The £15.8bn Crossrail project is a ‘textbook example’ of how to deliver a major construction project on time and on budget, says the House of Commons public accounts committee.

The public accounts committee is more often seen lambasting government departments for getting things wrong, with high profile chair Margaret Hodge seen issuing severe judgment with perfect 20/20 hindsight.

With high praise being issue, it was left to Conservative MP Richard Bacon to do the talking for the committee. "Major, complex infrastructure projects are notoriously difficult to deliver on time and in budget. With Crossrail we see a textbook example of how to get things right," he said. "Happily, this means Crossrail – a £15.8bn programme in total – is on course to deliver value for money to the taxpayer.”

He continued: “The joint sponsors of the Crossrail programme, the Department for Transport and Transport for London, are working well with the delivery organisation, Crossrail Limited, to deliver the programme, which at present is broadly on schedule and being delivered within budget.

“The team has focussed on the essentials of programme management, including defining a realistic scope, establishing a management team with the necessary skills and securing the required funding. Two years were spent on planning before construction began, and roles and relationships were clearly established.

“The Department should capture the lessons it has learned from the Crossrail programme and apply these to its other projects, most notably High Speed 2.”

If there is a lesson it is that the benefit of the project to London was underestimated at the outset. It was given a 2:1 benefit to cost ratio, when in fact it is more like 3:1, if wider economic impact is taken into account. The committee said that the government could have got more money out of private sector organisations that will benefit from the new transport link.

Mr Bacon concluded: “Construction of Crossrail is not yet complete, and considerable risks remain in delivering the programme by 2019, particularly managing the transition from building the railway to operating it, and delivering the Crossrail trains. So far, though, the signs are good."

The full report can be seen at Parliament.uk.

The average home in Britain is now worth £260,488, up £16,265 since start of the year with Salford seeing the largest rise in property values, according to the latest data from Zoopla.

London property values grew fastest during first half of year at 8.2% or £43,115 whiles Scottish property values increased only 1.1% compared with a national average of 6.5%, the data also shows.

It means that the average British home has increased in value by £90 a day but the star was the Manchester suburb of Salford where average property values have risen 12% and now stand at £138,619, a growth rate that eclipses even London.

Although average house prices in the capital, which currently stand at £567,392 according to Zoopla, are more than four times higher than in Salford.

Brough in Yorkshire and St Leonards-On-Sea in East Sussex have also seen strong growth in average property values over the last six months at 11.9% and 11.8% respectively.

‘Home owners up and down the country are starting to see the benefits of the recovery as home values make further headway in 2014,’ said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla.

‘Over the past few years Salford especially has prospered from job creation in the area which has helped boost the local property market. Property price growth has largely been a London and South East story until recently, so it is very encouraging to see the house price recovery broadening and the ripple effect starting to take hold further north,’ he explained.

‘There have been a few weak spots in the market so far in 2014, like Cornwall where the strong pound has started turning those looking for holiday homes back towards foreign property markets. And towns on the England/Scotland border are likely suffering from caution amongst buyers ahead of the referendum on independence in September,’ he added.

A two-week site blitz of 560 construction sites by the Health & Safety Executive has resulted in 35% of them being issued with a bill for the privilege under the Fees For Intervention scheme (FFI).

A total of 239 health-related notices of contravention were served at 201 of the sites. An HSE spokesman confirmed that these notices generate an FFI invoice. He explained that a notice of contravention is issued where there has been a material breach of health and safety law but not so bad as to require a prohibition notice or an improvement notice.

Collectively called enforcement notices, prohibition or improvement notices were issued at one in six sites – 85 in total. At 13 sites, safety breaches were so bad that inspectors issued prohibition notices putting an immediate stop to work.

Growing speculation around an interest rate rise and uncertainty over the outcome of next May’s general election and possible tax changes are having an impact on the prime property market in outer London, a new analysis suggests.

The results has been a fall in new buyer registrations and an increase in new properties coming onto the market, according to the research by property firm Knight Frank.

It reports that new buyer registrations are down by a fifth and new supply up by a third in the second quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2013.

‘To some extent, buyers have also become more restrained after a period of relatively strong price growth with sealed bids and open days becoming less prevalent, explained Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank.

However, he pointed out that whatever the validity of buyers’ concerns about the sustainability of price inflation, it is worth highlighting that annual growth in prime outer London residential prices only exceeded 5% a year ago and moved into double digits in January this year.

