Opinion – Page 343

  • Comment

    Keep it clean

    2010-04-01T00:00:00Z

    As someone who swears too much and is not proud of it, I agree with Chris Winks’ letter (5 March, page 27) about unnecessary swear words being printed in Building

  • Quentin Shears
    Comment

    Quentin Shears: academy@grimston

    2010-04-01T00:00:00Z

    “The secret to a healthy team spirit, I have discovered, is a shared vested interest”

  • Comment

    Dubai's expats adjust to life in the slow lane

    2010-03-30T17:54:00Z

    Visiting Dubai last week, one of the most noticeable differences from previous trips was that I managed to reach all my meetings on time.Gone are the days of sitting in static queues of nose to nose SUVs frantically tapping the blackberry trying to reschedule meetings.Dubai has clearly slowed since the ...

  • Comment

    Why construction firms must recruit financial engineers

    2010-03-29T19:47:00Z

    Financial engineers – you can be forgiven for holding them in total contempt. The finger of guilt for the recession ravaging construction firms points witheringly in their direction.But, galling as it might seem, construction now needs financial engineers more than it needs civil, structural, mechanical or electrical engineers.The tools and ...

  • Comment

    Why falling mortgages approval are spooking housing market watchers

    2010-03-29T14:11:00Z

    The latest figures from the Bank of England showing the number of mortgage approvals at a nine month low have caused a bit of a stir and increased talk of a double dip in the housing market.Here’s a few reasons why.There is a historic link between the number of mortgage ...

  • Comment

    Good news on the planning front – rejections fall and applications for new homes rise

    2010-03-26T12:19:00Z

    The data published today on planning applications on the face of it should provide house builders and their suppliers with some comfort.The figures show that in the final quarter of last year the number of planning decisions for major residential developments – those with 10 or more homes – rose ...

  • Comment

    Hansom-Sur-Mer - Paying the price

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    The folks at Mipim 2010 had a jolly old time, despite being shore-bound, insulted by agents, hounded by tax collectors and deviously tricked into falling off platforms

  • Comment

    Banner posts profit despite battle over Colchester arts centre

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    Banner Holdings is back in the black despite a difficult year battling Colchester council over Rafael Viñoly’s £26m visual arts centre

  • Comment

    Wolseley turnover drops 15%

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    Building materials giant Wolseley has reported a 15% drop in turnover to £6.3bn for the six months to 31 January

  • Comment

    Croudace profit hits £16m as it plans for 22% rise in output

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    South-east housebuilder Croudace Homes has announced a pre-tax profit of £15.7m for 2009 and expects to raise production for 2010 by 22%

  • Comment

    The Romans and the Spartans: A mixed Mipim 2010

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    Building blogs Amid the usual orgy of champagne quaffing and scallop scoffing, Mipim 2010 was a serious affair

  • Comment

    Bridge on track

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    This week’s Building stated that “the completion of Blackfriars station … has been put back four months until spring 2012” (12 March, page 10)

  • Comment

    All aboard

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    Recent announcements by climate change secretary Ed Miliband are indeed good news (12 March, leader, page 3)

  • Comment

    Helping the aged

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    Strengthening the Building Regulations to improve the energy efficiency of our buildings and to help meet this country’s ambitious zero-carbon targets is admirable, and I’m wholeheartedly in support (“Part L changes announced,” 12 March, building.co.uk)

  • Comment

    A Morrell crusade

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    A green building strategy with a focus on new work and skills is the only way the UK construction industry will be able to compete and survive in a changing world with its emphasis on low carbon (“Mandelson and Morrell reveal green building strategy”, 17 March, building.co.uk

  • Comment

    The many aspects of risk

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    I refer to your recent articles on timber-framed construction which contain several inaccuracies as to the insurance industry’s stance regarding this topic

  • Rachel Barnes
    Comment

    CML certificate: But you said it was fine!

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    In April 2007 the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) produced a standard form certificate that consultants can be asked to sign concerning the condition of a newly built residential property

  • Tony Bingham
    Comment

    Gosh, is that really the time?

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    Adjudication is not litigation (lawyers please note) and an adjudicator is not obliged to consider in detail new information that comes in at the eleventh hour

  • Comment

    The witness protection scheme

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    Expert witnesses may be protected from lawsuits for now, but the Supreme Court may be on the brink of overturning that rule

  • Comment

    Dishing the dirt

    2010-03-26T00:00:00Z

    Whatever else we run out of, there will always be more than enough rubbish to go round. So what should a contractor looking to get its fair share watch out for?