seen last weekend was announced by Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss today.

The new Cumbrian Floods Partnership group will consider what improvements to flood defences in the region may be needed, look at upstream options for slowing key rivers to reduce the intensity of water flows at peak times and build stronger links between local residents, community groups and flood defence planning.

The group, who will publish a Cumbria Action Plan next summer, will be chaired by Floods Minister Rory Stewart and made up of local authorities, the Environment Agency and community flood defence groups.

Elizabeth Truss said “After seeing first-hand the impact of the flooding in the north of England it is clear that the growing threat from more extreme weather events means we must reassure ourselves, and those communities at risk, that our defences, our modelling and our future plans are robust.”

The Environment Secretary also announced today a National Flood Resilience Review to better protect the country from future flooding and increasingly extreme weather events.

She outlined how her department would look afresh at how we calculate flood risk, in light of recent events, to be delivered by a new cross Government team. This will see Government updating ‘worst case scenario’ planning, considering the future impacts of climate change and carrying out a risk assessment of critical infrastructure, like electricity substations.

The review, also to be published next summer, will be led by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Letwin and include the Government’s Chief Scientist, Defra, DECC, DCLG, HMT and the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency.

Elizabeth Truss added “We are already spending £2.3 billion over the next six years to better protect 300,000 homes from flooding, but we need to be sure we have the very best possible plans in place for flood prevention and protection across the whole country.”

“We will take prompt action where we identify any gaps in our approach and where our defences and modelling need strengthening.”

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, commented “Our thoughts are with people who have experienced flooding this week. Our teams are on the ground providing support to these communities as part of a multi-agency response, checking and maintaining flood defences, pumping out flood water, clearing blockages in rivers, monitoring water levels and working with local flood wardens in the areas worst affected.”

“Whenever an exceptional event happens it’s important to review what happened and how to prepare for the future. With a £60 million fund to help with recovery in Cumbria, in addition to the £2.3 billion Government have committed to protect homes from floods across the country, we have the resources necessary to manage flood risk in England. The National Flood Resilience Review and the Cumbria Floods Partnership give Government, the Environment Agency and community groups the forums to review and ensure we are directing our resources to protect people most effectively.”

Rory Stewart will also be taking on a special Floods Envoy role across Cumbria and Lancashire coordinating the flood recovery operation across local agencies over the coming months.

To aid recovery efforts in the affected regions, the Chancellor has already announced an additional £51 million to support households and businesses affected by last weekend’s devastating floods in Cumbria and Lancashire. This takes the total support pledged by the Government to over £60 million.

This will be in addition to £2.3 billion of investment over the next six years to build 1,400 new flood defence schemes that will better protect 300,000 more homes.

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