Engineered timber products such as cross laminated timber must be exempt from the UK government’s ban on combustible cladding materials, as they are essential in the global battle against climate change, say architects.
Waugh Thistleton – co-founders Andrew Waugh and Anthony Thistleton and dRMM founding director Alex de Rijke have all urged the Government to review its legislation, which prohibits the use of timber products on the external walls of residential buildings taller than 18 metres.
Waugh and Thistleton said the new policy “demonstrates a misunderstanding of the fire performance of engineered timber”.
“We are clear that mass timber construction is not a valid target for this change and will continue to advocate for its exemption,” said the pair.
CLT safer than steel in a fire
De Rijke, who has completed many buildings using cross-laminated timber (CLT), said the material is safer than steel in a fire.
“The government is mistaken to consider engineered structural timber materials, like CLT, as highly combustible thin cladding material,” said De Rijke.
“Mass timber is slow-burning, self-charring – even self-extinguishing, structurally predictable, and does not produce deadly toxic fumes in a fire,” he continued.
De Rijke gives Kingsdale School, the UK’s first CLT building as an example.
“dRMM were the UK’s first architects for a CLT public building in 2004 – the government-funded Kingsdale School – and accordingly had to present the European material to central government, local authority and fire brigade. All were convinced then and now by the evidence that, when properly sized and detailed, CLT is not only safe in a fire, but safer than many other standard industry materials such as steel – ironically the default material for buildings over 18 metres.
“Political knee-jerk reaction is uninformed”
The new legislation, titled Final Impact Assessment: Ban on combustible materials and external wall systems, states that only materials with a European fire rating of Class A1 or A2 may be used on the external walls of tall residential buildings, and states explicitly that wood products do not come under this classification.
This is “likely to slow down the use of engineered timber in future development in the medium to long term” it claims.
The policy was introduced in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, after it was confirmed that combustible cladding contributed to the fast spread of the fire.
Architects have largely welcomed the ruling, but insist that CLT should be exempt.
“This political knee-jerk reaction is uninformed and counter-productive. Banning safe timber construction prevents the creation of healthy and safe cities, and worsens the global environmental crisis of carbon emissions due to use of materials like concrete and steel,” said De Rijke.
“The Grenfell Tower fire was a tragedy and we fully support a ban on designing or building using combustible, volatile and toxic materials. But engineered mass timber is not one of them.”
UK is world leader in engineered timber construction
Engineered timber, also known as mass timber, is increasingly being championed in architecture as a sustainable alternative to steel and concrete structural frameworks.
Waugh and Thistleton claim that, even if the ban is maintained, the material is still crucial to the future of sustainable and fire-safe construction, as it is mainly a structural material not a surface material.
The pair have worked on numerous CLT projects, including the “world’s largest cross laminated timer building”.
“The new legislation does not propose a ban on engineered timber or CLT structures; it will simply change the way we build tall timber residential buildings,” they said.
“The UK is a world leader in the development of engineered timber construction with over 500 buildings completed. As the government acknowledges, this change in regulations will have an impact on the continued innovation and development of low carbon construction, and hence on the rate at which the construction industry can tackle climate change,” they said.
“It is imperative that architects recognise the impact of their work on the environment. Waugh Thistleton Architects will continue to research, design and build using low carbon technologies and reducing our reliance on concrete and steel.”
Source: Dezeen
10 projects to watch in 2019
/in Home Page news feed, NewsCrossrail should never have made this list given its December 2018 open date, but a nine-month delay (which may now be even longer), plus a potential £2bn overspend make it impossible to leave out.
Pressures on the scheme have also cost Crossrail and HS2 chairman Sir Terry Morgan his chairmanship on both projects, while Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has come in for substantial criticism too.
Meanwhile, HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston has admitted the scheme is facing “cost pressures” as it gears up to start civils work in June 2019.
The work was scheduled to start in November 2018 before being pushed back to March 2019 and then to June.
2) Stonehenge Tunnel and Lower Thames Crossing
Highways England had its funding model for the £1.6bn A303 Stonehenge Tunnel and the £6bn Lower Thames Crossing pulled from under it by the chancellor in October, when PFI and PF2 were scrapped.
