More Comment – Page 525
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Comment
Now here's a thing
Might the solution to the Olympic officials' worries over filling the skills gap left by returning Polish workers be staring them in the face?There's a property-led recession in Ireland that is freeing up construction workers at a fair rate of knots?Mind you, perhaps they need look no further than our ...
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Treasury faces £4.5 billion hole as house sales and stamp duty receipts slump
The steady decline in the UK housing market has been underlined by the latest numbers to come out of HM Revenue & Customs. They show sales of homes dropping to 72,000 in August, compared with 164,000 last August.The figures show a continuing slide that not only highlights the collapse in ...
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Comment
Why house prices indexes seem insane and short-term forecasts are futile
The Council of Mortgage Lenders is bang on when it says it is futile to try to update its house price forecast.Frankly it is probably sufficient to say that houses are worth less than they were a year ago and in a year's time they will probably be worth a ...
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CommentA question of charisma
Some regenerated areas become fizzing centres of creative energy whereas others are, well, a bit dull. But what is it that makes the difference? Amanda Levete has a theory …
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CommentNovation: Wise precautions
If you’re a contractor and you’re asked to accept the novation of a consultant, make sure it really is going to be joining you – and be careful which form you use
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CommentStanding up to the mob
Discussion about the merits and demerits of immigration usually takes the form of endless tabloid flood warnings. Nick Raynsford urges us to put the other side of the argument
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Comment
Transparency in awarding contracts
The CaseOn 15 March 2007, the London Borough of Newham (“Newham”) advertised its intention to enter into framework contracts for the procurement, maintenance and management of private sector leased properties. The tender evaluation criteria stated that the contracts would be awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender, ...
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CommentCivil Engineering vs VGC Construction: Did you hear the one about…?
… the subcontractor who put in a claim for £300k with no supporting evidence? Well the parties ended up telling it to the judge, who supplied a rather surprising punch line
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CommentBuilding buys a pint … for Bompas & Parr
It’s a Thursday night, I’m in Dalston, and I’m scared. The “architectural food curators” Bompas & Parr have brought me to an Egyptian ballroom in the middle of east London, stuck a fez on my head and popped a miracle berry in my mouth.
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Comment
Claims for falling property values: A turn for the worse
If a housing scheme is delayed and the property market slumps, can developers recover damages for the decrease in value?
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CommentPI insurance rates: Talk is cheap
Rates for professional indemnity insurance are going sky high, but Lance Rigby says you can bring them down by explaining your business to your insurer
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Who’s suing whom — A round-up of the writs in the Technology and Construction Court
London Basement vs Thames Water Construction firm London Basement Company has launched a legal battle against Thames Water Utilities over a water leak that it says damaged one of its projects.
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Comment
No point arguing
Information on sustainable products is often confusing and contradictory, as illustrated by the greener-than-thou spat raging between the timber lobby and the PVCu industry (5 September, page 68).
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CommentPut out that fear
In response to your story, “Insurers warn of fire risk from green roofs” (5 August, page 12), there is little, if any, evidence to suggest that green roofs significantly increase the risk of fire.
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Comment
Show me the money
While an A-Z of Construction Law cannot expect to cover all angles, I would take issue with a point made by Michael Conroy Harris in his latest chapter – J for Jurisdiction (5 September page 63).
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Comment
A calculated gamble
I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but if the Homes and Communities Agency misses its 2016 target by say 500,000 homes, then we have got to build 375,000 homes a year from 2016, which would be an increase of 50% on 2007.
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CommentWebmaster review: Constructing Excellence website
The built environment lobby group has relaunched its website and even joined Building in the world of Twitter
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CommentMy digital life — Martin Clowes
The boss of Elementa Consulting climbs mountains, reads war tales, sails boats and owns old vinyl records, and likes any technology that fits in with these passions
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CommentEat, drink, fall overboard
It’s Cowes again, where gentleman are free to do what gentleman do best – sail close to the wind, sink pontoons, tumble arse-first down hatches and beer-first off the back of boats