More than a third of construction firms are concerned they won’t be able to trade into 2025, according to a new report from business advisory firm FRP.   Of the 502 senior decision makers surveyed across the UK, 36% aren’t confident that they will be able to trade through the next 12 months.   The East Midlands and North East report the largest proportion of firms pessimistic about their prospects, with 64% and 45% respectively uncertain they’d make it through the next year. The South West (20%) and North West (24%) have the most optimistic construction sectors, although st ..read more

Mitie Care & Custody has been awarded the contract to operate HMP Millsike, the UK’s first all-electric prison that will provide around 1,500 places. Due to open next year, the Category C prison is the third new prison being built as part of the government’s £4Bn prison expansion programme, delivering 20,000 new places. The appointment follows a competitive bidding process where Mitie Care & Custody set out a strong proposal. When opened, the category C prison in Yorkshire will hold 1,500 prisoners who will spend their sentences learning the skills they need to find work on release as ..read more

National framework provider Pagabo has announced the 56 suppliers appointed to its brand-new £1.6Bn Decarbonisation Solutions Framework, including Morgan Sindall, Kier and Willmott Dixon. Pagabo recently launched its healthcare specific decarbonisation framework, while this latest instalment will support public sector organisations completing building works in all other sectors. Kingston upon Hull City Council (HCC) is serving as the contracting authority for the framework, which will run for four years. The suppliers appointed can provide a complete business solution, allowing clients to go d ..read more

A new report by the Association for Project Management (APM), the chartered membership organisation for the project profession, has found the construction sector of the project management profession has grown by over 20% in five years to contribute £33Bn of annual gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy. The Golden Thread Report 2024, commissioned by APM and conducted by PwC Research, was recently published. It follows the first pioneering report in 2019 that assessed the UK project profession’s size as well as its economic and societal contribution. Overall, the project management professio ..read more

As the property and construction sector continues to get to grips with the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) legislation now in place, planning law experts Stuart Tym and Laura Swindells from Knights look at the key points to be aware of and how to build a successful strategy to ensure delivery of development. We should all understand the environmental importance of halting the decline of our natural habitats, a notion quite clear through the focus provided by Earth Day. With BNG becoming mandatory for nearly all new planning applications in England, developers, landowners and local planning authori ..read more

Government is celebrating a sharp reduction in energy consumption and emissions across the public estate. The latest figures from the government’s annual State of the Estate report show significant progress is being made to make the public estate more sustainable and efficient. The major efficiency drive has seen more than £163M in energy cost savings secured and a significant fall in direct emissions from government buildings. To mark the report’s publication, the Manchester First Street Hub recently celebrated its ‘topping-out’ ceremony. The ceremony marked the beginning of the countdown to ..read more

Building work on 26 homes as part of a new social housing scheme near Sheffield city centre has commenced following a deal between Hoober Urban Partnerships and York-based biodiversity net gain specialists Environment Bank. The scheme will provide vital, high-quality homes for local people, just three miles from the heart of the city. The housing development, made up of two and three-bedroom properties, is located at Beaumont Road in north Sheffield, on the site of the former Foundry Working Club and Institute. It will be delivered by Hoober Urban Partnerships on behalf of Wakefield District H ..read more

Globally, the building and construction sectors account for almost 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, stemming from both operational emissions alongside those from the construction process and materials. Despite the heavy environmental footprint of the construction sector, England faces acute housing challenges. It has the lowest number of houses available in the developed world coupled with the highest rate of inadequate housing in Europe. These circumstances have propelled the government to set ambitious housebuilding targets to meet the growing housing demand. However, the solu ..read more

Construction innovation experts at Leeds Beckett University have partnered with Yorkshire’s largest public sector procurement framework organisation to drive innovation in the construction sector and boost opportunities for small businesses in the region. Leeds Beckett University will work with YORhub to create a Supply Chain Engagement Toolkit. This aims to increase the number and diversity of regional small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with access to public sector procurement frameworks – reducing the over-dominance of large firms, and introducing innovative solutions in a sector that ..read more

Balfour Beatty has confirmed that it has been awarded a contract to construct the new £209M HMP Highland in Inverness, Scotland, on behalf of the Scottish Prison Service. Balfour Beatty was first appointed to deliver the pre-construction phase, including the design of HMP Highland, in 2022. This latest phase, valued at £119M, will see the company progress with the construction of the new, modern 18,500sq m facility comprised of two new interconnected buildings and associated infrastructure. Scheduled for completion in 2026, HMP Highland will be the first net zero prison in Scotland with the fa ..read more