The UK Construction Blog

This week  saw the government publishing its new national planning policy framework that is somehow intended to square the circle of promoting growth, localism and sustainability all at the same time.

The 50 page document will replace nearly a million words and more than a thousand pages of planning rules.

In his budget statement last week, chancellor George Osborne said that there would be a “presumption in favour of sustainable development”. He described the new planning framework as “the biggest reduction in business red tape ever undertaken”.

Mr Osborne said: “Global businesses have diverted specific investments that would have created hundreds of jobs in some of the most deprived communities in Britain to countries like Germany and the Netherlands, because they couldn’t get planning permission here.”

On this basis, the new policy document is likely to be welcomed by the construction industry but will create uproar among conservation, countryside and heritage groups.

Not only will the new framework be hugely controversial, whatever it says, because planning always is, there could also be problems for local authorities.

Property consultant Drivers Jonas Deloitte says that local authorities who have produced local plans could find them inconsistent with, or even contradicting, national planning policy.  Head of planning John Adams said: “It is great to see a new presumption in favour of sustainable development, as part of a suite of policies designed to promote growth.  However, local authorities who have rightly pressed ahead with local plans as part of the government’s localism agenda could find them inconsistent with the framework.

“Many councils have been arguing that there needs to be a ‘transition’ period and that the national planning policy framework (NPPF) will need to be brought in incrementally, to allow local authorities to amend their plans to make them ‘NPPF-proof’. Others have argued that ‘growth’ cannot be put on hold and the NPPF policies will need to come into immediate effect and with full force. We will hopefully get some guidance on how to straddle this divide.”

There are a number of renovation and refurbishment jobs that homeowners could be able to do without professional assistance, an expert has said.

Jason Orme, Homebuilding & Renovating magazine editor, pointed out flooring and tiling should be accomplishable by a layman, particularly if the task is uncomplicated.

He argued the internet can also help people who wish to perform home improvement or DIY tasks themselves, noting many websites “explain how to do these things and how to do them well”.

“There is absolutely no reason” that many of the things an individual might hire an expert for cannot be completed without professional assistance, the specialist remarked.

Mr Orme advised those who doubt their abilities to practice and to “give it a go” in a small area that does not mean a lot to them.

However, Roofapedia.com representative Nick Oldridge recently said repairs and maintenance work on the roof is best left to the experts.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) was supposed to be implementing its cost recovery scheme, Fee for Intervention (FFI), in April 2012. However, it has still not been able to work out the technical detail of how the scheme will work, despite practice runs with it. It now hopes to implement the new system in October this year.

The scheme sets out to recover HSE costs from those who break health and safety laws.

HSE’s programme director Gordon MacDonald said: “The government has agreed that it is right that those who break the law should pay their fair share of the costs to put things right – and not the public purse.

“The government intends to proceed with the FFI scheme as recommended to ministers by HSE’s board in December in response to the formal consultation that took place last summer. Discussions are still taking place on the technical details of the scheme, which we expect to conclude soon.

“Therefore, FFI will not be introduced in April but at the next available opportunity, which is likely to be October 2012.”

79% of construction professionals responding to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Building believe that up-to-date Continuing Professional Development can alleviate skills gaps in the industry.

“Professional bodies have long been the ambassadors for continuing professional development. It’s what sets a professional qualification apart from an academic one and certainly within our membership there is a real appetite and culture of CPD.  It could be argued that the role of CPD has been undervalued.  But if we look at topics like the rise of Building Information Modelling combined with the shortfall of industry training funds then it might well be left to CPD providers to plug the skills gap,” commented Michael Brown deputy chief executive at the CIOB.

The survey taken by more than 1,500 respondents took the industry’s temperature on current CPD provision.

8 out of 10 felt that CPD was an important, very important or essential ingredient for their career development, with 46% seeing an improvement in their own performance as a result of CPD. 44% felt that CPD had improved their ability to cope with change.

In the last twelve months 30% of respondents believed taking part in CPD had improved their own employability. With 49% suggesting that their employers had remained committed to provide and/or support CPD during 2011.

80% felt that CPD can improve the technical knowledge of construction graduates, bridging the gap between academic qualifications and work ready skills.

Asked whether respondents valued CPD at the same level as the previous year (2010) the majority (70%) regarded it of the same importance (important/very important/essential), with a further 17% suggesting it had become more important.

From what we see in this survey there is an increasing trend towards online CPD provision rather than the more traditional formal training methods. That won’t come as a surprise for most of us; the convenience of distance learning is an attractive proposition. What we have to be mindful of, as we have to with all education and training programmes, is that the CPD on offer is actually valuable and relevant and not just a money making machine. We can’t expect to tackle the big issues with poorly conceived training.

Source: CIOB

May Gurney has been awarded a new framework contract to maintain redundant structures across the rail network in northern England and Scotland.

The contract has been awarded by BRB Residuary, which is government owned and falls under the jurisdiction of the Department for Transport.

