More news – Page 2474
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Government burglars
As Brian Green points out in his column on drumming up work, the government has pretty much kept the industry in business during the recession. About 40% of construction work undertaken in Britain is bought by the taxpayer, compared with 31% in the days when Northern Rock was just a ...
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Bulls in the housing futures market turn sheepish
There has been a sharp change of mood among the traders of housing futures who punt large sums on the level of house prices at given years ahead.Traders had turned bullish last autumn and even at the end of the year the Tradition Future HPI was showing a projected ...
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NewsMakes you shiver
Nick Roarty snapped this “pair of clowns” near the Barbican in the City of London in the act of installing signage from a ladder stationed on top of their van
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CommentThe little Ceausescus
When it comes to making changes to listed buildings, planners and conservation authorities are often unhelpful, ill-informed, and obstructive to the point of malice
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CommentA cock and ball story
Tony Bingham If your little mistake turns out to be a massive mistake because of my little mistake, can you be made to pay the whole of the bill? Over to the Court of Appeal …
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The job’s in the blag
Guy Guinan As competition for jobs gets tougher, more candidates are embellishing their CVs. But it’s the employer who’ll be for the high jump if one of them subsequently messes up
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The road to recovery
Jeff Brown Here’s some good news for firms that are pursuing claims against insolvent defendants: a new bill should make it easier for you to get your money …
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What problems with housing?
It was good to see some reflection in last week’s issue on the state of housing quality (22 January, page 20)
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These problems with housing
The recent problems with the Homes and Communities Agency’s Kickstart programme highlight an uncomfortable truth: many of the new homes being built in the UK aren’t good enough
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These problems with Kickstart
Homebuyers quite rightly are the best judges of private housing quality
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Return to sender
Last week’s story on Concentra said incorrectly that Durkan Holdings sold its 51% stake in Durkan Pudelek to Gombe Holdings
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Ditch the old buildings …
In response to “Morrell: Older buildings must be torn down” (building.co.uk, 25 January): not only were many sixties and seventies public buildings constructed with minimal resources, they were often planned to government handbooks that specified the maximum internal area that could not under any circumstances be exceeded
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… and new ones, too
Regarding Morrell’s views on older buildings: Immediate postwar construction can be equally shoddy
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Dear Amanda …
Amanda Levete’s 22 January column suggesting a committee of architects be put in charge of planning was discussed by the online community …
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CommentHansom: The meaning of life
As Monty Python so clearly showed, our worlds comprise just a few basic elements: learning, work, sex, war, recreation and wondering what on earth it’s all about anyway. And construction’s got the lot
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CommentA wiser course for busy fools
When times are desperate, there’s a temptation to grab anything that might boost our turnover. The game now should be to prepare for the upturn and increase margins
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CommentBuilding buys a pint: Eckersley O’Callaghan
We’re in the King’s Head in Islington, north London, on the day that Britain officially declared its deepest recession since the thirties over – by a whisker
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FeaturesThe big squeeze: 5 taxes that could affect your business
A special feature on small businesses’ struggle with bureaucracy begins with Roxane McMeeken’s look at five ways HM Revenue and Customs is squeezing more money out of its customers
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FeaturesGrant Shapps: A young man in a hurry
Come the summer, Grant Shapps is probably going to be in charge of housing policy. And he’s got an awful lot of policy to get through, from a root-and-branch rethink of planning to a radical overhaul of the HCA. Joey Gardiner asked the questions, Tim Foster took the photos