Housing Focus – Page 4
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FeaturesPreview: Vince Cable speaks to Building
Ahead of Building’s full interview with Vince Cable - in print and online from Friday - read an excerpt of the Lib Dem leader’s views on Carillion, Heathrow and housing
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FeaturesLocal elections: could Labour force a shift in housing and planning policy?
The party’s push to the left could change housing and planning policy – but are the plans as radical as they sound?
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FeaturesInto the unknown: a housebuilding journey
Every great housebuilding era in the last 175 years has featured in our pages. Here, Joey Gardiner asks if the next 25 years will witness a radical rethink in order to hit the ambitious goal of 300,000 homes a year
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FeaturesOxford v Cambridge: do you fancy Oxford's chances?
Oxford has great hopes for its rowing crew’s performance in this weekend’s Boat Race – but are Oxfordshire local authorities equally primed to deliver on a mammoth £215m housing deal from central government?
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FeaturesAnalysis: the rise of the mid-rise
Dame Judith Hackitt’s review into fire safety – prompted by the Grenfell disaster – will have consequences for every aspect of how we build homes. Many of the potential changes will favour the medium-sized building
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FeaturesAnalysis: Housing benefits
Help to Buy is the government’s big leg-up to help housebuilders increase output. So news of ‘obscene’ executive pay along with scandals over leaseholds and defects are not going down well
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FeaturesContractors' Salary Survey 2017: Taking a rain check
Construction salaries are growing faster than most sectors as employers struggle to fill skills gaps, but worries over job security mean people are wary of making a move
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FeaturesHousebuilders' Salary Survey 2017: On the up and up
With fears of a housebuilding downturn in abeyance, skills shortages are helping drive up salaries, especially outside London
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FeaturesSafety in numbers
The Definitive Guideline to health and safety sentencing was brought into force last year, signalling larger and more discretionary fines. What is its impact so far on SMEs in particular and what does it signal for safety in the sector?
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FeaturesPFI: In the balance
With the risk of taking on work rising and the pipeline of promised projects yet to materialise, is the fate of PFI as a funding mechanism up in the air?
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FeaturesCarillion: A cautionary tale
The UK’s second-biggest contractor has posted some pretty alarming figures recently, from its £695m debt to its £845m writedown. But how did it get into this state, how can it get out again, and what does it mean for the wider industry?
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FeaturesDUP: Done deal?
With the Conservatives and DUP agreeing increased funding for the region, and a sizeable chunk of it going to infrastructure projects, Northern Ireland looked to be the big winner from June’s election. But does ongoing political turmoil put much of this construction work at risk?
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FeaturesHousing Project of the Year shortlist
A Victorian chapel, rooftop houses, and a playground in the sky are just some of the innovations that feature in this year’s Building Awards housing shortlist, showcasing the country’s best residential projects
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FeaturesTop 150 contractors: Whatever the weather
This year’s contractors and housebuilders Top 150 shows the sector enjoying reasonably benign market conditions but remaining fearful of the uncertainties of Brexit and volatile domestic politics
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FeaturesBattersea: ‘The toughest project in the world'
Battersea Power Station’s redevelopment has not had an easy time of it lately, with profit margins plummeting and costs soaring. The development company behind the scheme speaks exclusively to Building about the scale of the problems
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FeaturesSpencer McCarthy: All in the family
Churchill boss Spencer McCarthy explains why his business model works and why the firm – one of the UK’s biggest providers of private housing for the elderly – will be sticking with traditional designs for its homes
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FeaturesQatar: ‘This dispute has escalated beyond any reasonably sane level’
With tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and its allies rising by the week, many are fearful of the impact this row could have on construction companies working in the Gulf state, the World Cup 2022 preparations, and Qatari investment in UK projects
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FeaturesIn Grenfell’s shadow
After the immediate shock of the Grenfell Tower fire, local authorities and housing associations are trying to work out what it all means for the social housing sector. Joey Gardiner reports
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FeaturesGrenfell Tower: Heated debate
The Grenfell Tower fire has led to calls for fire safety regulations to be examined. But this was not the first warning sign that the current rules are not fit for purpose. What can be done to make sure a tragedy on this scale doesn’t happen again?
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FeaturesGrenfell Tower: Construction facts
Building’s technical editor considers what is known about the building and the recent upgrade