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...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...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...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 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...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.
Continue reading...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...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...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...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...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...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...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...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...Administrator appointed to Toplace a month after arrest warrant issued for Nassif
A major Sydney development firm owned by accused fraudster and fugitive Jean Nassif has gone into administration.
Records filed with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission show an administrator was appointed to his company, Toplace Pty Ltd, on Monday.
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Continue reading...Residents will no doubt have to pay a price for their authority’s risk taking and subsequent bankruptcy
Winning in the rollercoaster business of commercial property development is hard. Look at the share prices of the two FTSE 100 titans, regarded as the most diversified and solid operators in the sector. Since the financial crisis of 2008-09, which caused commercial property prices to crater, Landsec’s shares have been as low as 350p and as high as £13 and are currently 626p. British Land’s trajectory is similar.
Their investors collect dividends (most of the time), largely funded from rental income, but they also know that the value of the assets can be volatile. Less diversified firms have done much worse. Intu, a former shopping centre giant, collapsed in 2020 and an air of financial crisis has hovered over Hammerson for years. This is territory for conservative financing and strong risk-management safeguards.
Continue reading...Work on residential building sites slips in May to weakest level since 2009
Britain’s housebuilders are cutting back on the construction of new homes amid signs that potential buyers are being spooked by the prospect of increases in mortgage rates over the coming months.
The latest report on the construction sector found that work on residential building sites slipped in May to the weakest level since 2009, apart from when sites were locked down during the Covid pandemic.
Continue reading...Carla White’s battle has shone a light on city’s lack of affordable new housing for those on low incomes
A single tenant in a Montreal apartment block has halted a multimillion-dollar development project in a standoff that has focused fresh attention on the lack of affordable housing in major Canadian cities.
Property developer Mondev has been trying for years to persuade Carla White to move from her small C$400-a-month (£238) apartment so it can demolish a row of mostly abandoned buildings and build 176 luxury apartments.
Continue reading...New report shows average households are spending a third of income on rent while lower income families pay more than half their earnings
Australian rental affordability has dropped to its worst levels in nearly a decade, with the average household spending a third of its income on rent, as the impacts of the Covid pandemic continue to be felt on the market.
Lower income households pay even more, with more than half of their income going towards their rent, according to new research from ANZ and CoreLogic.
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Continue reading...Two-storey development south-east of Brisbane at the centre of legal battle amid a housing crisis across the state
A legal stoush has broken out between a disability accommodation developer and a suburban Queensland council over a two-storey project and whether it deserves to be fast-tracked amid a housing crisis across the state.
Disability Homes Investments (DHI) said it is developing the property to house people with disabilities on a quiet street in Cleveland, south-east of Brisbane.
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