The framework is for a three-year period commencing 1 April 2012, and is likely to be worth in the region of £3m per annum. It covers all works north of a line drawn between the Humber and the Mersey including Scotland, and will be administered from May Gurney’s York office.

At the end of the initial three-year period BRB Residuary will be disbanded and the framework is likely to pass to the Highways Agency.

Matt Kuzemko, acting managing director May Gurney Rail Services, said: “This success is particularly pleasing as it delivers a core income stream for our own labour force, including our in-house mechanical and electrical capabilities as well our highly regarded project teams. We look forward to helping BRB protect our railway heritage.”

Construction output fell by 2.3% in January compared with January 2011 according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

But a comparison of the three months from November 2011 to January 2012 with the same period a year earlier shows the volume of construction output growing by 0.6% in constant prices, not seasonally adjusted. Of the two main components, new work grew by 0.7%  and repair and maintenance rose by 0.4%.  The largest increase (11.1%) was new infrastructure work and new public non-housing showed the largest percentage fall of 15.4% per cent.

The Q4 2011/Q3 2011 change in the constant price, seasonally adjusted series has been revised to a slight fall of 0.2%, up from the original estimate of a 0.5% fall.

Interior design practices are trying to accommodate older individuals with rising frequency.

This is according to Easy Living Home director Alison Wright, who claimed this particular sector is “flourishing” at the moment as a result of the “burgeoning increase” in the number of Brits more than 65 years old, particularly those aged over 80.

Official statistics published by the government revealed that in 2008, there were ten million people who lived in the UK and were older than 65, with this number expected to reach 19 million by 2050.

Ms Wright claimed these members of the public are increasingly living at home or with their families as a result of the “spiralling cost of residential care”.

Accommodation catering for “independent living” is set to become more established in the future due to these factors, she predicted.

Local authority grants providing care for the elderly will become “even more difficult to obtain”, the expert stated.

Ms Wright said people are adapting their present residences so they can cater for older individuals.

The number of deaths and injuries of migrant workers in the UK’s construction sector could be cut if risk training procedures used pictures, research commissioned by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (Iosh) and conducted by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) has revealed.

Foreign employees in building firms are far more likely to suffer a fatal injury than those born in the UK, Health and Safety Executive statistics demonstrate.

While they account for just six per cent of the UK’s construction workforce, they make up 17 per cent of all work-related deaths, the data found.

Falls from height are the biggest cause of fatal accidents for these people, although operating diesel or petrol engines in confined spaces also featured highly.

GCU senior researcher Bill Hare translated safety messages into photos, pictograms and sketch drawings and revealed knowledge levels relating to risk management were always higher when these were used compared to when they were not, with some individuals improving their test scores by 20 per cent.

“These figures show that some construction companies can do more to make sure staff whose first language isn’t English know how to stay safe on-site,” Iosh executive director of policy Dr Luise Vassie stated.

Plans to introduce new contract conditions for employees in the building services sector have been officially withdrawn by the trade association behind the new deal.

In return, the Unite union has agreed to end all protest action.

Eight contractors originally planned to move from old Joint Industry Board agreements to a new single Building Engineering Services National Agreement (Besna), drawn up by their trade group, the Heating & Ventilation Contractors Association (HVCA).

Noting how upset employees were by the new deal, MJN Colston swiftly backed down. After months on protests outside sites across the country, a vote for strike action and an intervention from the American Teamsters union, Balfour Beatty Engineering Services last week dropped plans to introduce Besna. NG Bailey followed suit earlier this week, describing Besna as “untenable”.

Now the remaining five companies – Crown House Technologies, Gratte Brothers, Spie Matthew Hall, Shepherd Engineering Services and T Clarke –  have also backed down. When Balfour Beatty and NG Bailey pulled out, Besna was dead. Now it is officially buried.

In its first statement on the issue since Balfour Beatty’s withdrawal, HVCA said: “In consultation with the remaining companies and following discussions with Unite, it has been agreed that HVCA will withdraw its proposal for the Building Engineering Services National Agreement (Besna).

“As a result of today’s decision by HVCA, Unite has agreed not to pursue further industrial action or protests against the BESNA companies.

“HVCA, supported by its member companies, will now engage in high-level talks with Unite within an agreed timeline, with the aim of creating new proposals and ensuring agreed terms are honoured.”

Mobile CAD Surveys can accommodate either a simple single property floor plan to a complete schedule of buildings with all types of data collection. So if you need any type of Measured Building Survey then please contact us.

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An accurate  topographical survey or land survey is essential to any project that you are considering and can lessen the possibility of costly mistakes or unforeseen issues later on.  The amount and type of topographical survey data that we collect on site is always based on your specification. However, our experienced land surveyors will use their knowledge of planning and development issues and requirements to provide additional information that might be vital for any future design or planning application. We are also able to gather information from any utility companies which can be added to your topographical survey drawings..

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