More Comment – Page 477
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Comment
The government's greenprint
Or, at least that was the case until last week, when it published its carbon transition plan: practical proposals to make just about everything more energy-efficient. The aim is to reduce carbon emission in 2020 to 34% of their level in 1990.The plan should be broadly welcomed, largely because it ...
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Drawing a line in the sand
Architect Aukett Fitzroy Robinson was forced to make another uncomfortable disclosure to the City this week.Last week boss Nicholas Thompson had a judge wagging a finger in his face about the “delayed communication” of the exit of a senior employee to a client. This week brought news that one of ...
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Comment
Yes: minister
The recent publication of “One death is too many”, a report into the underlying causes of construction fatal accidents by the secretary of state for work and pensions produced welcome recommendations
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Comment
Local slate for local houses
Since the last slate quarry in Scotland closed in 1955, architects and builders carrying out maintenance and restoration and new developments in conservation areas have struggled to meet specifications for traditional roofs. It is also a problem for homeowners making repairs
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CommentBurning questions
The pictures and news reports concerning the tragic fire in Lakanal House in Camberwell show how lives can suddenly be lost when fire breaks out. The owners and regulators must establish swiftly what happened and what went wrong
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Comment
Let's keep it simple
I am responding to the article “Two members quit safety group to maintain independence” (26 June, page 15) on behalf of the Construction Clients’ Group (CCG)
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Comment
PAYE in the neck
Although I think I can understand the reasons behind the government pushing for all workers to be taxed on a PAYE basis (17 July, page 9), its failure to appreciate the implications is testimony to its inability to leave the construction industry alone
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Comment
It's a builder's life
I have been in the building trade for nearly 30 years and have lost count of how many thousands of pounds I have been swindled out of by rogue customers
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CommentWhere are we now? How architecture is understood and consumed
The way architecture is produced, consumed and understood in the 21st century has been transformed – for better and worse – by digital technology
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CommentBrewing up
This week, insights into the industry’s relationship with tea, as rustled up by housing ministers and supped by site monitors, but rejected by stereotype-defying labourers, who prefer dancing
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CommentAll for one: The OGC's contract decision
Tony Bingham claims the Office of Government Commerce was wrong to endorse the NEC3 contract over others, but in reality this is just the standardisation he was seeking
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Comment
Electro-shock blues
What happens if an electricity company refuses to lay cables on a developer’s neighbour’s land without its consent? A lot of strife for the developer, that’s what
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CommentOn getting a thick ear: Trinity Walk, Wakefield
This is a story about a busted developer and a contract that contained a pay-when-paid clause. The lessons that emerge from it are harsh, but it’s a good idea to learn them
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CommentThe government's greenprint
The government has spent far too long cooking up ever more ambitious carbon targets without doing anything much to meet them
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CommentDamage limitation: Latent defects insurance
Latent defects insurance is a useful back-up for collateral warranties – it can ensure problems get fixed even if the contractor has gone bust
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CommentWonders & blunders - 24 July 2009
Bill Price has happy childhood memories of discovering structural design at Coventry cathedral. But the London Research Institute? He can’t even bear to look at it
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Comment
Stop kicking Dubai
I am fed up of people gloating about Dubai going belly up. Rod Liddle’s piece in the Times this weekend said nothing new and got certain facts wrong. The piece is a prime example of the Dubai baiting that’s been done to death lately.The worst thing about the article is ...
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Comment
The spike mystery solved...well maybe
Following the poser I posted on that rather surprising spike in planning times for residential schemes, I have had a few questions and a few suggestions.The pint for the first (and sensible) response going to Alasdair Reisner, Head of Industry Affairs at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association.But by way of ...
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Comment
Rightmove data suggests a testing time for house prices
One figure in the commentary alongside the latest set of Rightmove statistics caught my eye - apparently there has been a 20% increase in sellers coming to the market compared with the previous year.Rightmove puts this down to resurgence in home movers putting their current homes on the market with ...