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Exit strategy

鈥淏ye bye, Byles鈥�. That headline alone will please one of my contacts at Bam Construct, who had a small bet (proceeds to charity, of course) with a colleague that, following Tim Byles鈥� exit from Partnerships for Schools, someone, somewhere, would use the phrase to announce his departure. The news has certainly set gossip running across the sector, with Ty Goddard, director of the BCSE, contemplating, in an article in the Times, whether the departure was 鈥渁n undignified exit.鈥� This has been angrily refuted by supporters of the outgoing chief executive, one of whom questioned whether making such comments was itself 鈥渢he most dignified behaviour.鈥� Play nicely now, lads 鈥�

Politician meets pylon

Chris Huhne鈥檚 mind may not have been entirely focused on the launch of RIBA鈥檚 competition to find a new design for Britain鈥檚 electricity pylons this week. We can only assume that the secretary of state, who is currently battling allegations from his ex-wife that he asked her to take his speeding points, was not contemplating a power cut as he sat next to a model of one of the ubiquitous structures. Still, he managed to summon a remarkable amount of interest in pylons, as the panel considered whether they should be shaped like people, as is the case in Finland. What about replicas of Anish Kapoor鈥檚 Orbit criss-crossing our landscape? You could make a few mistakes and nobody would notice 鈥�

Road rage

The locals of Mawsley Village in Kettering are not happy with Taylor Wimpey and the town it built. According to them, the roads are in a shocking state. Even back in 2009 local MP Philip Hollobone blasted in parliament 鈥渢he main developer, Taylor Wimpey, [who] has been slow and reluctant in dealing with basic maintenance issues such as street lighting, road potholes and unfinished pavement surfaces.鈥� They now have a petition demanding Taylor Wimpey fix the roads. The perils of localism.

How not to get a promotion

Pete Redfern, meanwhile, has been walking along even tougher terrain than the roads in Mawsley - his Taylor Wimpey team managed to finish sixth out
of 42 in the annual Three Peaks Challenge, where hikers race each other up and down the heights of Ben Nevis, Snowdon, and Scafell Pike. A good result, but rather embarrassingly for the chief exec, he was beaten by Taylor Wimpey鈥檚 South-west Thames office by just three minutes. Do they not understand about letting the boss win?

Forgettable faces

As Lord Sugar pushes this year鈥檚 hapless Apprentice contenders through various chaotic tasks it鈥檚 easy to see why he didn鈥檛 fancy taking this year鈥檚 winner on to his payroll - he will instead stump up 拢250k start-up cash. Some of the previous winners found their way into his real estate business, Amsprop, putting them into direct contact with construction firms. So what do they make of them? One supplier told one of my hacks: 鈥淚鈥檝e worked with a couple of them but I can鈥檛 remembertheir names.鈥� Hardly a ringing endorsement of a contest that supposedly finds business greats.