The UK Construction Blog

Proposals brought before the Scottish government are expected to improve the standard or Scottish private rented housing.

The state is currently consulting about the Private Housing (Scotland) Bill, which looks at the condition of the sector, the licensing of mobile homes, standard security rules and 20-year residential leasing.

In addition, it focuses on refining the landlord registration system, altering the system of licensing homes in multiple occupancy and tackling overcrowding issues.

And according to housing and communities minister Alex Neil, the plans could make a big difference.

“This bill proposes changes that will lead to landlords and tenants having a better understanding of their rights and responsibilities,” he said.

He added that its target is to “improve standards and crucially, deliver a better deal for tenants and landlords”.

It was recently revealed that a new building scheme is underway, which will allow a further 100 first-time buyers to purchase a new shared equity home.

Construction companies find conditions tough for a second month, index of activity in sector shows

A nascent recovery in the construction sector suffered a setback last month after poor weather conditions and uncertain economic conditions hampered growth, according to industry figures.

Construction companies, which employ around 2 million workers and account for 6% of national output, found the conditions tough for a second month after a fall in growth during January, adding to fears that the UK will struggle to emerge from the longest and deepest recession since the second world war.

Housebuilders also suffered a fall in growth after six months of slow and painful recovery.

Persimmon, Britain’s second largest housebuilder, said the outlook was uncertain with an election on the horizon and continued restrictions on mortgage lending by the major banks.

An index of activity in the sector showed that business fell back slightly to 48.5 and refused to break through the critical 50.0 level that indicates increased activity.

Sarah Ledger, an economist at Markit, said employment, which has already fallen by more than 250,000, continued to drop in February.

She said: “The recovery of the wider UK economy is yet to filter through to the construction sector, with February data showing a sustained decline in activity levels over a two-year period. Poor weather conditions also had a detrimental effect on the sector.”

Persimmon said it built almost 9,000 homes last year and hoped to build 10,000 in 2010, but was unlikely to match the 15,000 it constructed in 2007 for several years.

Profits also remained depressed as margins remained tight, said finance director Mike Killoran. Profits of £78m were boosted by £75m of writebacks from provisions booked earlier in the year.

Persimmon builds mainly family homes on private estates. Much of the collapse in new-build house prices has affected flats in multi-occupancy blocks in city centres.

Killoran said much of the larger sites, those with thousands of plots, remained mothballed, while smaller plots were in the process of being completed and sold.

However, £900m of forward sales were only 50% covered by contractual obligations to buy homes.

Economist Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight said the overall impression from the figures was that the construction sector had stabilised.

“Nevertheless, the construction sector still faces a very challenging environment and it is likely to be hit by the government’s need to significantly rein in its spending for an extended period as this is bound to hit expenditure on infrastructure and public buildings,” he said.

The surveyors’ body RICS said margins in the industry would remain depressed for some time: “More needs to be done in the coming budget to unblock bottlenecks in the system to help bring forward new housing completions in the coming years.”

The UK housing market is improving more quickly than that of most other European countries, the latest European Housing Review from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) suggested.

According to the report, which was launched 2nd March in Brussels, Britain was one of only a few countries that saw signs of recovery in the property sector last year - along with Norway, Finland and Sweden.

Norway experienced the biggest rise in prices on the continent in 2009 - by 12 per cent.

Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist, commented: “A combination of extraordinarily low interest rates and a raft of government measures have helped to put a floor under residential property markets in most European countries.”

However, he explained that many countries’ housing markets are still “continuing to labour”.

RICS was formed in 1868 and today boasts more than 100,000 qualified members and 50,000 students and trainees around the world.

Proposals to build low carbon communities in Scotland have been outlined in workshops across the country with the help of an internationally-renown designer.

Andres Duany helped teams draw up blueprints for new projects of differing scales yesterday (March 1st), which could will see new sustainable developments created or existing neighbourhoods altered to meet eco-friendly specifications.

One example of such a scheme is the Ladyfield project in Dumfries, which aims to construct 400 energy-efficient homes along with new business premises that will allow local residents to walk to work more easily.

Deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon commented that it is important new measures are introduced that help the country meet its “ambitious” climate change targets.

“Creating sustainable communities will help us become less reliant on fuel consumption and boost our standard of living,” she added.

Andres Duany co-founded Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company in 1980, which has designed more than 300 new and existing communities globally.

Energy efficiency ‘big priority for homebuyers’ March 2, 2010

British homebuyers are are increasingly interested in energy-efficient property improvement projects, new research has revealed.

According to the Pilkington energiKare MOT Your Home study, recent cold weather, rising costs of fuel and the desire of people to reduce their carbon footprint have all lead to a greater emphasis being placed on eco-friendly home upgrades.

It found that 76 per cent of homebuyers rate energy efficiency as a deciding factor when it comes to looking round properties, with loft insulation and efficient boilers, heating and windows concerning people the most.

Commenting on the figures, architect and presenter of Channel 4’s the Home Show George Clarke said: “What’s important is that people are taking steps to change and recognising the added value greener living brings, such as cost savings and increasing the saleability of homes.”

Clarke is set to speak at the Ideal Home Show, which is taking place from March 20th to April 5th at Earls Court in London.

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Up to 65,000 jobs could be created in the green housing industry, which will include construction, if plans to transform British homes get underway.

The government has revealed that over the next ten years homes will be made more energy efficient, making them cheaper to run, warmer and more comfortable.

Up to seven million households are set to benefit from the green upgrades by 2020, something the construction industry could be keen to take part in to create a more sustainable housing stock.

According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), a quarter of the UK’s emissions come from homes.

“There’s a driving force behind the green homes movement with homeowners, developers and local authorities lining up to get on board,” said John Healey, housing minister.

Under the proposals six million homes should be insulated by the end of 2011.

DECC was created in 2008 and has seven strategic objectives including reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, allowing businesses to benefit from a low-carbon future and ensure the country’s future energy supplies are secured.

It is now officially unlawful for trade union members to be denied employment through blacklists, under regulations that came into effect yesterday.

The government introduced the rules to prevent employers from blacklisting workers for their trade union membership, after evidence was uncovered last March that a number of employers in the construction sector had been unlawfully vetting workers.

The move follows public consultation on the subject.

Employment relations minister Lord Young said: “The new regulations outlaw the compilation, dissemination and use of blacklists. They have been designed to build on existing protections in the area, which are found in trade union and data protection law. Good employers who operate fair and open vetting processes have nothing to fear from these regulations.

He added: “I am confident that this new piece of legislation will bring to an end the disreputable practice of blacklisting once and for all.”

The regulations:

• make it unlawful for organisations to refuse employment or sack individuals as a result of appearing on a blacklist;

• make it unlawful for employment agencies to refuse to provide a service on the basis of an individual appearing on a blacklist; and • enable individuals or unions to pursue compensation or solicit action against those who compile, distribute or use blacklists.

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