The amount of available stock in prime outer London in June was 19% higher than June last year and at its highest overall level in more than five years. Annual growth in prime outer London was 12.1% in the year to June after a monthly rise of 1%, which compares to 8.1% in prime central London.

‘There is an overlap of factors causing demand to slow in both markets but the prospect of an interest rate rise is likely to play a stronger role in prime outer London,’ said Bill.

Wandsworth and Clapham recorded the highest annual growth of 17.2% followed by 15.8% in Canary Wharf.

‘There are tentative signs the prime outer London rentals market will benefit from softening demand in the sales market. It is an emerging trend in the prime central London market as the economy stabilises and companies expand,’ explained Bill.

The report also shows that rental values grew 0.7% in June, which was the highest monthly increase since the index was produced on a monthly basis in April 2011.

It mirrored a similar record monthly jump in prime central London in June but growth still remains more erratic in outer London and was 0.4% down over the second quarter and 0.5% down over the last year.

Brett Concrete has manufactured the last of the 250,000 concrete segments that have been produced to line the tunnels of London’s Crossrail project.

The final piece was cast at a specially-built Crossrail factory in Chatham, Kent.

This factory has produced 110,000 tunnel segments to line Crossrail’s 12km long eastern twin tunnels, from east London to Farringdon. Segments for the western tunnels from Royal Oak to Paddington were manufactured at a separate facility at Old Oak Common. Segments for the Thames Tunnel between Plumstead and North Woolwich were manufactured in Ireland.

At peak, the Chatham factory operated 24 hours a day, five days per week and on average manufactured 330 segments per day. Each segment weighs 3.4 tonnes. Seven segments and a key stone form a complete tunnel ring in the new Crossrail eastern tunnels, which are being built by joint venture Dragados Sisk.

Crossrail chief executive Andrew Wolstenholme said: “Crossrail is Europe’s largest construction project with an immense supply chain spread across the country. The team at Chatham have done a superb job supplying our eastern tunnels with concrete segments.”

Pictured below are tunnel lining segments waiting to be shipped out from the Chatham factory and taken up the Thames by barge to site.

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The Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) has set out its spending plans that indicate support for more than 40,000 new homes by 2018.

The HCA said that 160 housing providers across England would share £886m of affordable homes funding.

A total of 43,821 new affordable homes will be delivered across 2,697 schemes.

The initial allocations have been made under the HCA’s 2015-18 Affordable Homes Programme, following a competitive bidding process for funding.

The funding allocated comprises just over half of the total £1.7bn of funding available. The remaining funding will be made available for providers to bid into the HCA in due course via continuous market engagement (CME), as planned, to allow housing providers further opportunity to work up schemes for delivery by 2018.

The government’s target is for 165,000 new affordable homes to be built by March 2018.

HCA Chief Executive Andy Rose said: “We have set in place a solid delivery programme that will ensure a smooth transition from our current affordable homes programme, and that delivery can start promptly.”

He added: “Just over half of the available funding has been allocated. The remaining funding will be allocated on a continuous market engagement basis, giving even more partners time to work up deliverable bids to meet local needs and their future development aspirations.

“This is a strong foundation that we are putting in place today, which puts us on track to make a significant contribution towards government’s aspirations for up to 165,000 new affordable homes by March 2018, while supporting overall housing supply and local economic growth.”

The amount of government grant available for solid wall insulation has been cut by a third.

The Department of Energy & Climate Change says the cuts are necessary because the scheme is so successful.

The Green Deal home improvement fund has seen more than £43m worth of vouchers issued in the first six weeks, and more than £50m applied for.

12,200 applications have been received and 7,925 households in England and Wales have received vouchers under the scheme, which offers people money back for making energy saving improvements to their home.

From Friday 25th July, new applicants can receive up to £4,000 for installing Solid Wall Insulation, reduced from £6,000. Flue gas heat recovery units will be removed from the list of approved measures from Tuesday 5th August.

Energy minister Amber Rudd said: “Changes announced today ensure even more households can benefit from warmer homes using less energy.”

The Green Deal home improvement fund also entitles those who have bought a property in the 12 months prior to application to qualify for up to an additional £500 if they carry out recommended energy efficiency improvements under the scheme.