CEO Jim O’Sullivan has since said government has confirmed both projects “will be appropriately and adequately funded”, but there has been no word on what shape this funding will take.
Enabling works on both projects is already under way but this has not come to a halt as this phase of the works is being funded by public money. Mr O’Sullivan has also said the funding model change would “absolutely not” delay either project.
3) 101 George Street
The London Borough of Croydon will be home to the world’s tallest modular built structures when Tide Construction and Vision Modular complete 101 George Street in 2019.
The 550-apartment residential development will feature a 38-storey and 44-storey structure, which (barring the concrete core) will be built using modular construction.
Global real estate investors Greystar Real Estate and Henderson Park acquired the private rented sector scheme from Tide Construction in January 2018 (image credit: HTA Design).
4) Everton FC stadium
Everton Football Club’s ambitions of building a new 55,000-seater stadium moved a step closer in November, as the club launched the first-stage public consultation for the project.
In November 2017, Everton signed a deal with Peel Ports to lease land at Liverpool’s Bramley Moore Dock area for the project.
Peels hope the stadium will be one of the centrepiece schemes in its £5.5bn Liverpool Waters regeneration plan, which will see new developments stretch along Liverpool’s waterfront.
Given that the stadium project is still at a seminal stage, there have not been any cost estimates or times frames announced yet.
5) Midland Metropolitan and Royal Liverpool hospitals
Two major projects that were among several others that were singled out as having contributed to the demise of Carillion, both the Midland Metropolitan and Royal Liverpool hospital projects have had a turbulent year.
Originally funded by a PFI scheme, the £335m Royal Liverpool Hospital project has been taken over by government and will delivered by the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen NHS Trust.
Laing O’Rourke has been confirmed as the new contractor on the project and been given a completion target date of 2020.
Birmingham’s Midland Metropolitan Hospital was also originally funded by a PFI scheme, but government confirmed in August that it would fund completion of the project.
In November, Balfour Beatty won the £10m early works contract to carry out remedial work and weatherproof the structure.
The contractor for the main works is scheduled to be announced in early 2019 and completion of the project is slated for 2022.
6) 2022 Commonwealth Games, Birmingham
Birmingham will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, with contractors for two major Games-associated developments already selected.
Mace landed the £70m project manager role for the revamp of the city’s Alexander Stadium, which will act as the centrepiece venue for the Games.
Lendlease secured the £350m contract in November to act as principal contractor for the athletes’ village, which will accommodate around 6,500 athletes and officials.
Following the Games, the site will provide 1,400 new homes.
7) Spire London
Chinese state-owned developer Greenland Group’s Spire London development will become the tallest residential building in western Europe when it is completed in 2020.
Standing 771 ft tall, the £800m project will be made up 67-storeys that will house 861 apartments as well penthouses.
Aecom beat Multiplex and Balfour Beatty to the £420m job in 2017, which is based near Canary Wharf in West India Quay in London’s Docklands.
Work stopped on the project in May 2018 after the existing building on the site (Hertsmere House) was demolished and ground works was completed.
Greenland has cited “significant changes” in London’s residential sector for the pause, adding that it wants to ensure the “development reflects those changes and remains at the forefront of the market”.
8) Leeds city centre redevelopment
Leeds City Council rubber-stamped CEG’s proposed redevelopment of the city centre in April 2018.
The £350m scheme is spread across a 3.5 ha site in the centre’s South Bank (pictured), and will feature two mixed-use office, retail and leisure developments totalling up to 26,100 sq m.
CEG also requested outline planning permission to build 750 homes on the site, and a further mixed-use development of up to 103,900 sq m for office, retail, leisure, hotel, health, education and community uses.
9) The Tulip
Architect Foster + Partners submitted plans for a 305 m tall tower branded ‘The Tulip’ in November to a mixed public reception.
J Safra Group, which is owned by Brazilian Billionaire Joseph Safra, is behind the scheme. The company also owns the iconic 30 St Mary Axe (the Gherkin), which was also designed by Foster + Partners.
