UK construction and property
- Social value | Peabody is to add a 20% weighting to social value in its scoring criteria when assessing suppliers. It has historically applied a 2-7% weighting. The social landlord commands £1bn of contracts annually.
- Robots | Sisk is trialling use of robots which have been developed by Hewlett Packard to draw out floor plans on-site. The companies claim that the work can be done ten times faster than by a person.
- Plan for Skills | The Construction Leadership Council’s new Skills Plan suggests solutions to short and long-term issues in construction recruitment. Its four main priorities are culture change, routes into construction and the built environment, competence, and future skills. A large part of the CLC’s focus is that it believes more people would enter the construction industry if it had a better image. Schools outreach and apprenticeship mentoring standards are immediate actions.
- ULEZ concerns | The Builders Merchants Federation has written to the Mayor of London to voice concerns that small builders may be unwilling or unable to trade in Greater London due to the cost of ULEZ compliance. Travis Perkins’ COO commented that they are asking for “more time for residents, tradespersons and workers to be able to adapt”.
- Anglo-Dutch powerline | A cross-border 1.8GW powerline has been approved and is seen as the first step towards an integrated electricity grid in the North Sea. It could be operational by the early 2030s.