Opinion – Page 636
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Where will we live tomorrow?
First transport. Then hospitals and schools. And now housing. Our latest national crisis is the shortage of affordable new homes. London is worst affected, but even Reading's prices are out of reach of nurses and teachers. Once again, we are paying for decades of underinvestment. At a time when the ...
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Who owns Russia now?
Doing business in Russia became a lot easier in January after the publication of a "land code". Not that there aren't one or two little problems left …
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Planned obsolescence
The development industry believes Lord Falconer's planning green paper is ill thought-out and will, ironically, make planning applications even more complicated
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Variation, and a theme
If you sign a long-term deal with a client, congratulations. And if you haven't ensured you can keep up your end, commiserations. You're at the mercy of fate …
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Don't get cute
Go to court with finely honed legal arguments that contradict the spirit of the Construction Act, and you can expect the kind of treatment ABB got in this case …
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Biologically better
When is a project like a biology lesson? When clients have to distinguish between parasitic, value-sucking consultants and their symbiotic integrated cousins
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Mightier than the word
Oral promises, as we know, are not worth the paper they're not written on. But what about minutes, fee notes and schedules? What legal force do they have?
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How Part L will change your life
Nick Raynsford's decision to make buildings greener by overhauling the Building Regulations was always going to have dramatic consequences for the industry. When first mooted in 2000, it threatened everything from masonry construction to the dear old lightbulb – and might have forced the Queen to fit PVCu windows in ...
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The hidden killer
Asbestos is far from old news: it can still be found in 4.4 million buildings. Soon, building owners and operators will have a duty to manage asbestos risks
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Hansom at MIPIM
Parties, yachts, helicopters, outrageous prices, killer whales, Mel Gibson's toilet – it's just work, work, work in Cannes …
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Face the facts
When it comes to inner city social housing, boring, old-fashioned public procurement is the most amazingly good deal for the taxpayer. Unlike the PFI …
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Questions of identity
Are you thinking of turning your firm into a limited liability partnership? If so, you should be aware that the transition involves some fundamental changes …
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Sock it to 'em, RICS
The RICS has just come out with some advice for the courageous people who take on the role of adjudicator. Trouble is, it doesn't quite know what to tell them …
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In it up to their necks
Water companies have largely escaped liability where sewers have caused repeated flooding but from now they'll have to fix the problem or pay up
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No great Sheikhs
A case in the High Court provides an interesting angle on the obedience owed by parties to an adjudicator's decision. Let's hope they appreciate it in Qatar …
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How far we've come
Constructing the Team suggested about 50 ways to modernise the construction industry. Eight years on, most of these have been implemented
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Have you noticed the time?
Contractors can have their work cut out trying to get an extension of time. But sometimes the stringent conditions placed on them can backfire on the employer