A shortage of construction managers and supervisors is threatening a fledgling industry upturn in Scotland. The latest Scottish Construction Monitor found that industry sentiment north of the border is finally turning positive. But problems finding qualified construction managers hit 90% of companies quizzed by the Scottish Building Federation. The survey [...]

Keolis and Eurostar International have announced a joint bid to run the East Coast rail franchise. The contract is expected to be awarded in October 2014 and commence in February 2015. East Coast has been run under Directly Operated Railways (DOR) since 2009, when National Express pulled out. Reprivatisation of [...]

Lundin Petroleum has informed that the Johan Sverdrup appraisal well 16/5-4, located in the south western part of PL501,in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, found an oil column of approximately 6 metres in excellent quality sandstone of Upper Jurassic age. The well is successfully completed. Appraisal well 16/5-4 [...]

Laing O’Rourke is set to start work on a £120m mixed-used scheme at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus next summer. Plans to build the Forum project moved ahead after Cambridge University Hospitals and investor John Laing signed contracts. The Forum is being designed by architecture practice NBBJ and will comprise a new [...]

Carlisle station will benefit from a £1.8m accessibility scheme, Network Rail has announced. New goods lifts and the reopening of a disused subway will increase access, with work due to begin in October. As part of the Access for All scheme, funded by the DfT, the work will see two [...]

Joint developers Exemplar and Bedford Estates have gained planning for a 120,000 sq ft office and retail building near Centre Point in London. The One Bedford Avenue building plans were drawn up by Bennetts Associates, and will see the old Time Out magazine building demolished to make way for the [...]

Statoil has decided to postpone resuming production at the Njord field in the Norwegian Sea after completing a turnaround. Reinforcements are needed to the platform structure before production can resume. Extensive analysis and inspection work carried out during the shutdown this summer has revealed the need for reinforcements to a [...]

A new, safety-conscious technique for installing offshore wind towers has been used for the first time at the UK’s Dogger Bank site, the developer has announced. Forewind, a consortium composed of RWE, SSE, Statoil and Statkraft, installed the second of Dogger Bank's two meteorological (“met”) masts last weekend using what [...]

Property giant Hammerson has gained detailed planning for its £130m Victoria Gate scheme in Leeds. The retail developer has shortlisted  Laing O’Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine and Vinci for the £130m phase one construction job, which is now on course to start in Spring 2014. This phase will consist of a five-floor John [...]

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin officially opened King’s Cross Square yesterday, as the £550m redevelopment was completed. The transformation of the 75,000 sq ft public square follows the renovation of the original station building, with the construction of the new western concourse in 2012. The redevelopment has helped to attract £2.2bn [...]

Genesis has announced a five-year extension to its Engineering Services support contract with Shell. The original contract was awarded in 2003. The contract scope covers the provision of all categories of engineering and design staff and associated support services, with Genesis personnel working alongside Shell staff as an integrated engineering [...]

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has announced £80m of further funding to remove traffic bottlenecks across the country. Fifteen schemes worth £25m have been given start dates while local councils are being invited to submit bids by the end of October for a share of the remaining £55m. Many of the [...]