In December 2013, the government announced a £540m three-year energy efficiency package with at least £120m available for energy efficiency schemes from April 2015.

From Friday 25th July, Green Deal Home Improvement Fund domestic energy customers can get:

• up to £1,000 for installing two measures from an approved list; and/or
• up to £4,000 for installing solid wall insulation; and
• up to £100 refunded for their Green Deal assessment.

The dangers of farmers who think construction safety laws don’t apply to them was highlighted by a case at Aberystwyth Magistrates Court yesterday (Monday 21st July).

The Health & Safety Executive prosecuted two brothers, Andrew Evans and his brother, David Evans, for breaches of construction safety on their farm.

Their negligence resulted in a contractor suffering serious brain injuries in a fall while carrying out building work.

The contractor was installing a floor over a slurry lagoon in a new barn at Gwarllwyn Farm, near Llandysul on 12 June 2012 when the floor panel he and a workman were standing on gave way, plunging them into the lagoon four metres below.

The court heard that the contractor was hired to create a cattle shed floor over an existing slurry lagoon. He erected concrete pillars in the slurry pit then put preformed concrete beams on top and laid concrete wall panels across the beams instead of panels specifically designed for flooring. These were to hold a slatted floor and cattle cubicles.

As the contractor and another workman were standing on one of the panels, it gave way, plunging them into the lagoon. The contractor suffered a head injury and was hospitalised for two month and he is still undergoing rehabilitation. The workman escaped without injury.

HSE found the two farmers had failed to appoint a construction design and management (CDM) co-ordinator. The brothers also did not have a principal contractor so had assumed that role, giving them the responsibility for planning, managing and monitoring the health and safety aspects of the construction work.

However, no design or construction plans existed and there was no risk assessment or agreed safe system of work. They also failed to check the contractor was suitably competent to do the work. The wall panels he used were unsuitable and the workmen he employed on site had no training or experience in construction.

In addition, the brothers allowed the contractor to use an untrained crane driver, using a 25 tonne capacity crane that had gone without the required annual thorough examination for 10 ten years.

They also failed to supervise or monitor the construction work, which involved a lot of working at height. There were no suitable measures to prevent or mitigate any effects of a fall.

Andrew Evans, of Gwarllwyn Farm, Rhydlewis, Llandysul and David Evans of Esgair Tangwst, Rhydlewis each pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations and were each fined a total of £9,000. Each was also ordered to pay costs of £3,560.

HSE inspector Phil Nicolle said after the hearing: “Farmers cannot ignore their legal duties for health and safety when arranging construction work on their farms. The contractor in this case suffered life-threatening injuries and has yet to make a full recovery.

“The Evans brothers were undertaking a major construction project and failed to make the crucial appointment of a construction design and management co-ordinator to advise them on their responsibilities and how to manage the project safely. They took on the responsibilities of a principal contractor for planning, managing and monitoring the health and safety aspects of the construction work, and in all these respects they failed significantly.

“If farmers use contractors for any work they simply cannot tell them what to do and let them get on with it. Both the client and the contractor have legal duties for health and safety that can’t be passed to each other by contract. This means they have to work with each other to make sure the job is done safely. Farmers must always question their contractors about their health and safety arrangements.”

Seasonally adjusted estimates for the number of residential property transactions in the UK decreased by 0.2% between May and June, according to the latest figures from HMRC

June’s sales figure is also 15.7% higher compared to the same month last year while the trend since the beginning of 2013/2014 has been of a general month on month increase in transactions, this halted in February.

The HMRC report says that since February there has been a gradual decrease followed by a flattening out of transaction numbers.

Recent non-seasonally-adjusted transactions peaked in June 2014 and November 2013 at similar levels, both being the highest levels since November 2007 but it must be remembered that the figures for the two most recent months are provisional and therefore subject to revision.

Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, pointed out that the figures shows that the UK property market is singing a different tune to that heard at the start of this year. ‘The fierce competition for properties and unprecedented house price growth has subsided as a new wave of supply has come onto the market, stabilising price rises and restoring normality to trading conditions,’ he said.

‘Both buyers and sellers alike are benefitting from this new calmness in the market, with a greater array of available property to choose from and slightly slower pace of activity making stepping onto the ladder or trading up a less daunting prospect,’ he explained.