Primarily an office building, designs for the Tulip also feature viewing galleries, sky bridges, internal glass slides and gondola pod rides across the building’s façade.
If the project receives all of its approvals and there are no unforeseen setbacks, construction could start in 2020 and complete in 2025.
10) Elizabeth House redevelopment
HB Reavis acquired the Elizabeth House development from London & Regional and Chelsfield in May 2017, which sits adjacent to London’s Waterloo station.
The real estate developer intends to demolish the existing 1960s built Elizabeth House, and use the 945,000 sq ft site for mixed use development.
The proposed scheme will feature a 10 and 29 storey tower, that will deliver 753,000 sq ft of office space and 142 homes.
HB Reavis selected architect Allford Hall Monaghan Morris for the project in December 2017 and in June 2018, the developer brought in Argent’s head of construction Joe Martin to work on the scheme.
World’s tallest buildings of 2018 as skyscraper construction soars
/in Home Page news feed, NewsChina completed a staggering 88 buildings 200 metres or higher in 2018.
Research by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) found 143 buildings of 200 metres or more were erected around the world in 2018, down by four from the all-time record of 147 in 2017.
The tally included 18 “supertalls” (buildings at least 300 metres tall), the largest number ever built in a year.
The total number of 200-metre-and-higher buildings in the world is now 1478, an increase of 141 per cent on the 614 that existed in 2010.
The 88 skyscrapers completed by China this year is a record for the country, vaulting over the 80 it constructed in 2017.
The US came in a distant second place, with 13 tall buildings erected in 2018, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 10, Malaysia with seven, Indonesia with five, and Thailand and South Korea with three each.
China’s tally represents 61.5 per cent of the global total of tall buildings completed this year.
The south-eastern city of Shenzhen, which boasts a population of more than 12 million and connects mainland China to Hong Kong, saw 14 skyscrapers erected.
It was the largest number of 200-metre plus completions for any city for the third year in a row.
The tallest building completed in 2018 was, for the fourth year in a row, also built in China: the 528-metre Citic Tower in Beijing took out the top gong.
The soaring skyscraper didn’t come close to snatching the crown of the world’s tallest building, however, which belongs to Dubai’s 828-metre tall Burj Khalifa, built in 2010.
The extraordinary growth of tall buildings in China can be attributed to three key factors, according to Dave Platter, communications director of Chinese property website Juwai.
They are: pride, easy money, and agglomeration.
“The easiest one to explain is pride. As a nation, China is very proud of what it’s accomplished. A big beautiful building is one way of celebrating that,” Mr Platter said.
Similarly, for tenants, an address in a prestigious skyscraper is a status symbol and a way to mark personal success.
China’s tall buildings are built on “a foundation of cheap cash”, fuelled by easy credit, cheap debt, and banks’ willingness to lend to developers, Mr Platter said.
“The government wants banks to lend to spur the economy, and building stimulates the economy,” he said.
“When you’re building supertalls you’re not just employing builders, but steel workers, furniture creators, and more. It’s effective.”
Skyscrapers are also on the rise in China thanks to an “agglomeration effect” created by the country’s role as the world’s largest manufacturer and biggest exporter combined with huge, and growing, population and powerhouse economy.
“Businesses in places like that prefer to cluster together,” Mr Platter said.
“One business’ customers are another business’ employees. Everything works better when you have a denser city.”
Source: thenewdaily.com.au
Tougher regulatory framework for developers after Hackitt recommendations
/in Home Page news feed, NewsThe government has set out plans to create a tougher regulatory framework for developers and vowed to change the culture of the building industry, in a 62 page response published to the Hackitt review.
The government confirmed it is taking forward every recommendation made by Dame Judith Hackitt (pictured) in her review, published in May, of building regulations and fire safety following the Grenfell Tower tragedy last year.
As a result, existing regulators are to set to work with firms and tenants to trial more rigorous ways of monitoring developers, contractors and landlords – with an emphasis on public safety.
Successful approaches will then feed into fresh legislation to tighten-up building regulation; the government says this will include more punitive sanctions for those who disregard regulations.
