MPs on the Transport Select Committee have urged the Government to pause the Smart Motorway Programme amid rising safety concerns.

The MPs want to see the Office for Rail and Road start a probe into the safety of all-lane running motorways, which have no hard shoulder, and scrutinise the Government’s recent £500m package of measures to make Smart motorways safer for motorists.

It described the government’s decision in March 2020 that all future smart motorways would be all-lane-running versions as “premature”.

The Commons’ Transport Select Committee said there was not enough safety and economic data to justify continuing with the plans.

It recommended the Department and National Highways should pause the rollout of all-lane running motorways until five-years of safety data is available for the remaining 112 miles of all-lane running motorway introduced before 2020.

National Highways has already committed to ensuring all new stretches of all-lane-running ‘smart’ motorways are fitted with emergency refuge areas (ERAs) no more than one mile apart at any point and 0.75 miles apart wherever possible.

The Transport Committee, in its report published today, has now called for these same measures to be taken on the existing smart motorway network, with ERAs retrofitted at these same intervals.

The Department for Transport said it would consider the recommendations.

R&D tax relief specialist Recoup Capital has launched a land remediation relief service where land owners can claim 50p in the pound back in relief for removing ground abnormalities such as asbestos, knotweed or any structures predating 1998.

Land remediation relief (LRR) is a generous corporation tax relief available to investors and developers incurring expenditure on the remediation of contaminated land, including derelict structures.

The scheme is designed to encourage the clean-up of brownfield and contaminated sites to bring them back into economic use.

Land remediation relief is calculated on 150% of qualifying expenditure. Property investors and land owners are able to claim the full 150% in the year in which the expenditure was incurred.

It includes developments, refurbishments, fit-outs and regeneration projects and can be backdated two financial years.

Recoup Capital partner Anthony Doran said: “Recoup supported the construction sector throughout Covid with £20m in Research and Development rebates. Our national client base in the sector has found these services invaluable.

“Here at Recoup we strive to help all sectors we care about unlock capital they may not have been previously aware of. We have now launched land remediation relief with our chartered tax advisers as well as R&D, Stamp Duty, Capital Allowance providing a suite of products to assist with cash flow and profitability of all schemes.

“It all starts with an initial ten minute call to ensure you qualify.”

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The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has opened the bidding for a new framework to deliver buildings for its Animal and Plant Health Agency science estate.

The Engineering Delivery Framework has been split into seven lots covering infrastructure, building construction and design.

DEFRA estimates successful firms will share around £600m of spend at the main estate in Weybridge, Surrey as well as the regional labs at Starcross, Camarthen, Penrith, Newcastle, Shrewsbury, Bury St Edmonds, Sutton Bonnington and Lasswade.

SED Framework

Lot 1: M&E heavy design, build, installation and refurbishments projects  inside the containment laboratory environment

Lot 2: General building works outside of containment areas

Lot 3: Site infrastructure, including earthworks and utilities

Lot 4: Security Systems, including engineering work for CCTV installations and repair and maintenance

Lot 5:  Delivery of biowaste effluent treatment plants

Lot 6: Multiple Discipline Design Services

Lot 7: Professional Services, specifically PM and cost management services for construction projects

Bid documents, which can be found on the web portal should be returned by 1 December.

The new line-up of engineering partners will come into force from 1 September 2022 and run for four years.

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Archaeologists working on HS2 project have uncovered a set of rare Roman statues whilst excavating a Norman Church in Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire.

The work has been carried out by HS2’s Enabling Works Contractor Fusion JV (Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, BAM Nuttall and Ferrovial Agroman), and its archaeological contactor, L-P Archaeology.

In the final stages of the excavation at the site of the old St Mary’s Norman church in Stoke Mandeville, archaeologists were excavating a circular ditch around what was thought to be the foundations of an Anglo-Saxon tower.

As they dug down, they uncovered three stone busts which are stylistically Roman. Two of the busts comprise of a head and torso which had been split before deposition, and the other just the head. The two complete statues appear to be one female adult and one male adult, with an additional head of a child.

In addition to the statues, an incredibly well-preserved hexagonal glass Roman jug was also discovered. Despite being in the ground for what is thought to be over 1,000 years, the glass jug had large pieces still intact.

The team can only find one comparison for this, a completely intact vessel which is currently on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Other finds include large roof tiles, painted wall plaster, and Roman cremation urns.

Dr Rachel Wood, Lead Archaeologist for Fusion JV, said: “For us to end the dig with these utterly astounding finds is beyond exciting. The statues are exceptionally well preserved, and you really get an impression of the people they depict – literally looking into the faces of the past is a unique experience.

“Of course, it leads us to wonder what else might be buried beneath England’s medieval village churches. This has truly been a once in a lifetime site and we are all looking forward to hearing what more the specialists can tell us about these incredible statues and the history of the site before the construction of the Norman church.”

