Opinion – Page 426
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CommentWeb watch: Two peas in a pod
Our learned friends Tony Bingham and Rudi Klein kick off our first ever podcast series this week with a debate on the future of the Construction Act.
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CommentA brave face
We don’t have to pretend that things are better than they are, but if we want to boost people’s confidence in our industry, we should go easy on the handwringing
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System? What system?
Egan thought things went wrong in construction because we were all at each other’s throats. Actually, we get on fine – it’s the way we manage projects that floors us
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Let’s be reasonable
Insurance companies are notorious for finding ways not to pay out on their policies, but that may be about to change
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CommentRecession busting
With the last recession a distant memory for many, perhaps it’s time to remind ourselves of the steps we should be taking in case things get a bit tougher in the coming months
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Comment
BCIS predicts bright future for civil engineering
After several years of decline in construction output in the civil engineering market the demand is set to grow in all infrastructure sectors over the coming years, according to the BCIS Civil Engineering Market Report.
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Comment
Official figures show construction solid as GDP slows in first quarter
The construction industry was one of the stronger elements of the UK economy in the first quarter of 2008, according to official figures that show the annual growth of GDP (gross domestic product) slowing to 2.5%.According to the ONS figures construction grew 0.5% in the first quarter and stood 2.9% ...
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CommentBuilding buys a pint … for Adams Kara Taylor
Guy can’t believe his bad luck. He is meeting a construction magazine for drinks and finds himself sat between two women rabbeting on about the Sex and the City movie.
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CommentVarious positions
Mark Clare is staying, Ross Brewer is leaping, Lawrie Haynes and Boris Johnson can’t be seen, a female engineer is attracting attention and the Department of Health is getting hot under the collar
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Comment
John the Evangelist
Your leader (9 May, page 3), coupled with Sir John Egan’s personal comments (page 32), rightfully acknowledge the progress that has been made in implementing some of the recommendations of Rethinking Construction.
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Comment
Not like the nineties
The £200m package to buy unsold homes proposed in the draft Queen’s Speech is the government taking money from housing associations (16 May, page 10).
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Keeping them keen
Staff retention is and has for a long time been a major issue in the construction industry.
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CommentRogue Customers
Clients who don’t pay can ruin small businesses and wreck the lives of their owners. James Clegg and Roxane McMeeken listen to the stories of three builders who think it’s high time something was done about the rogue customer
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CommentWhat happens in the second act?
After what has seemed like endless dithering on the part of the government, and endless lobbying campaigns by the interested parties, the reform of the 1996 Construction Act is finally on its way.
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Comment
A fall but no collapse in buy-to-let borrowers
The latest figures on buy-to let mortgages from the Council of Mortgages Lenders do provide some comfort for house builders tackling an increasingly tough market.There were fears that buy-to-let borrowing would collapse with the first whiff of a slowdown in house prices, but the figures suggest otherwise. The figures suggest ...
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Comment
Council of Mortgage Lenders forecasts house prices to fall by 7%
As a new consensus appears to be forming that house prices will fall between 5% and 10% this year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has updated its forecast for house price growth with a prediction of a 7% fall.CML is also expecting to see repossessions grow from 27,100 in 2007 ...
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Comment
Pay growth slows in construction
The latest official figures on average weekly earnings suggests a slowdown in pay earned in construction.Average weekly earnings in the first quarter of 2008 were a shade down on the final quarter of last year and the monthly figures suggest a drop in the rate of growth in earnings, ...
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Comment
Latest property transaction figures confirm slump in house sales
The official figures for property transactions worth more than £40,000 (mainly houses) show a drop of 31% in the four months to April compared with the same period a year ago.The data shows just how hope of a spring bounce in the housing market have been dashed.