Opinion – Page 466
-
Comment
Managed to death
A Treasury crackdown on tax avoidance may spell the end for ‘managed service’ companies. Rebecca Power explains what this will mean for the firms that use them
-
CommentModified rapture
Contrary to media speculation, the proposals in the planning white paper do not mark the end of democracy. In fact, as long as they’re not watered down, some of them are rather sensible
-
-
-
CommentGroovy times
We score some primo grass this week and, between bursts of coughing, drink enough booze to hospitalise ourselves before strapping on an axe and delivering a child. Alright. Yeah. Baby.
-
Comment
No mercy for architects
Tony Bingham may have been too hard on the clients who took their architect to the cleaners after he failed to carry out his fundamental duty of co-ordinating the works (25 May, pages 64-65).
-
Comment
Rogue testing
The industry is going through a huge change in respect of envelope testing, with thermal imaging as the new kid on the block. I wish to warn your readers not to be too enthusiastic in using its practitioners.
-
Comment
At the risk of banging on …
An average of 3 million UK households persistently suffer from noisy neighbours – a rise of 31% over the past five years, new research claims.
-
Comment
An uncanny likeness
As an avid reader of Building I noticed a picture (18 May, page 60) captioned “Calatrava’s Tenerife opera house”.
-
-
CommentToo much of a good thing
Back in September 1988, Building ran a series entitled “Crisis? What crisis?” arguing that the market was overheating.
-
CommentStrict time
Surely a contractor has a right to claim for an extension of time if the delay was the fault of the employer? Well no, not necessarily, according to the third edition of the NEC
-
CommentIn safe hands
With its CDM webinar and awards coverage, nobody could accuse the Building website of not taking health and safety seriously. But that doesn’t mean there’s no room for humour.
-
Comment
Office politics
Regus (UK) Limited supplies serviced office accommodation. Epcot Solutions Ltd provides professional IT training. Epcot entered into an agreement with Regus on Regus’ usual terms and conditions for the use of serviced office accommodation for Epcot’s training courses. Epcot initially rented office accommodation in Heathrow. After Regus closed this location, ...
-
Comment
If the cap fits…
Cost capping orders may not have extended to construction cases yet, but the courts are becoming increasingly willing to use their powers to limit recoverable costs
-
CommentHow to play cops and robbers
Thieves tend to regard building sites as large, open air supermarkets where they can walk in and simply help themselves – bypassing the check-out tills, of course. But there are ways of thwarting them …
-
CommentGekko redux
Back in the eighties, Hollywood’s apotheosis of the cynical, sleazy financier had a real-life counterpart in the contractors who used new procurement systems to fleece hapless clients. And now they’re coming back …
-
-
Comment
Flaming ridiculous
What a delightful irony it was to have an advert from those astute concrete people, depicting the Colindale fire, placed opposite an announcement for your zero-carbon conference (18 May, pages 50-51) – all that previously sequestered carbon being put back into the atmosphere!