Month in numbers

0

The number of homes in east London’s Stratford City development that will meet the government’s proposed upper standard for sustainable homes. The same site will play host to the Olympic village in 2012.

As the houses to be built are private schemes, there is no obligation for developer Westfield to comply with official targets. By the deadline of 2016, the homes will have cut emissions by only 50%. Even by 2050, the Stratford City schemes will not have met the zero carbon target – it is predicted that emissions from the development will have been cut by 80% by this time.

However, if greater public funding is pumped into the project, and if the recently published and voluntary Code for Sustainable Homes is made mandatory, Westfield may have to comply.

10

The number of languages featured in a 15-minute health and safety film produced by the Major Contractors Group. The DVD aims to help employers communicate the key messages to its workforce using the languages most commonly used on UK construction sites: Albanian, Bulgarian, Czech, English, German, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian and Russian.

The DVD covers 13 areas including working at height, manual handling, hazardous substances and workforce consultation.

The launch reflects concerns highlighted in research by the HSE and London Metropolitan University in November 2005 which shows that labourers – the role most foreign site workers occupy – are the most vulnerable of all construction workers as they carry out physically intensive and potentially hazardous work.

16m

The amount, in pounds, that is needed by the National Construction College (NCC) in Norfolk to carry out essential improvements.

After last month’s rejection of its planning appeal to sell part of the Bircham Newton site for housing to pay for new college accommodation and facilities, and having exhausted several other avenues, it looks as if the college will be forced to scale back its Anglian operations: partial closure seems likely.

Simple but important remedial works were pegged at £5m with the CITB stating that the swimming pool and gym would close before the year’s end if funding is not found.

Transferring the training to other campuses across England, Scotland and Wales, or delivering training that is more local to NCC customers through on-site mobile facilities, have both been mooted.

400m

The expected price, in pounds, that Sir Robert McAlpine will charge for the delivery of the London Olympic stadium, £120m more than stated in the original bid documents.

Last October – prior to the contractor’s appointment – the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) said it tendered without a budget because it was counting on the industry to accurately cost the works. Recently the authority has refused to comment on speculation over inflated build costs, but other industry insiders suggest the final figure could rise further.

In total, McAlpine’s bid could swell to £600m, a price that would cover infrastructure works, such as roads and a bridge, but an extensive value engineering programme will take place before work begins on site.

ODA’s final stadium budget is expected this month.

500m

The upper estimate, in pounds, of what it will cost to buy architectural firm Foster Associates should its boss, Sir Norman Foster, decide to sell.

Following investigations by a corporate financier into the firm’s future, it was an option floated along with a partial sale. With a 90% stake, Foster himself, could potentially make £450m from the deal.

A spokesman said the sale was more to do with outlining succession plans and securing funds for expansion abroad.

The half billion figure has also been described as “enormously optimistic” and an overvaluation by a factor of 10. However, the difficulty in setting a price stems from having to factor in the power of the Foster brand – one of the most recognisable in the construction industry.