News

Google has started construction work on a $1bn (£790m) data centre in Hertfordshire. The new development is being built on a 33-acre site in Waltham Cross, which Google acquired in 2020. The company has not named any contractors working on the site or explained what construction works it has now…

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has been found in two more prisons, with the Ministry of Justice expecting to spend around £900,000 on remediation. The collapse-risk concrete has now been identified in HMP Leyhill, a category D prison in Gloucestershire, as well as HMP Parkhurst, a category B premises that…

CN100 contractor Dodd Group has grown both turnover and profit. The Shropshire-based firm, which specialises in mechanical and electrical projects as well as repair and maintenance of public sector buildings, turned over £206.7m for the 12 months to 31 March 2023. This was up 23 per cent from the previous…

The director of a scaffolding company has received a suspended prison sentence after one of his employees was electrocuted. Ian Pepper, director of Kent-based Canterbury City Scaffolding, has been sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work and 20…

Two modular housing bosses have written to a parliamentary inquiry into modern methods of construction (MMC) challenging “unfair representation” given by another witness. Directors from trade body Make UK Modular and housebuilder TopHat have submitted letters to the House of Lords’ built environment committee querying evidence that suggested MMC projects…

The government’s decision to lift a “de facto ban” on onshore windfarms in England will not address the “godforsaken” picture for developing them, MPs have been told. In September, a rule that allowed English local authorities to reject an application to build a windfarm on the basis of a single…

A Conservative MP has said that Laing O’Rourke did a “shocking job” on the construction of a housing block in Ipswich, adding that the contractor “seemed to have got away with it”. Laing O’Rourke was the design-and-build contractor for The Mill, a 327-home development in central Ipswich that features blocks…

Kier and Galliford Try have reported positive financial updates, defying gloomy reports of industry stagnation. Kier told investors that the second half of 2023 saw it “continue to trade above the prior period” and experience “strong volume growth, particularly in construction”. The company also drastically cut average month-end net debt,…

HS2 is preparing to apply for an extension to the injunction banning “disruptive protests” on its route, including on the cancelled phase 2a, Construction News can reveal. The legal measure, first granted in 2022, bans anyone from entering or remaining on HS2-owned land; obstructing or otherwise interfering with vehicle access;…

Story Contracting has seen its profit plummet despite soaring revenue. The Cumbrian civils specialist, placed 82nd in the most recent CN100, posted turnover of £226.8m for the 12 months to 31 March 2023. This was up more than a quarter on the previous year but pre-tax profit dropped 70 per…