James Brokenshire, housing secretary, said: “My plan for stronger, tougher rules will make sure there is no hiding place for those who flout building safety rules.”
One key recommendation from Hackitt was to create a Joint Competent Authority, formed of other public bodies, to oversee the safety of buildings throughout their life cycle.
The government confirmed it wants to build on the expertise of existing bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive, the fire and rescue authorities, and local authorities – but it has not said which body will be responsible for enforcing the stringent new regulatory regime.
In his foreword to the government’s response, Brokenshire said he is pushing for a ‘culture change’ towards a more safety-orientated construction industry.
This means government will challenge unsatisfactory firms, including through support of local authority enforcement action. It could also mean the government legislates to ensure the competence of those carrying out building work.
The government’s response to Hackitt also said a Standards Committee will be esatblished to advise on construction product and system standards, and that the government has issued a ‘call for evidence’ as part of a review into fire safety guidance in the building regulations.
Brokenshire added: “By making people responsible and more accountable for safety, we will create a more rigorous system so residents will always have peace of mind that they are safe in their own homes.”
Brokenshire identified four areas where he will implement change:
1. Creation of a stronger regulatory and accountability framework
2. Clearer standards and guidance to help a) builders and b) product manufacturers better understand what is required to keep a building safe
3. A stronger voice for residents, including more effective routes for escalation and swift redress when things go wrong
4. Fostering a ‘culture change’ in the building industry – by taking on incompetent firms through enforcement action and possibly legislation
Source: Building.co.uk
Are developers and local authorities now in competition?
/in Home Page news feed, News, ResidentialTheresa May’s removal of the local authority borrowing cap during this year’s party conference was a cause for concern among property developers.
In many ways it was a pragmatic step – one many described as long overdue. In theory it serves to diversify the housing market, stimulate industry capacity and help councils meet their affordable home requirements.
However, it also put local authorities into direct competition with small and regional developers, potentially causing a profound restructuring of the construction industry.
Councils are now able to potentially bid for development sites at the expense of local developers.
Authority advantage
Many authorities have already set up their own development companies. These are either standalones or joint ventures with recognised developers, who bring to the table a wealth of experience in marketing, styling and quality. These partnerships are important – local authorities won’t chase large-scale projects until they have gained the confidence and manpower to deliver.
In approaching development work, local authorities have a number of advantages over small and regional developers. They enjoy access to cheaper funding, as they are able to borrow from the government at very low rates. And because they can also borrow for longer periods of time, they can adopt longer-term building strategies.
Historically, funds had to be used by a specific date (often not very far in the future), which tended to prohibit financing larger developments this way, given the time it usually takes to see a large development through to completion.
However, the revised funding available to local authorities can now be drawn down over a much longer period of time. In fact, local authorities have been buying up investment property using government funding, extended at these low rates, to secure an investment yield to provide surplus income. It’s these same funding conditions that are available for development.
In addition, local authorities are better able to meet affordable housing targets, whether on the same site or on another site, as changes in the rules over compulsory purchase will speed up delivery timelines and improve viability. As council-run development companies are not profit-driven, they are able to maintain a greater focus on delivering both the housing types and numbers required.
The advantages council-run businesses have may allow them to experiment with new techniques, such as modular construction. This approach removes weather from consideration, and brings factory-style efficiency and better quality control into the production process.
Many larger construction firms already use modular production, but the industry would benefit from more development firms employing it.
What now for SMEs
Overall, local authorities have a better hand to play with following the borrowing cap’s removal.
The larger developers, with their enormous technical resources, manpower and brand value, will undoubtedly look to cover their positions by working with local authorities. Smaller builders, however, cannot always offer the same advantages.
All is by no means lost for the smaller players. One option is to move away from generic housing to more specialist markets such as retirement living, student accommodation, buy-to-rent and micro-accommodation.
In the future we could see a more diversified construction trade with a much more prominent role for the local authorities, while smaller firms place bets on specialised methods of construction and manufacture.
