Opinion – Page 382
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Comment
Pull together
The current market conditions are forcing clients and their supply chains to review costs and tender processes. However, as an industry we must resist any return to adversarial, lowest price procurement processes
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Comment
Iconic architecture
Building (13 March, page 38) says the era of the icon is over and predicts more modest buildings post-recession. But you interview only architects. Why not some of the clients?
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CommentSending out an SOS
When Alistair Darling delivered his pre-Budget report in November, most firms were hoping that it would launch a lifeboat they could clamber aboard to wait out the worst of the recession
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Comment
HCA makes hay while the rain pours
On the face of it the achievement of the Homes and Communities Agency looks impressive - 50,000 affordable homes delivered "despite" the downturn and targets ticked off as met with the exception of one.Now, I am an advocate for the establishment of the HCA, but I am also an advocate ...
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Comment
Official figures put house prices 14.2% below peak
The latest official figures produced by Communities and Local Government to gauge house prices suggest the decline in prices accelerated in February to an annual rate of -12.3%, which puts them 14.2% down from peak.No particular surprise there. But there is a scrap of hope in the figures for those ...
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Comment
Is the housing market out of the woods?
More encouraging news for those involved in selling houses came from the surveyors' body RICS today with the release of its latest housing market survey.The survey adds further weight to the argument that the catastrophic collapse in house prices has been arrested, with the balance between surveyors reporting falls in ...
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Comment
Experian revises down its forecast for construction output
Industry forecasters at Experian followed their rivals and cut expectations of construction activity over the coming three years.The predicted decline in output in 2009 is now put at 7.8% followed by a slight drop of 1.7% in 2010 and a bounce back up of 1.6% in 2011.This puts the peak-to-trough ...
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Comment
House price futures on the rise
It has been a good spring so far for house builders in terms of sentiment if not in terms of actual sales. This is in sharp contrast to last year when market devastation created more ashen-faced residential developers than you could shake a stick at.There has been a bit of ...
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CommentAustralia's grand opera house
Sydney is finally going to restore Jørn Utzon’s awesome opera house to his original design – but there is a big price to pay
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CommentNet Worth... buys a pint for Building
For once it wasn’t Building digging deep into the corporate pocket to stand a few rounds – it was the jolly folk at Net Worth, on the occasion of the debut of their construction and property networking club
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CommentHansom: Detailed accounts
All the latest from London’s least-publicised £425m tower, the RICS’ £45 page-turner, Steve Morgan’s £10 football club, and my £5 flutter on the Grand National
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Comment
Impact: zero
Clive Soley’s assertion that Heathrow and London’s economy is under threat if a third runway is not built cannot go unchallenged (27 March, page 42)
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Comment
Lest we forget...
Do you know where the war memorials are in your area? Are they being well looked after or have you noticed that they are falling into disrepair? Have you tried to contact the relevant authority about maintenance?
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Comment
Sound education
Acoustics within schools remains widely overlooked, despite the introduction of BB93, the government standards for the acoustic design of schools. This needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency
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CommentWhat about us?
It’s all very well trying to kickstart our moribund economy by chucking money at the public sector, but what about the poor blighters who don’t work in it?
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CommentU, V - or W?
There was a definite mood of optimism at the Building Awards last Thursday. Lots of people had a real reason to celebrate, of course, but the mood change was caused by more than champagne
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Comment
Taylor Wimpey: How long before it does the 'rights' thing?
When Taylor Wimpey announced that it had all but dotted the i's and crossed the t's on its £1.6bn refinancing deal yesterday, there was a palpable sense of "thank God for that" around the City.The 10-month marathon had been brought to an end and when one deal insider was asked ...
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Comment
We're in the worst recession on record, says Construction Products Association
The spring round of forecasting has brought more gloom with the Construction Products Association taking an even dimmer view of industry prospects than in the winter.On the basis of the current data available the materials producers' body predicts a drop of almost £15 billion in construction work at current prices ...