Category Archives: Construction industry

UK criticised over apparent call to firms to rebuild disputed areas of Azerbaijan

Posted on by

Officials held online meeting with business leaders despite flight of ethnic Armenians after military takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh

The UK government faces criticism after officials appeared to urge British businesses to help rebuild disputed areas of Azerbaijan just weeks after the state’s military takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh led more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee the region.

Officials from the UK Foreign Office and the business department held an online meeting with British business leaders in November to encourage companies to take advantage of the “great opportunity” to support Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev’s rebuilding agenda.

Continue reading...

Penrith council closes park over concern mulch could contain asbestsos

Posted on by

Asbestos-like fragments found at newly-opened Regatta Park in Emu Plains sent for urgent testing, Penrith city council says

Penrith council has closed part of a park in western Sydney over fears it could contain asbestos-contaminated garden mulch from the same company that supplied the product used at Rozelle parklands.

Penrith city council says the newly opened Regatta Park at Emu Plains in the city’s west was partly closed after a review to determine if any mulch used by the council was provided by Greenlife Resource Recovery.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

Continue reading...

UK housebuilder Crest Nicholson warns on profits, raising takeover speculation

Posted on by

Surrey-based construction company has been hit by rising costs and impact of high interest rates

One of Britain’s largest housebuilders, Crest Nicholson, has issued its third profit warning in a matter of months because of rising costs, raising speculation that it could become a takeover target unless its fortunes reverse.

The latest warning comes less than a week before the Surrey-based company will issue its full-year results, which are expected to lay bare the challenging year that housebuilders such as Crest Nicholson have faced amid surging interest rates, which have deterred buyers and caused house prices to fall.

Continue reading...

Explanation for asbestos in mulch at Sydney’s Rozelle parklands will ‘come out in due course’, supplier says

Posted on by

Exclusive: Greenlife Resource Recovery co-director says company is cooperating with environmental watchdog’s garden mulch investigation

The construction boss who runs the company that supplied garden mulch containing asbestos to Sydney’s Rozelle parklands says an explanation for the contamination will “come out in due course” as the environmental watchdog continues its investigation.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) was on Monday analysing samples from in and around Rozelle parklands after testing found bonded asbestos in 14 locations in mulch provided by Greenlife Resource Recovery.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Unit owners in Sydney’s Mascot Towers offered chance to wipe debts years after defects found

Posted on by

Deal suggested by NSW building commissioner comes after residents were forced to evacuate in 2019

Owners of apartments in Sydney’s Mascot Towers may reach a potential settlement to clear massive debts for the first time since being forced to evacuate their units due to defects.

The New South Wales building commissioner, David Chandler, has offered a lifeline to residents of the buildings, in the city’s inner-south, who have been faced with significant repair bills since cracks were discovered in the basement in 2019.

Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads

Continue reading...

Australia will become the first country to ban engineered stone bench tops. Will others follow?

Posted on by

Ban is the culmination of a years-long campaign, driven by doctors, trade unions and workers involved in its cutting and handling

When an Australian worker developed a debilitating lung disease in 2015, it didn’t take researchers long to connect it to engineered stone bench tops – a popular feature in kitchens and bathrooms.

A years-long campaign, driven by doctors, trade unions and workers, was launched to ban the artificial material as silicosis cases rose among those involved in its cutting and handling.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Dangerous product’: Australian ban on engineered stone benchtops to begin next year

Posted on by

Most states and territories to ban product on 1 July, with Commonwealth flagging an import prohibition

Australia will ban engineered stone from 1 July 2024, following a meeting of state and federal workplace ministers.

According to Queensland and Victorian governments, ministers on Wednesday agreed to ban the material, which is commonly used in kitchen and bathroom benchtops.

Continue reading...

KPMG boss says Carillion auditing was ‘very bad’ as firm is fined record £21m

Posted on by

Jon Holt says some employees ‘simply didn’t do their job properly’ in run-up to one of UK’s biggest corporate failures

The UK boss of KPMG has said he “simply cannot defend” the firm’s auditing work on the failed government contractor, Carillion, describing it as “very bad,” as the accounting giant was hit with a record £21m fine by Britain’s accounting watchdog.

The fine comes almost six years after the outsourcing firm collapsed with £7bn debts. Carillion had been one of the UK’s biggest construction and facilities management companies, with several major government contracts.

Continue reading...

World’s tallest wooden building to be built in Perth after developers win approval

Posted on by

Developers say South Perth’s C6 building will be made up of 42% timber and be carbon negative

Western Australia is set to become home to the world’s tallest timber building, a “revolutionary” 50-storey hybrid design reaching a height of 191.2 metres.

Timber will make up 42% of South Perth’s C6 building, including the tower’s beams, floor panels, studs, joinery and linings.

Continue reading...

Victoria to expand vacant residential land tax across state in bid to increase housing supply

Posted on by

The surprise announcement came on the first day of parliament since Jacinta Allan became premier

Victoria’s treasurer has shocked the property industry and even some of his colleagues by announcing an expansion of taxes on vacant residential land during Jacinta Allan’s first day of parliament as premier.

Tim Pallas told an industry breakfast on Tuesday that he planned to introduce legislation to parliament this week, which will see the vacant residential land tax expanded to include the whole state from 1 January 2025.

