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Balfour Beatty is understood to be in pole position to take Sheffield University’s striking new engineering faculty building job.

The firm is up against a tough field of bidders including BAM Construct, Bowmer & Kirkland, Interserve, Miller Construction and Sir Robert McAlpine Construction.

But according to project sources it has swooped in with a ‘highly competitive bid’ that puts it ahead of rivals on cost.

The project award is due shortly and comes as Balfour Beatty’s senior management team reviews its bidding criteria on jobs after being forced into a £50m profit warning because of problem projects in several of its regions.

The University of Sheffield gained planning approval to build the engineering faculty late last year despite some local opposition because the project will see the Edwardian wing of the former Jessop Hospital for Women demolished.

But problems with the site look set to rumble on as national heritage charity SAVE has vowed to launch legal action against the council to halt the clearance of the site.

It could take months for any case to be heard by a judge, delaying demolition.

The university said it examined potential alternatives to demolition, and considered several other locations, but the preferred choice was the best for the university, the city and the region.

Architect RMJM designed the building and is joined on the project team by cost consultant Turner & Townsend and Arup as M&E consultant.

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Five major engineering and consultancy firms have been signed up to develop plans to build a £25bn renewable energy barrage across the Severn estuary.

Arup, Bechtel, logistics expert DHL, Mott MacDonald and URS are drawing up the business case and delivery model for the 11-mile long electricity generating project.

Hafren Power, the consortium behind the ambitious plan, brought the consultants on board to deliver the plan to manage the consent and environmental approval processes and nine-year build strategy.

The proposed barrage between Brean in England and Lavernock Point in Wales would be the biggest single infrastructure project since the Channel Tunnel.

If built it would generate on the ebb and flood of the second largest tidal range in the world at 14m – an energy source capable of meeting some 5% of the UK’s annual electricity needs.

Tony Pryor, chief executive, Hafren Power, said: “Government has an open mind on our proposal and we are working hard to provide further details of construction, environmental and business impacts and mitigation.

“These companies have successful track records in delivering large infrastructure projects and are bringing considerable expertise and momentum to the process.”

He added: “As part of the energy mix, tidal power is greatly under-utilised. As a sustainable energy source the Severn estuary barrage will help the UK meet its renewable energy requirements. The engineering could also become the standard for schemes elsewhere in the world.”

The barrage’s 1,026 turbines would generate 6.5GW, making it one of the biggest power stations in the world.

Backers claim it would have a minimum lifespan of 120 years – far longer than any coal, gas or nuclear power station – and will probably operate for much longer than this.

On this argument Hafren power said its whole-life cost is lower than any known renewable or fossil fuel source.

Government approval is needed for the proposal, together with an agreement to support the electricity price in the first 30 years.

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Britain’s biggest house builder has launched a major training drive to rebuild the industry’s skill base after years of decline.

Over the next three years Barratt aims to recruit around 150 graduates, 30 paid interns and 400 apprentices as the industry shifts into recovery.

Barratt also plans to put 100 people through a unique house building foundation degree programme which is to be delivered in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University.

Mark Clare, group chief executive of Barratt Developments, unveiled the new training targets as he delivered an upbeat trading statement.

Since the start of the year average net private reservations have risen 7% in line with other volume house builders.

He added that since the Government announced plans for its Help to Buy scheme the level had spike 18% as home buyers returned to the market.

“Our improved performance is being underpinned by stronger market conditions and the operational changes we have made to every aspect of our business.

“Help to Buy has seen a strong start and we are investing in land and bringing it through planning to meet increasing consumer demand.”

Since the equity loan scheme was launched on 1 April 2013 Barratt has taken 400 reservations.

He also said the house builder had seen positive effects from the Government’s new planning regime, particularly the need for local authorities to demonstrate a five year land supply.

Forward sales excluding joint ventures were up 29% at £1,3bn, equating to 7,155 plots compared to 6,052 plots a year ago.

Click here to read the orginial article from Construction Enquirer.

Galliford Try is part of a joint venture which has lodged plans for the first phase of a £350m housing project on Tyneside.

The plans have gone in to Gateshead Council for the first 472 new homes on sites in Saltwell & Bensham, Deckham and Birtley.

The Gateshead Regeneration Partnership wants to build a total of 2,400 homes in a £350m scheme which will transform the area.

The partnership comprises Gateshead Council, Home Group and Galliford Try.

In total, 2,400 brand new, high-quality sustainable homes will be built across 19 sites over the next 15-20 years. Around 25% of the homes built will be affordable or social housing with the remainder being privately owned.

All land for the scheme is being supplied by Gateshead Council with financial investment to develop the land provided by Galliford Try and Home Group.

If approved by the council’s Planning and Development Committee, work on the new homes is expected to start in the summer.

This project has received significant funding from the Homes and Communities Agency to help with land assembly and site preparation works.