Mike Court, Lead Archaeologist at HS2 said: “HS2’s unprecedented archaeology programme has given us new insights into Britain’s history, providing evidence of where and how our ancestors lived.

“These extraordinary Roman statues are just some of the incredible artefacts uncovered between London and the West Midlands. As HS2 builds for Britain’s future, we are uncovering and learning about the past, leaving a legacy of knowledge and discovery.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his levelling up Budget hailing a raft of countrywide local projects benefitting from targeted regional funding.

At least 105 local projects will benefit from £1.7bn of funding from the first round of the Levelling Up Fund.

This will range from regeneration in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, to a sustainable transport project in Renfrewshire and cultural assets in Powys.

He added that infrastructure would benefit from the Budget, which actually offered more limited actual extra capital spending announcements than the headlines suggested.

Sunak also fell short of announcing the outcome of the Government’s long-awaited Integrated Rail Plan promising this would be published soon. This will deliver the verdict on the future of HS2’s phase 2 eastern leg to Leeds.

Among real extra spending, £1.5bn more was committed to local transport projects taking the spend for the eight English city regions to £5.7bn.

English city regions local transport commitments

£830m to West Yorkshire for schemes such as the A61 improvements for buses, cyclists and pedestrians between Leeds and Wakefield£1bn to Greater Manchester for schemes such as the next generation Metrolink tram-train vehicles£1 bn to the West Midlands for schemes such as completing the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill metro extension and Sprint Phase 2£710m to Liverpool City Region for schemes such as battery power for new Merseyrail trains to expand the reach of the existing network£570m to South Yorkshire for schemes such as starting the renewal of the Supertram£310m to the Tees Valley for schemes such as upgrading Middlesbrough and Darlington stations and improving local rail links£540m to the West of England for schemes such as a fully prioritised bus route between Bristol and Bath.>

Sunak said: “Today, we’re providing £5.7bn for London-style transport settlements and we’re helping local transport, everywhere:

“With £2.6bn for a long-term pipeline of over 50 local roads upgrade. Over £5bn for local roads maintenance, enough to fill 1 million more potholes a year.”

“The Prime Minister promised an infrastructure revolution. This Budget delivers an infrastructure revolution.”

Among the local road upgrades the A509 Isham Bypass, A259 Bognor Regis and A350 Chippenham Bypass will progress to the next stage of development.

Over the Parliament, Sunak said the Government had committed to:

Headline spending commitments to 24/25

£1.8bn fund to deliver 160,000 more homes on brownfield sites£11.5bn for 180,000 affordable homes up 20% on last settlement£6.9bn for English city regions to spend on train, tram, bus and cycle projects£2.6bn set aside for 50 roads projects£5bn for local roads maintenance works,  repairing an extra 1m potholes per year£3.8bn to fund the largest prison building programme in a generation£5bn to retrofit defective cladding, funded by Residential Property Developers Tax levied on developers with profits over £25m at a rate of 4%.£850m to restore museums, galleries, libraries, and local culture in England.£205m to fund 8,000 community sports pitchesUp to £1.7bn to enable a large-scale nuclear project to reach a final investment decision this parliament

He also pledged to modernise R&D tax credits regime and a business rate holiday for businesses making building improvements.

Levelling up funding packages

Blackpool based contractor Create Construction has called in administrators from RSM after challenging trading conditions made the company unviable.

Create Construction specialised in the hotel and student accommodation sectors on projects from £10-50m and was working on sites in Swansea, Liverpool, Leicester, Coventry and Salford.

Other companies within the Create group -the developments, homes and interiors arms – are unaffected by the administration.

Latest accounts for Create Construction for the year to February 29 2020 showed a turnover of £92.9m generating a pretax profit of £536,274 with the company employing 78 staff.

A statement from the firm said: “Following a very challenging trading period for the company, the directors of Create Construction have taken the difficult decision to appoint administrators, having exhausted other options.  Other companies within the Create Group are unaffected.

“The pandemic has severely affected both our clients and our supply chain’s ability to meet their contractual arrangements. An overrun in projects in both time and cost, a number of supply chain failures and delays to a secured pipeline of projects, has ultimately made the company unviable.

“We have been working with advisors, clients and funders to facilitate, where possible, the transfer of the contractual position of schemes on site, to allow the completion of these projects and to protect the creditors position as best we can.

“The pandemic has effected every area of our business, from delays in pipeline projects achieving planning approval and concluding funding, to access being restricted or denied into completed operational student accommodation buildings to allow us to complete 12 months defects works and to release significant retention monies owed to our supply chain.

“Having set the business up in 2006, we have worked hard to build our reputation in a competitive sector and we are proud of the fabulous schemes that we have delivered over the years.

“The construction industry continues to be hit hard as a result of the pandemic, with significant rising costs and limited resources available. As a consequence, we have seen the failure of some reputable and established companies like ourselves.

