Opinion – Page 424
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Comment
Commencing arbitration: Taylor Woodrow Construction vs RMD Kwikform Ltd
This was an application under sections 32 and 45 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (“the Act”) to determine a preliminary point of law in relation to arbitral proceedings.The claimant engaged the defendant for the design, supply and erection of scaffolding. In 2000 the scaffolding collapsed onto adjoining roads and onto ...
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CommentOne for all
Sir Michael Latham An overall site agreement for the Olympic park would help bring the project in on budget. But it’s going to be up to contractors and unions to see if they can set one up
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CommentOpen mike: Sun seeking
Instead of relying on small-scale on-site renewables, Europe could benefit from importing solar power from countries that have plenty of it, says David Weight
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Comment
Ignorance is bliss: but it’s no defence
With the OFT breathing down our necks, it would be wise not to get caught out on competition rules because you didn’t know they existed
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CommentVAT: Gimme a break
With margins being squeezed in the current economic climate, developers cannot afford to ignore valuable tax breaks. But, Jackie Richmond asks, what are they and where do you find them?
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Comment
Construction recession looks likely this year
On the face of it things look fairly steady in construction land. Thanks to a strong showing from publicly-funded work and a timely rise in private non-housing repair and maintenance, construction output remained steady in the first quarter of 2008, despite falls in private housing and commercial work.It is no ...
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CommentBuilding buys a pint for … Millbridge
Venue: Pitcher & Piano in Mayfair Ambience: young, bustling and heavily mirrored after-work chainDrinks drunk: 12 pints of Kronenbourg, three white wines, two vodka and cokes, two cokes, two fluffy cocktails, three pints of Guinness, one gin and tonic, three sparkling waters
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CommentSecret things
Another perilous descent into the turbid underworld of the industry’s psyche, where we discover Bouygues’ secret shame, spy on Sir Terry Farrell and make a surprising discovery in the underwear department
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Comment
Adjudication matters
It was interesting to see that adjudication for householders carrying out construction works on their properties is catching on (9 May, page 15).
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Comment
Bravo for builder-bashing
Sir John Egan is spot on with his castigation of housebuilders, but not all of them I should add.
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Comment
The job's the thing
With reference to your consultants’ salary guide feature (16 May, page 42), you herald surveying as being “where the real money is”
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Comment
Cutting corners: a warning
I read with interest your Open Mike column about ditching the main contractor (9 May, page 41). As head of development monitoring at Malcolm Hollis, I have also seen developers appointing works packages or trade contractors directly to save the main contractor on cost – and it is not just ...
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CommentWonders & blunders
Tony Benn finds peace and tranquility in the heart of New York, before going on the warpath against an old foe
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Comment
Halifax figures confirm house prices are plunging
The average house prices has been falling by £4,000 monthly over the past three months as the pace of decline in the market has accelerated, according to HBOS figures. In May house prices were down 2.4%.So, if you had your house valued at £199,600 last August (the peak reached by ...
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Comment
Wave of job cuts spells more gloom for construction
The Government's confidence booster of "we'll be okay look at our strong labour market" is now starting to look rather shaky.The last pillar of hope for those keen to stop a collapse in house prices was strong employment. That prop appears to be wobbling.They say that the last thing companies ...
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Comment
Batten down the hatches here is a construction recession warning
The buyers body CIPS registered the fastest monthly fall in construction activity since it began surveying the industry in 1997. The figure for activity in the housing market was pitifully low.The survey of purchasers sets "no change" at 50, below that is decline, above increase. Well at 43.9 in May ...
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Comment
20% hike in two years in cost of home improvement work
Figures from the cost information service BCIS point to an inflation-led threat to the housing repair and maintenance market, as prices rise 20% over two years.Energy inflation, skills shortage and rocketing global materials prices are combining to pump up inflation just at a time when may households are considering staying ...