Opinion – Page 347
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Comment
We’ll be getting off relatively lightly if the construction workforce drops by 400,000
The latest forecast from the Construction Skills Network (CSN) suggests that the current recession in construction will have led to a drop of about 400,000 in the number employed by the industry once job shedding ends in early 2011.This would mean a drop of about 15% in the workforce. That ...
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Comment
Mum: Are we out of recession yet?
You could feel the uneasiness among economists yesterday when the release of official statistics showed that the UK had just scraped enough oomph together in the final quarter of last year to stage a lacklustre return to growth.Most economists had expected the no-growth bar to be cleared by some margin. ...
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Comment
The end is nigh?
If two consecutive quarters of declining GDP is most economists’ definition of a recession; how come only one quarter’s growth at 0.1% seems good enough to mark the end of it?Regardless of the semantics; yesterday’s announcement of the provisional return of economic growth does illustrate the remaining fragility of the ...
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CommentStuck in the middle
The general purpose contractor that turns over £70-200m and bases its success on good relations with local councils and health authorities in a particular region has long been the backbone of Britain’s building industry
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CommentAmanda Levete: why architects know best
Give Britain’s best architects the final say in what gets built. Amanda Levete explains why this modest proposal is neither elitist, utopian, nor politically impossible
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CommentBuilding buys a pint … for BSVP
Sitting sociably round a pub table, nursing our drinks, talk turns quickly to socialising; or rather, social networking. Both Steve and Justin, with their array of social sites (think LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) chide Dave for his paltry cyber friendships
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Comment
Exceptional circumstances: Construction Act
A recent decision by Mr Justice Ramsey means that the Construction Act can be applied to more activities than you may have thought
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CommentHansom: The home front
In Blighty this week, the propaganda machine turns defeat into victory, the government frets about who’s listening in and some of our old friends are (temporarily) missing in action
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Comment
Where credit’s due
It was interesting to read the spin put on the discussions between the RICS and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) by Max Crofts, president of the RICS (8 January, page 27)
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Comment
Down with this sort of thing
I have been a supporter of the construction industry for over 50 years yet regularly we shoot ourselves in the foot
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CommentA pod for all the people
I was pleased to see that Balfour Beatty implemented the use of pods in the Birmingham hospital project (11 December, page 43)
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Comment
Show your working
Regrettably, the money won’t go as far as your article on home improvements suggests (8 January, page 42)
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Comment
Not from the horse’s mouth
Your story about Laing O'Rourke (15 January, page 9) could give the impression that the Homes and Communities Agency revealed details to your magazine about this company’s plans for pre-fabricated housing
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Comment
Safety in danger
Let there be no doubt about it – accident prevention “corners” are being scaled back (“Experts warn recession may cause on-site danger”, 6 January, building.co.uk)
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Comment
Rules of the games: Olympic health and safety
Not content with running one of the biggest projects in UK history, the Olympic Delivery Authority also wants to overhaul health and safety standards
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CommentThe real big freeze
If you think this winter has been cold, just wait until you feel the chill down the spine when a newly elected Tory party starts slashing public spending
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Comment
It's a long wait yet for commercial construction upswing
Each time a commercial property developer hints at making a move in the market I am confronted with the same question by those with an interest in construction work: Is this the start of the upswing?This question is usually followed by the suggestion that developers must be keen to build ...
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Comment
Reasons to be careful – December’s higher than expected inflation
Consumer Price Inflation at 2.9% in December and up from 1.9% a month earlier... mmm... that’s not what the experts expected. Not by a long way.This morning’s story from Reuters published ahead of the inflation figures had its poll of experts plumping for inflation at 2.6%.No doubt there will be ...