Opinion 鈥� Page 383
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Comment
Are the leaders of the contracting industry fit for purpose?
My attention was drawn to a letter sent yesterday by the Construction Products Association's chairman Adrian Barden to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform regarding the current plight of the construction industry.It makes hard, clear, well researched and convincing points. It outlines the problems and makes ...
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CommentJan and me: Amanda Levete on Jan Kaplicky
Jan Kaplicky, who died in January, was a visionary architect whose creativity drove him to test the bounds of the possible, says his former wife and design partner
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Comment
Construction output falls off a cliff
The last time the construction industry had to puzzle out what to do with output falling as fast as it did in the final quarter of 2008 was when the Rubik's Cube was the must-have Christmas present.Official figures published today show a drop of 7% in construction output over the ...
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CommentSo, Mr Bond...
This week, I鈥檝e been unmasking a phoney company chairman, burning documents after reading and planning my escape route to the south of France. Whoever said construction wasn鈥檛 thrilling?
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CommentGoing public
The government鈥檚 decision to bring out its cheque book yet again 鈥� this time for the PFI 鈥� is a massive fillip for the industry
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Comment
I know where you could start
Open mike:聽The government is pretty keen to get us to cut carbon emissions. So why are its own buildings so lamentably unsustainable?
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Comment
We can't do this on our own
There is no simple answer to improving the energy efficiency of the UK鈥檚 existing housing stock, but it is important to take simple, practical measures that we know will make a demonstrable difference (鈥淐PA blasts energy firms on insulation failure鈥�, 20 February)
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Comment
Local jobs for whom?
We have a small building business in Waltham Forest, which is about four miles north-east of the Olympic site. We have been in the area for the past 27 years and we employ about 29 men
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CommentWoolly thinking
I read with interest your article on the 16 January titled 鈥渇ive green duds鈥�
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Comment
Words of warning
I attended an interview yesterday to train as a domestic energy assessor (DEA), which I thought was new career with great potential
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Comment
Home improvement
鈥淪ocial housing鈥� should only be provided as a short-term solution for those in real need. The idea that someone can occupy a council house for virtually their whole adult life is ridiculous
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CommentA confederacy of dunces
The post of a chief construction officer is a splendid idea, but it will only work if the holder has real power 鈥� and Whitehall may not be willing to let that happen
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Comment黑洞社区 buys a pancake... for Pringle Brandon
It鈥檚 Shrove Tuesday, and Pringle Brandon has suggested we meet in town for pancakes. Now London is not overstocked with pancake houses, and the one we choose comes with a long queue of gourmands outside. Luckily PB had the foresight to book a table
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Comment
House price collapse continues says Halifax
The Halifax index of house prices returned to a downward path in February after surprising many when it showed house prices rising in January.The February figure suggests that on a seasonally adjusted basis 2.3% was wiped off the value of an average home - that equates to 拢3,800.On a non-seasonally ...
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Comment
Plunging building materials imports shows speed of downturn
The cash spent on imported building materials plunged in the final quarter of 2008 despite the huge drop in the value Sterling providing a clear indicator of the rapid decline in construction activity.In cash terms the value of imports in the fourth quarter of 2008 dropped 13% compared with the ...
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Comment
CIPS construction activity figures provide a reality check
The construction survey results from the buyers' body CIPS should provide a reality check on those who believe talking up the industry will help.For those looking at the situation closely the disastrous figures for February should come as little of a shock.The summary of the data provided reads: "Total business ...
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CommentThe sayings of Bernard Cribbins
We鈥檙e back in the seventies鈥� the decade of endless teabreaks, sclerotic roads and paralysed government 鈥� as portrayed in the work of a certain popular actor
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CommentAre you stuck in one-way traffic? Liquidated damages and the Construction Act
Rupert Choat聽Developers can鈥檛 rely on the Construction Act when they claim liquidated damages, but the contractor can when it reclaims them. How unfair!