“At the heart of Create Construction, was a very talented and loyal workforce, which very much formed the DNA of the business. We take some comfort that the majority of our staff have found new positions and we have no doubt that they will be valuable assets to those companies.

“We would like to thank our wonderful staff, colleagues, clients, consultants and supply chain members with whom we have worked with over the last 16 years.

“The directors will be assisting the administrators to try and obtain the best possible outcome for all parties affected.”

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Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick managing director Simon Lafferty is leaving the business.

His departure ends a 35-year career at Balfour Beatty, which saw him rise through the ranks after starting out as an apprentice electrician back in 1986.

Lafferty is rumoured to be heading for a top job at another large M&E contractor.

A Balfour Beatty spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Simon Lafferty has decided to leave the business to pursue an opportunity outside of the group.

“We would like to thank Simon for his outstanding contribution over the last 35 years and we look forward to welcoming his replacement in due course.”

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Henry Construction has been selected by Barratt London for the major groundworks and RC Frame packages at the house builder’s Hays Village in West London.

Set on the site of the former Nestle Factory building, the major development scheme will involve building over 1,500 homes as part of an area undergoing major regeneration in Hayes.

Henry Construction’s works will be across various phases set to include a dozen blocks ranging in height from 5 to 10 storey’s including piling and external works.

Joe Bonner, Director at Henry Construction, said: It’s great to be working with Barratt London again on yet another significant regeneration project transforming this unique site of the former Nestle Factory to deliver needed new homes in West London.

It is Henry Construction’s second recently secured project with Barratt London as they are also on site at Upton Gardens – West Ham United’s Former football ground – also a significant regeneration scheme where Barratt London is building 842 new homes

Henry Construction’s works on Upton Gardens include 5 blocks ranging in height from 4 to 14 storey’s including piling and external works.

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Retirement and care homes developer and builder Catsleoak has gone under.

Stunned staff took to LinkedIn on Monday to look for new jobs after being given the bad news.

One said: “Incredibly sad to announce that after a very difficult year my employer, Castleoak, has gone into administration today and, with it, around 100 of my colleagues are out of work.”

The news sparked anger among suppliers left holding unpaid bills.

One said: “Castleoak or should I say Castlejoke what a mess.

“Again it’s the supply chain that also suffer. We are not banks so don’t treat us that way.”

Another subbie said: “How many subcontractors and their families, are going to suffer again at the hands of this company?

“We have been trying to get thousands they owe, since March,and when we agreed a figure, to stop us going to the wall, all they talked about was retentions and we still never got a penny.”

Castleoak was a Cardiff based developer with its own design and build division and offsite manufacturing facility.

Latest accounts filed at Companies House for Castleoak Holdings Ltd show that in the year to March 31 2019 the group made a pre-tax profit of £496,527 from a turnover of £67.2m and employed 152 staff.

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The National Federation of Builders is calling for a fundamental restructuring of the CITB including an end to its levy raising powers.

The trade body has launched a discussion paper aiming to spark an industry and Government-wide debate about the future of CITB.

Key recommendations include:

Creation of a new construction careers bodyFundamental reform of Levy including stripping CITB of Levy raising powersRemoval of the grants system and corresponding reduction in LevyDelivering apprenticeship and qualification financial incentives through GovernmentRetaining a residual CITB to focus on work as the Sector Skills CouncilRedeploying local advisors through Employment and Skills BoardsEnding CITB projects and programmesChanging CITB’s status and submitting the organisation to competitive tender

The Reconstructing CITB states that the majority of construction employers asked do not see CITB as adding value to the industry, do not believe that the labour market meets industry’s needs and do not think that they can access the training they need when they need it.

Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the NFB said: “As a member-led organisation we have lobbied for years for the CITB to reform from within. Our members have finally come to the conclusion that is no longer a viable option and that CITB needs a fundamental reorganisation.

“Only the Government will be able to deliver that, so we are launching this paper to spark a serious and wide-ranging debate about how we mobilise to get this done. I’m calling on all those who pay CITB Levy to join us in this fight. It’s time to reconstruct CITB.

Herman Kok, Company Secretary of the Lindum Group, and chair of the NFB Skills and Training subgroup who authored the paper added: “Many employers will feel, like I do, that the CITB consensus process is disingenuous and doesn’t give us the opportunity to issue our verdict on the failing CITB – we support the principle of a cross-industry approach, just not the organisation tasked with delivering it.

“As an employee-owned organisation and a former chair of an independent training group, I know as well as most the incredible value of training.

“What I cannot support is continuing to look the other way on an organisation that simply cannot deliver on its core mission – it is time we think outside the box, do the construction industry the justice of being truly creative and transformative, and open a proper debate about the tools we need to attract, retain, champion and upskill our people”.

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