Source: Construction News
Industry unites for largest-ever poll on skills shortages to gauge Brexit impact
/in Home Page news feed, NewsCompanies from across the UK construction sector are being invited to take part in the largest-ever research project on skills shortages. As the UK prepares for the departure from the EU next year, construction’s leading trade and professional bodies have joined forces to build a picture of those occupations that are in greatest demand.
The survey, which will go out to more than 20,000 companies nationwide, will ask respondents to indicate which roles they are finding it difficult to recruit now and which they expect to be challenging post-Brexit.
The survey is supported by the following industry groups.
To ensure that the survey has as wide reach as possible, companies that are not members of the above organisations are also invited to take part in the survey. Evidence uncovered from the survey will be used to identify where the industry should be focussing its efforts to recruit new workers.
It will also be used to engage with the government and Migration Advisory Committee to support decision-making on appropriate migration for workers from the EU and rest of the world.
Mark Reynolds, Mace chief executive and skills lead for the Construction Leadership Council, said: “We know that our sector will need to recruit hundreds of thousands of new workers over the coming years. We want to ensure that this recruitment is supported with targeted actions by industry and government. The first step in achieving this is the development of a detailed picture of those occupations where we face the biggest challenge. I welcome the fact that the industry is unifying to develop this research and encourage all companies from across the industry to take part in the survey.”
Hannah Vickers, chief executive of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering, said: “With all the uncertainty around Brexit and its impact on skills, we need to make sure that our industry has a sound evidence base from which to argue, which is why I will be asking all our members to participate in the survey. We will need to come together in one voice and collectively make the case for construction to government, ensuring that any post-Brexit agreement secures the skills our sector needs now and into the future.”
Alasdair Reisner, chief executive at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, said: “Our members tell us that recruitment is probably their single biggest challenge. We can only overcome this by working together, targeting significant interventions based on high-quality industry data to ensure that we can recruit and train the next generation of construction workers”
Please click here if you would like to take part in the survey.
Source: Infrastructure Intelligence
Government urged to consider the environmental cost to timber over the new ban on combustible cladding
/in Home Page news feed, NewsEngineered timber products such as cross laminated timber must be exempt from the UK government’s ban on combustible cladding materials, as they are essential in the global battle against climate change, say architects.
Waugh Thistleton – co-founders Andrew Waugh and Anthony Thistleton and dRMM founding director Alex de Rijke have all urged the Government to review its legislation, which prohibits the use of timber products on the external walls of residential buildings taller than 18 metres.
Waugh and Thistleton said the new policy “demonstrates a misunderstanding of the fire performance of engineered timber”.
“We are clear that mass timber construction is not a valid target for this change and will continue to advocate for its exemption,” said the pair.
CLT safer than steel in a fire
De Rijke, who has completed many buildings using cross-laminated timber (CLT), said the material is safer than steel in a fire.
“The government is mistaken to consider engineered structural timber materials, like CLT, as highly combustible thin cladding material,” said De Rijke.
“Mass timber is slow-burning, self-charring – even self-extinguishing, structurally predictable, and does not produce deadly toxic fumes in a fire,” he continued.
De Rijke gives Kingsdale School, the UK’s first CLT building as an example.
“dRMM were the UK’s first architects for a CLT public building in 2004 – the government-funded Kingsdale School – and accordingly had to present the European material to central government, local authority and fire brigade. All were convinced then and now by the evidence that, when properly sized and detailed, CLT is not only safe in a fire, but safer than many other standard industry materials such as steel – ironically the default material for buildings over 18 metres.
“Political knee-jerk reaction is uninformed”
The new legislation, titled Final Impact Assessment: Ban on combustible materials and external wall systems, states that only materials with a European fire rating of Class A1 or A2 may be used on the external walls of tall residential buildings, and states explicitly that wood products do not come under this classification.
This is “likely to slow down the use of engineered timber in future development in the medium to long term” it claims.
The policy was introduced in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, after it was confirmed that combustible cladding contributed to the fast spread of the fire.
Architects have largely welcomed the ruling, but insist that CLT should be exempt.
“This political knee-jerk reaction is uninformed and counter-productive. Banning safe timber construction prevents the creation of healthy and safe cities, and worsens the global environmental crisis of carbon emissions due to use of materials like concrete and steel,” said De Rijke.
