Opinion – Page 345

  • Comment

    Change the guards

    2010-01-08T00:00:00Z

    The cost implications of a serious fire often far exceed the costs of theft from sites

  • Comment

    No snow without fire

    2010-01-08T00:00:00Z

    Both Eurostar (which operates the trains) and Eurotunnel (which operates the tunnel) were clearly ill-prepared to handle the breakdowns of trains before Christmas

  • Comment

    No answers

    2010-01-08T00:00:00Z

    After enduring 10 years of ostracism by their professional institution, it seems at last that the QS members of the RICS might be rebelling (27 November, page 28)

  • Denise Chevin
    Comment

    Carry on screaming

    2010-01-08T00:00:00Z

    Just how scary is 2010 going to be, we ask on the cover. Well, put it this way: if you want to feel uplifted in the next 12 months your best bet is probably to watch Toy Story III

  • Comment

    Are UK houses really worth 6% more than a year ago?

    2010-01-07T12:25:00Z

    The final Halifax index for 2009 has been released and it settles on a December 2009 average house price 5.6% above that of December 2008.This is roughly in line with the figures from Nationwide which show a 5.9% rise.It is easy from this to draw the conclusion that on average ...

  • Comment

    Workload drops as the snow falls

    2010-01-06T11:41:00Z

    When we suffered a cold snap back in February last year I looked at the impact of the great freeze of 1962/63 on construction output. In a word it was huge.So, as I walked into work this morning chipper as a child as I trudge though inches of snow and ...

  • Comment

    CIPS figures show construction activity in 2009 ending with a whimper

    2010-01-05T12:17:00Z

    The buyers’ body CIPS has released its first construction statistics of the New Year and they show the industry continuing to decline in December.The construction index finished the year on 47.1, below the 50 no-change mark for the 22nd consecutive month.But there was some good news. The housing index remained ...

  • Comment

    Pundits on balance point to flat house prices in 2010

    2009-12-28T00:10:00Z

    It's the time of the year for reflections, resolutions and prognostications. And what can be more fun than guessing the likely path of house prices?Well I can think of a few things. And I'm also left wondering why anyone would wish to state a house price forecast publicly and put ...

  • Comment

    Does the whole GDP debate really rest on dodgy construction output figures?

    2009-12-22T11:56:00Z

    It has long been said that construction is an important bellwether in determining the shape of the nation’s economic progress.Today the performance of construction, or rather revisions to its measured performance, seemingly determined how close the UK is to recovery.The upwardly revised construction data put the nation yet closer to ...

  • Solar panels
    Comment

    Where the wind blows

    2009-12-18T00:00:00Z

    The recently published “Zero Carbon for New Non-domestic ɫTVs” by the communities department has much to commend it, but is flawed by one large blind spot, says the Davis Langdon senior consultant

  • Denise Chevin
    Comment

    We’ve never had it so good

    2009-12-18T00:00:00Z

    You can’t see much when you’re in a hole, but the truth is that the noughties were in many ways a wonderful decade

  • Comment

    Residential planning activity bounces back

    2009-12-18T15:59:00Z

    The latest Government planning data on the face of it supports the view that there has been a bounce in activity within the house building sector.The topline data, released today, for residential planning decision show a fall in the September quarter compared with both the previous quarter and on the ...

  • Comment

    Hansom: I can see a better time

    2009-12-18T00:00:00Z

    When all our dreams come true. But until then, you’ll have to make do with more stories about disgruntled surveyors, Olympic cash and out-of-work architects

  • Comment

    The decade from hell: Legal review

    2009-12-18T00:00:00Z

    It ended badly and, to be honest, it didn’t start that auspiciously either, but at least it also contained some reforms that may well stand the test of time

  • Comment

    Fired up

    2009-12-18T00:00:00Z

    “So how dangerous is timber frame?” you ask on the cover (11 December).

  • Comment

    The question answered

    2009-12-18T00:00:00Z

    There is nothing inherently dangerous about timber-frame construction

  • Comment

    Remember 1666?

    2009-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Isn’t it about time that building control officers stood up against the green brigade and used some common sense?

  • Comment

    Mix it up

    2009-12-18T00:00:00Z

    Much as I respect John Bale (4 December, page 30), I have to take issue with him over procurement

  • Comment

    Low conduct

    2009-12-18T00:00:00Z

    A major point overlooked by Richard Steer in his article Buyer Beware (13 November) is that all partners and directors in consultancies have a duty under their professional indemnity (PI) insurance policy to take all reasonable precautions to prevent losses or liabilities arising in connection with the insured risks

  • Comment

    Why the long bill?

    2009-12-18T00:00:00Z

    The prices of labour and materials in the construction industry have fallen and tender prices have plummeted