Continue reading...

The decision to demolish the Mast Quay flats is a rare triumph for planners

Posted on by

The unequal battle between major developers and cash-strapped councils means the reach of town hall enforcement officers is declining

The decision by the Royal Borough of Greenwich to say enough is enough and order the demolition of 204 homes at the Mast Quay development in south-east London casts a spotlight on one of the most unequal battles in the public realm – between major developers and town hall planners.

And it is one that often enrages the public. Greenwich’s gambit has cheered community groups who say they are feeling increasingly powerless to challenge, even with the help of the planning system, the might of developers.

Continue reading...

By making a deal with developers on housing, Daniel Andrews may find it harder to negotiate with the Greens

Posted on by

Greens hold the balance of power in the upper house. They are also angered at the planned redevelopment of 44 public housing towers

In politics, optics are everything.

It’s why when the Victorian government unveiled its housing statement – an ambitious policy that it says will reshape the state by delivering 800,0000 homes over the next decade – it did so alongside the building and property sectors.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Lords to debate mandating swift bricks in new UK homes

Posted on by

Hollow bricks are ‘easy win’ to help several endangered species, say experts and Zac Goldsmith who is tabling amendment

An amendment to make swift bricks mandatory in new housing will be debated in the House of Lords this week in what campaigners call a “golden opportunity” for the government to halt wildlife decline.

The change to the controversial levelling up bill is being tabled by the Conservative peer Zac Goldsmith, who resigned from government over Rishi Sunak’s “apathy” towards environmental issues.

Continue reading...

England’s concrete crisis could extend to hospitals and courts, experts say

Posted on by

Labour demands urgent audit of government’s handling of longstanding concerns about Raac

England’s growing buildings crisis could expand beyond schools to other public buildings such as hospitals and courts, experts have said.

More than 100 schools were forced to partially or fully close this week after a dramatic escalation of the government’s approach towards crumbling concrete.

Continue reading...

Foul fumes and sewage spills in Tory stronghold of Michael Gove

Posted on by

Aggrieved residents tell of issues in constituency of housing secretary planning to rip up pollution laws

While Michael Gove was deciding to weaken pollution laws for new housing developments this week, his own constituency was being plagued by the stench of human waste.

People living on the outskirts of Camberley, the largest town in Gove’s constituency of Surrey Heath, have been complaining for months that foul-smelling fumes from the local sewage works have ruined their summers, causing even the washing they hang out to stink.

Continue reading...

Scrapping housebuilder water pollution rules in England to cost taxpayer £140m

Posted on by

Under Lords amendment, developers will no longer have to offset nutrient pollution from new homes’ sewage

Taxpayers will pick up the bill for pollution by housebuilders, government officials have admitted, as rules on chemical releases into waterways are scrapped.

If an amendment in the House of Lords tabled on Tuesday passes, developers will no longer have to offset the nutrient pollution caused by sewage from new homes. The government has said it will double Natural England’s wetland funding to £280m in order to show it is trying to meet the requirements of its legally binding Environment Act.

Continue reading...

Full of beans: scientists use processed coffee grounds to make stronger concrete

Posted on by

Australian engineers say they can make concrete nearly 30% stronger by incorporating processed coffee grounds into the material

In an idea that fittingly arose over a cup of coffee, researchers have devised a technique to recycle used coffee grounds to make stronger concrete.

Engineers at RMIT University say they have developed a way to make concrete nearly 30% stronger by incorporating processed coffee grounds into the material.

Continue reading...

Other plans by Crooked House owners have caused anger in Midlands

Posted on by

ATE Farms and associated firms attracted dozens of complaints before pub burned down in Staffordshire

The new owners of the Crooked House pub in Staffordshire, which was burned down in a fire and subsequently demolished, have angered local people in a series of other redevelopment plans across the Midlands.

Planning documents reveal ATE Farms, which bought the Crooked House from Marston’s brewery in July, and its associated companies have attracted dozens of complaints over plans that include building a solar farm and holiday lodges in the countryside, and redeveloping a village pub.

Continue reading...

Marks & Spencer refused permission to demolish and rebuild Oxford Street store

Posted on by

M&S says ‘short-sighted act of self-sabotage’ leaves no choice but to review position on UK’s premier shopping street

Marks & Spencer has been refused permission to demolish and rebuild its main store on Oxford Street in the West End of London in a win for campaigners concerned about the carbon footprint of redevelopment.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities confirmed that Michael Gove, the secretary of state, disagreed with the recommendation from inspectors to approve the plans and had “decided to refuse permission”.

Continue reading...

UK relaxes visa rules for foreign builders amid Brexit shortages

Posted on by

Bricklayers and other construction jobs added to list alongside care workers and engineers

Bricklayers, plasterers and other construction jobs have been added to the government’s “shortage occupation list”, making it easier for foreign builders to come to Britain amid labour shortages partly caused by Brexit.

The UK government has relaxed visa restrictions for a number of sectors that face severe worker shortages, and has added bricklayers and masons; roofers, roof tilers and slaters; carpenters and joiners; plasterers and other construction workers to the list. Fishing jobs have also been added to the list.

Continue reading...