“The Grenfell Tower fire was a tragedy and we fully support a ban on designing or building using combustible, volatile and toxic materials. But engineered mass timber is not one of them.”
UK is world leader in engineered timber construction
Engineered timber, also known as mass timber, is increasingly being championed in architecture as a sustainable alternative to steel and concrete structural frameworks.
Waugh and Thistleton claim that, even if the ban is maintained, the material is still crucial to the future of sustainable and fire-safe construction, as it is mainly a structural material not a surface material.
The pair have worked on numerous CLT projects, including the “world’s largest cross laminated timer building”.
“The new legislation does not propose a ban on engineered timber or CLT structures; it will simply change the way we build tall timber residential buildings,” they said.
“The UK is a world leader in the development of engineered timber construction with over 500 buildings completed. As the government acknowledges, this change in regulations will have an impact on the continued innovation and development of low carbon construction, and hence on the rate at which the construction industry can tackle climate change,” they said.
“It is imperative that architects recognise the impact of their work on the environment. Waugh Thistleton Architects will continue to research, design and build using low carbon technologies and reducing our reliance on concrete and steel.”
Source: Dezeen
Construction output grew 2.1% in 3rd quarter
/in Home Page news feed, NewsConstruction output is continuing to recover following a relatively weak start to the year, increasing by 1.7% in September 2018 and by 2.1% for the third quarter.
The 2.1% growth in GB construction output in Quarter 3 (July to September) 2018 followed a fall of 1.6% in the first quarter and an increase of 0.8% in Quarter 2 (April to June) 2018.
Growth in the third quarter of 2018 was driven by all new work which increased by 2.8%, and repair & maintenance which increased by 1.0%, according to Office National Statistics data for Great Britain.
Between August and September 2018, construction output increased by 1.7%, driven by a 2.8% increase in all new work and partly offset by a fall of 0.3% in repair & maintenance.
The level of the all work series for September 2018 reached £13,995 million – a record high since the monthly records began in January 2010.
Construction output increased by £872m in Q3 2018 compared with Q2 2018. The most notable contribution to growth came from private housing new work, which increased by £507m between Q2 and Q3.
Non-housing repair & maintenance and infrastructure also grew strongly, by £230m and £191m respectively.
In contrast, downward pressure on construction output in Q 3 2018 came from private commercial new work, private housing repair & maintenance and private industrial new work, which had falls in the three-month on three-month series. These decreased on Q2 by £162m, £124m and £60m respectively.
Blane Perrotton, managing director of the national property consultancy and surveyors Naismiths, commented: “The construction industry is enjoying an Indian Summer. True, the surge in output in the third quarter is flattered by comparison with the grim decline of the first quarter and the plodding indifference of the second. But this is real, and welcome, progress.
“House-building retains its crown as both poster child and ‘get out of jail’ card for the industry as a whole. House-builders delivered a half billion boost to the industry in the third quarter, but elsewhere the growth was patchy at best. Infrastructure work remains in positive territory but output is down, with contractors focusing on finishing existing projects rather than starting new ones.
“Among developers there is a widening confidence gap between the overheated southeast and other areas where demand is stronger and margins better. Despite a marked improvement in the Brexit mood music this week, months of deadlocked negotiations have choked investor appetite. Unless and until the political limbo is ended, the industry will continue its holding pattern of two steps forward and one step back.”
Source: UK Construction Week
Part-exchanges cost McCarthy & Stone
/in Home Page news feedMcCarthy & Stone has seen its profits fall by a third in the past year due to increase build costs and an increased reliance on part-exchanges with customers.
For the year to 31st August 2018 McCarthy & Stone’s underlying operating profit decreased by 30% to £68m (FY17: £96m) while profit before tax decreased to £58m (FY17: £92m).
This reduction in profitability was mainly driven by the slowdown in sales, reduced margins, build cost increases, increased usage of part‑exchange to counteract subdued market conditions, additional marketing activity and an increase in operating costs, the board said.
Legal completions dipped to 2,134 units for the year (FY17: 2,302).
