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2 weeks ago | 
constructionnews.co.uk | Charlotte Banks
How are contractors meeting the challenges of designing life sciences buildings that are fit for the future? In south London, a small modular building sits below the ribcage-like shell of what was until recently Europe’s largest electronic music venue, Printworks. Clad with Siberian larch battens, the building’s generous roof terraces and double-height foyer, furnished with Monstera plants, look like those of a typical office scheme for young creatives.
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2 months ago | 
constructionnews.co.uk | Charlotte Banks
High-rise residential development has virtually ground to a halt since the Building Safety Regulator took on full powers. In the second instalment of a two-part series, Charlotte Banks explores whether change is on the horizonThe roll-out of the gateway two system has been dogged by delays and poor clarity. But there are signs the situation may soon improve. The BSR has made changes since those difficult early days last spring.
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2 months ago | 
constructionnews.co.uk | Charlotte Banks
High-rise residential development has virtually ground to a halt since the Building Safety Regulator took on full powers. In the first instalment of a two-part series, Charlotte Banks explores the problems When Leeds City Council approved plans for three new residential towers on the Dyecoats regeneration scheme in April 2022, construction was expected to start that summer. Three years on, excavators have only just arrived.
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2 months ago | 
constructionnews.co.uk | Charlotte Banks
The NASC’s inaugural event featured talks on opportunity, pricing and technology in scaffoldingWalking around Belfast, you won’t see much scaffolding on the buildings. Construction started on only five major buildings in 2024, and many of the city’s grand, ageing edifices have been left to fester. But for one day last November, a city’s worth of access equipment could be found on the inside of Waterfront Hall.
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Mar 25, 2025 | 
constructionnews.co.uk | Charlotte Banks
The £9bn Lower Thames Crossing road project has been greenlit after two and a half years in limbo. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander today (25 March) granted development consent to the UK’s largest ever road tunnel, which will connect Kent and Essex. The decision was originally due last June but had been pushed back twice.
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Mar 6, 2025 | 
constructionnews.co.uk | Charlotte Banks
With the government set to announce details on a generation of new towns, CN visits the UK’s only 21st-century ‘garden city’A former police station in north Kent is the best spot to contemplate the most successful new settlement the UK has delivered this century. From their converted office at the top of Castle Hill, those working at the development corporation overseeing Ebbsfleet Garden City have prime views of their handiwork.
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Feb 27, 2025 | 
constructionnews.co.uk | Charlotte Banks
The government has proposed harsh penalties for manufacturers and distributors of unsafe construction products, including prison time and unlimited fines. Under plans set out yesterday (26 February), it would become a criminal offence for companies or online marketplaces to provide inaccurate production information or fail to comply with an enforcement action.
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Feb 27, 2025 | 
constructionnews.co.uk | Charlotte Banks
Client: Oldham Council Contract type: JCT 2016 Design & Build, procured through Partnerships Framework Contract value: £67m (£23.5m phase one, £36.4m phase two, £7m phase three) Architect: AEW Structural engineer: JPS Piling: Van Elle Facade: Longworth M&E: Dalkia Ceilings and partitioning: RapidFix Start date: November 2022 Expected completion date: May 2025 Not disturbing the shoppers is just one of the challenges facing Willmott Dixon as it turns the 30-year-old Spindles mall into a...
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Feb 7, 2025 | 
constructionnews.co.uk | Charlotte Banks
Fewer construction firms entered administration in January than in any month in three-and-a-half years, according to the latest data from Creditsafe. Only 10 firms went under in the first month of 2025. The monthly toll has not dropped so low since June 2021, when seven companies went bust. At the time, Covid support such as the furlough scheme and a moratorium on winding-up petitions was helping keep struggling businesses afloat.
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Jan 30, 2025 | 
architectsjournal.co.uk | Charlotte Banks |Richard Waite
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by safety consultancy Project Four revealed that the BSR has approved 11 applications out of 130 since it started assessing schemes in October 2023. But the Health and Safety Executive, which oversees the BSR, later confirmed that nine of those projects approved were ‘in flight’ schemes submitted before the new regime came into force.
