Author Archives: Chris Smith

A decade has passed since the Modern Slavery Act became law. CN examines how far the industry has – or hasn’t – changed There is a popular concept in criminology called routine activity theory. It posits that the ideal environment for criminals to offend is when the opportunity and the…

A well-trodden recruitment path and director-level promotions were the highlights from this week's people moves in construction. Tier one contractor McLaren Construction has once again hired a senior executive from Sir Robert McAlpine. The firm announced on Monday (2o January) the appointment of Glen Harding as its new commercial director.…

Rachel Reeves has officially thrown the government’s weight behind a third runway for Heathrow airport. In a major speech this morning (29 January), she said that the lack of extra runway capacity at the UK’s biggest aviation hub was “damaging”. She added that a third runway would add 0.43 per…

New executives at CN100 contractors and appointments at housebuilders dominated the people moves in the construction sector this week. Hertfordshire-based HG Construction started the year with a top-level hire. The firm completed its corporate restructure with the appointment of Greg Purkiss as its new managing director. He will work alongside…

Legal challenges against major infrastructure projects will be limited to one attempt, the prime minister has pledged. Sir Keir Starmer revealed on Thursday (23 January) plans to speed up the planning process by stopping small pressure groups using the courts “to obstruct decisions taken in the national interest”. The Planning…

A timber specialist supplier has been fined for repeatedly failing to protect workers from dust exposure, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said. It revealed that manufacturing firm Timbercraft Windows & Doors Ltd had been fined £4,000 for three breaches over a 12-year period. According to the HSE’s investigators,…

Construction SMEs narrowly avoided stagnation in the last month of 2024, a new survey has revealed. The latest quarterly UK Business Growth Tracker analysis from NatWest, published this morning (22 January), revealed a slight increase in activity at the end of 2024. But its seasonally adjusted index stood at 50.2…

Herefordshire Council is retendering a £200m multi-service contract after deciding to terminate a deal with incumbent contractor Balfour Beatty. Publication of the public realm services tender – covering highways and improvement works – on 16 January brought to a close nearly two years of deliberations by the council. The agreement,…

The New Hospital Programme has been rated as unachievable in the latest official audit of UK infrastructure. In its annual review for the financial year 2023-24, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) gave a red rating to the £20bn plan to build 40 new hospitals by 2030. This means that…

Bringing HS2 into the Department for Transport (DfT) could increase, rather than reduce problems with the project, according to the head of the government's infrastructure advisory body. In September last year, the Financial Times reported that a government review would consider the possibility of making the DfT directly responsible for…