Cllr Mick Henry, leader of Gateshead Council, said: “This is a hugely significant milestone in housing regeneration here in Gateshead.

“We embarked upon this ambitious venture with an aspiration to bridge the gaps between the public and private sector housing industry, to work together to revitalise communities at their very heart, and to tackle the shortage of family and affordable housing.”

The first hard evidence that house building activity has turned the corner has emerged from latest NHBC registration figures.

A surge in affordable homes and new homes in the capital helped to lift registrations in the first three months of 2013 by 22% compared to a year ago.

Across the UK 31,739 homes were registered, 5,741 more than in 2012 first quarter and the highest quarterly level since 2008.

The rise has been fuelled by an increase in public sector registrations of 43% in Q1 this year compared to the same period last year.

The main driver for this rise has been the Government’s £2.2bn Affordable Homes Programme which aims to deliver 170,000 new homes by April 2015.

2013 Q1/2012 Q1

• Private registrations rise 16%  to 23,608
• Public sector registrations soar 43% to 8,131

The NHBC figures also reveal an enormous 61% increase in new houses being registered in London in the first quarter.

The landmark Battersea Power Station redevelopment helped boost the figures as more than 800 new properties were registered during the first phase of the project.

Over the next 15 years, more than 3,000 new homes will ultimately be built on this iconic London site.

As the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK, NHBC’s housing registration statistics are a key leading indicator of activity in the new homes industry.

NHBC commercial director Richard Tamayo said: “These figures may be an indication that much-needed confidence is returning to the industry, although they should be viewed in the context of overall new homes volumes remaining significantly below historic levels.”

Thames Water is understood to opted for just two consortia to deliver its £3bn AMP6 investment programme under a new alliance set-up.

According to construction information specialist Glenigan one consortium including Costain and another Skanska and Balfour Beatty are set to be named as new alliance partners at the end of May.

Thames was expected to select four consortia from a shortlist of five to join it in shaping and planning work programmes in 2015-2020.

Final Alliance shortlists

Design and Build delivery partner

• Costain, Veolia, Atkins
• Skanska, MWH, Balfour Beatty
  
  

Other bidders

• Galliford, Morrison, Mott MacDonald (GMM JV)
• Laing O’Rourke, Imtech, Barhale (Tamesis Plus)
• Murphy, Black and Veatch, Aecom (MBVA)

Two other bid groups: Amec, May Gurney; and Kier, URS, VolkerFitzpatrick dropped out of the running several months ago.

As an olive branch Thames Water has said that contractors that do not make the Top Tier Alliance will be able to bid for work packages at a later stage, under separate tender competitions.

Thames Water is trying alliancing for the first time after seeing programme outcomes from Anglian Water’s @oneAlliance.

It hopes to drive big savings by engaging the winning consortia into a two-year, early contractor involvement phase before carving up work when AMP6 gets underway in 2015-2020.

One consultant told the Enquirer: “The prize of up to 10 years of work pipeline will put pressure on the firms to keep work keenly priced in the run-up to AMP6.”

Click here to read the orginal article from constructionenquirer.com

A new version of the BIM 360 Glue mobile app for iPad is available now! This latest release offers improved visualization – which looks particularly stunning on the iPad retina screen – and support for the Navisworks 2014 NWD format.

Crisp Graphics

The earlier versions of the Glue mobile app showed slightly jagged edges to model objects, which was accentuated on the high resolution retina displays found on the iPad 3 and 4.

This release displays models at their best; with crisp, clean edges and greater clarity of details – such as the railings in these screenshots.

Navisworks 2014 NWD Support

2014 NWD models can now be transferred directly to the app. Sign in with your Autodesk ID to explore your Navisworks models, access saved views, markup and object properties.

Get the app now!

View the app in the iTunes AppStore

The Government’s plans for major investment in infrastructure have come under fire from business chiefs and watchdog MPs.

Members of the Public Accounts Committee said they are not convinced current plans for £310bn of investment are “credible given the current economic climate, the cutbacks in public finances and the difficulty in raising private finance for projects on acceptable terms.”

The Treasury’s National Infrastructure Plan was launched in 2010 with 40 key projects highlighted among hundreds of other schemes.

But only two schemes have been delivered so far under the programme.

John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said: “I have a queue of businesses at my door telling me delivery of the Government’s Infrastructure Plan needs speeding up.

“The new guarantees scheme has so far only managed to deliver two projects. More are in the pipeline but we need them delivered.

“We need ministers to pick three or four big infrastructure projects that demonstrate to investors what we can acheive and then doing everything in their power to see them through.

“We need to get the planning system working effectively, use the guarantees scheme flexibly and get these projects over the line.

“This is how we demonstrate to global investors that UK infrastructure is a prize worth pursuing, drive construction activity and build a platform for future prosperity.”

Click here to read the orginal article on construction Enquirer.com