Part-exchange accounted for 35% of all McCarthy & Stone’s sales in the financial year 2018, up from 27% in FY17. However, it has now brought its part-excahnge scheme in-house, saving £7m a year.
Chief executive John Tonkiss, who took over from Clive Fenton in September, said: “During the year, we conducted a full strategic review of the business and in September 2018 announced our new transformation strategy. This new strategy represents a significant shift in the business mindset away from growth and towards increasing our return on capital employed and operating margin. Our focus now is on creating a more efficient business capable of delivering improved shareholder returns, while leveraging our longer term strategic opportunities. This includes increasing customer appeal by offering a broader choice of tenure options, as well as increased flexibility and affordable offerings.
“Whilst it has been a challenging year for the Group and we were faced with particularly difficult market conditions with the level of UK monthly housing transactions showing a decline of around 40% since 2015, we delivered full year revenue of £672m (FY17: £661m) and brought 68 (FY17: 49) high-quality developments to market.”
The annual results include £2m of exceptional costs due to third-party advisory fees in relation to the new strategy.
Source: Construction Index
Construction growth rising
/in Home Page news feed, NewsUK construction growth has risen through October, thanks in part to an upturn in civil engineering activity.
The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index rose in October to 53.2. This was up on the 52.1 reported in September and against the no-change reading of 50. For the uninitiated, a figure below 50 indicates contraction.
Having dropped off somewhat through August and September, civil engineering activity grew at its quickest pace since July 2017. Housing and commercial construction also expanded, albeit at a slower rate. New business volumes rose more slowly however, with construction firms citing intense competition and delayed decisions from clients as the root causes. Worryingly, business optimism fell to a near six-year low.
Understandably, input purchasing increased more cautiously – at its slowest rate in seven months. And yet, delivery times for construction products and materials continued to stretch, with firms reporting stock shortages at builders’ merchants.
Trevor Balchin, Economics Director at IHS Markit, said: “Although total UK construction activity rose at a stronger pace in October, the underlying survey data paint a less rosy picture for the sector towards the end of the year.”
According to Balchin: “Construction firms continued to raise headcounts at a strong pace, suggesting they are not expecting an imminent contraction in demand. That said, if the new orders and expectations indices remain at current levels or fall further, the employment index could also drift back towards the 50.0 no-change mark.”
Duncan Brock, Group Director at CIPS, added: “These results point to the sector getting stuck in the mud as we approach March 2019, and with ongoing supplier delays and stock shortages, the sector may not be able to respond quickly enough anyway should there by a sudden upturn in fortunes.”
Source: UK Construction Week / UK Construction Media
Housing shake up in the 2018 budget
/in NewsMore help for first-time buyers and plans for homes on the High Street have been announced.
Presenting the Autumn budget, Chancellor Philip Hammond said a ‘turning point in our nation’s recovery’ has been reached and vowed that the era of austerity was ending.
Most first-time buyers of shared ownership properties will now no longer pay stamp duty, under the measures.
Chancellor Philip Hammond also said that the Help to Buy scheme would end in 2023 – an extension of two years.
Mr Hammond said the housing market needed to be fixed, adding it was key to boosting UK productivity and living standards.
The UK is facing a shortage of housing. The number of homes on the market is at a 10 year low and fewer people are taking out mortgages.
Mr Hammond promised an extra £500m for the Housing Infrastructure Fund – a pot of money that local councils can apply to for help with building homes.
This extra cash should help build 650,000 more homes, he said.
The government has also struck deals with nine housing associations to deliver 13,000 homes across England.
And the chancellor wants to see more SMEs – small and medium-sized enterprises – building houses, so has announced up to £1bn of British business bank guarantees.
Mr Hammond also said he was providing money to help up to 500 neighbourhoods to allocate land for housing and sell the homes to local people at a discount.
He also confirmed that the cap on councils, which limits their ability to borrow money to build council houses, would be scrapped. Theresa May had already promised the cap would be scrapped in her Conservative Party conference speech.
Mr Hammond’s announcements come after analysis earlier this year suggested that house-building across half of England was slower than it was before the 2008 financial crash.
Source: BBC news