Government

The Construction Plant Hire Association (CPA) has published a letter sent to the prime minister shortly before Christmas, warning that the government’s inheritance tax changes changes would have a “detrimental impact”. CPA chief executive Steven Mulholland warned that many of the association’s members were deferring investment and hiring decisions or…

Construction figures are warning of a “severe and long-lasting impact” from proposed inheritance tax reforms, which are causing a "groundswell of anger" among family-run businesses in the sector. The Home Builders Federation and Builders Merchant Federation are among 32 trade associations that have signed an open letter to chancellor Rachel…

Contractors are being invited to bid for an acute hospital new build scheme in Jersey. The Government of Jersey has started the process for awarding the contract to build the new facility at Overdale, St Helier. Jersey has not revealed the cost for the scheme, but the Government of Jersey…

Water regulator Ofwat has approved spending of £104bn for infrastructure upgrades by water companies, six months after threatening to cut the figure. The announcement today (19 December) comes just six months after Ofwat announced plans to cut the amount to just £88bn. Construction News understands that the restoration of the…

The transport secretary has dismissed suggestions that HS2 is set to cost the public purse up to £66bn. An estimate made by officials at HS2 Ltd in June that the entire line would cost between £54bn and £66bn was neither “accurate or reliable”, Heidi Alexander said in a written statement…

A London borough has alerted contractors to a decade-long partnership deal to deliver a pipeline of schemes. Lewisham Council published a prior information notice that signalled its intention to go to the market formally in February. The local authority said on 13 December it wanted to form a partnership for…

The government has unveiled plans to scrap environmental impact assessments for individual projects, but housebuilders have voiced worries about a proposed "tax" suggested as a replacement. A planning reform working paper published yesterday, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) proposed moving to a more strategic approach to…

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) has voted to ban more companies from being used on any council projects after a review of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase two report. In 2021 the local authority, which covers North Kensington where the tower was located, prohibited the use of…

A fall in construction output helped shrink national gross domestic product (GDP) in October, according to new official data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed construction output fell by 0.4 per cent in the month, after a rise of 0.1 per cent in September. Repair and maintenance declined more…

Government planning reforms aimed at boosting housebuilding in England have come into force. A series of updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) made today (12 December) include reintroducing mandatory housing targets for councils, with areas with the greatest potential for growth receiving the largest. The Ministry of Housing,…