Opinion – Page 336
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Comment
PFI and the Panama Canal
I read your article on the Tories’ plan to lift the lid on PFI deals (26 February, page 14) and I have to say I think they are getting this one wrong and should look at the history of PFI
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Comment
A success story
Thank you for recently bringing to our attention the existence of the Graduate Talent Pool website (29 January, page 32)
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Comment
Can’t see the wood
In the context of your story about insurers threatening to pull cover for timber frame (5 March, page 11) you give the impression that six people died in a timber frame building as result of a fire in a housing block in Peckham in November
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Comment
Ageing gracefully
Housebuilders need to make profit to have sustainable businesses and the resources to build homes (5 March, leader, page 3) but they risk casting themselves as the bad boys if they resist measures to address the needs of our rapidly ageing population
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Comment
Young people today
The recent announcement that the Constructionarium, the UK’s only dedicated site-based training centre for university students could be forced to close as a direct result of a lack of government funding (5 March, page 10) is a worrying sign for the future of our industry
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Comment
We’re not there yet
Adjudication may be more popular than ever, but the recession has shown that it still has flaws – as does the rest of the Construction Act
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Comment
Something quite atrocious
A party that thinks an adjudicator has no jurisdiction can save money and bother by simply waiting until the end before making a song and dance about it
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Comment
Full speed ahead?
The Infrastructure Planning Commission was set up to fast-track projects of national importance, but it remains to be seen how well it will work
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Comment
Something might get broken
‘The rough and tumble of normal commercial bargaining” can, clearly, be used to extract a good deal from the other side. But if one party abuses this power, the other could argue later that the resulting contract is not binding. Such an argument is founded on the legal doctrine of ...
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Comment
Something to shout about
One of the best bits of news we’ve heard in a long time was delivered by Ed Miliband last week
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Comment
Insurance: Are you prepared to take the risk?
Insurers say they are suffering disproportionate losses from buildings built using modern construction methods. Unless the industry acts, says Thomas Lane, they may pull cover
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Comment
New Legislation for April 2010 – What are Your Responsibilities ?
April and October are always interesting in terms of new Regulations in the health and safety world. This April is no different, with some key issues, affecting employers, employees and anyone with responsibility for health and safety. For a complete guide to the changes, who they affect and how to ...
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Comment
Is the housing market on the turn again?
Today’s release by the surveyors’ body RICS of its latest housing market survey provides a little bit of support to both sides of the will-they-won’t-they debate on house price rises.Looked at nationally, the broad measures of estate agents experiences and expectations of house prices remain positive.A majority of 17% saw ...
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Comment
Housing shortage, what housing shortage?
Few people disagree with the notion that there is a housing shortage in England. It is trotted out both as an argument for more social homes and as an underlying case for ever increasing house prices.I too subscribe to the view that we need to increase and enhance the English, ...
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Comment
Timber frame insurance controversy: ڶ responds
We’ve had quite a response to our story on insurers threatening to pull cover on timber frame buildings, here's the gist of it...
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Comment
The real cost of regulation
According to the government, providing homebuyers with a plentiful supply of new homes has been an important goal for most of the past decade
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Comment
Official figures show construction output falling again, but devils lurk in the detail
Construction output slumped back into decline in the final quarter of 2009, after a supposed rise out of recession in summer.That is the headline story from today’s release of the construction output figures.But dig a bit deeper and we see some unsettling implications in the numbers.Firstly the statisticians now believe ...
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Comment
eBest practice
Your article, “Contractors attack rise of eBay tendering” (26 February, page 15), is wholly unfair and quite inaccurate
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Comment
Could it be magic?
I was intrigued to see that the ڶ for Life score of one of the developments in round one of the Kickstart programme had flowered from 1.5 to 16.5 (26 February, page 11)
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Comment
Man behaving badly
As an avid reader of ڶ, I must register my disappointment at seeing the increased use of swear words in print