‘The implementation of tighter lending criteria and affordability checks has lengthened the borrowing process and cooled the market during this transitional phase. This wave of regulatory change will ensure lasting sustainability and responsibility of growth, but the government and the Bank of England need to be careful that future interventions are not premature and overzealous. Beyond the capital, the housing market recovery still requires a watchful eye,’ he added.

According to Jonathan Hudson of West End estate agent Hudsons Property in London, the property market is cooling but still strong. ‘We are still achieving top prices but some of the urgency has subsided. Certain measures put in place, like the overseas buyers capital gains tax and potential interest rate rises have not really affected the market,’ he said.

‘However, tighter lending criteria have slowed increases and buyers are being more considered before offering. This is also allowing more property to reach the market, giving buyers more choice,’ he added.

Few residential properties were sold in Cyprus in the first quarter of 2014, mainly due to the prevailing economic conditions, according to the latest index from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Due to this and the turbulence in Cyprus’ banking system there was a sharp reduction in interest from buyers and those interested were unable to access bank finance or their deposits, the report says.

An increase in unemployment, further decreases in salaries also had an impact on the Mediterranean island’s property market but the report says there were also signs of the Cyprus economy stabilising.

Overall the Cyprus Property Price Index recorded falls in almost all cities and asset classes, with significant falls being recorded in Nicosia and Limassol.

‘Nicosia is clearly feeling the impact on the government and banking sector, the two sectors who dominate the local employment market, whilst other cities are progressively bottoming out,’ the report points out.

Across Cyprus, residential prices for both houses and flats fell by 1.4% and 2.6% respectively, with the biggest drop being in Famagusta where the price of houses declined by 4% and flats by 9.3%.

Values of retail properties fell by an average of 1.7%, whilst those of offices and warehouses fell by 1.4% and 0.9% respectively.

It means that compared to the first quarter of 2013, prices for flats have gone down by 10.7%, and houses by 7.8%. In the commercial property sector retail property has fallen by 14.8% year on year, offices by 10.4% and warehouses by 11.4%.
Across Cyprus, on a quarterly basis rental values for apartments decreased by 1.4%, house rentals by 1.6%, retail units by 1.2%, warehouses by 3.1% and offices by 1.2%.

Year on year apartment rents have fallen by 11.3%, houses by 12.6%, retail property by 23.3%, warehouses by 14% and offices by 15.4%.

‘The majority of asset classes and geographies continue to be affected, with areas that had dropped the most early on in the property cycle now nearing the trough, the report adds.

It also shows that at the end of the first quarter of 2014 average gross yields stood at 3.9% for apartments, 1.9% for houses, 5.3% for retail, 4.4% for warehouses, and 4.3% for offices.

‘The parallel reduction in capital values and rents is keeping investment yields relatively stable and at very low levels compared to yields overseas. This suggests that there is still room for re-pricing of capital values to take place,’ the report concludes.

Almost all landlords in the UK report that tenant demand is currently stable or growing, according to the latest quarterly survey from specialist buy to let lender Paragon Mortgages.

Landlords also reported an average yield across their rental portfolio of 6.2% in the second quarter of the year, a slight increase on the previous quarter when the average was 6.1%. The average yield has remained around this level for the past 12 months.

In the second quarter 38% of landlords said that they were feeling more optimistic about the prospects for their rental portfolios. Some 56% stated that there had been no change in their views, and just 4% said they were feeling pessimistic about prospects.

Looking ahead, 16% of landlords are planning to add to their rental portfolios during the third quarter.

The survey also shows that there has been no change in the types of property landlords are planning to invest in, with terraced houses remaining the most popular with 55% of those expecting to buy choosing this property type.

There has been a slight increase in popularity of detached houses, with 15% of landlords expecting to buy this property type compared to 12% last quarter.

Some 72% of landlords said that they thought rental arrears levels would remain stable in the next year, only 11% expect levels to increase. Overall, the feedback from landlords suggests that only marginal movement in tenant arrears is predicted.

‘It is interesting to see the improvement in confidence amongst landlords in the private rented sector. We are seeing much more activity in the private rented sector and, in turn, the buy to let market as a result of continuing strong rental demand and the investments made by landlords,’ said John Heron, managing director of Paragon Mortgages.

‘Tenant demand is clearly staying very healthy, and this is likely to remain a common trend over the coming months, particularly as we are still not seeing the level of house building that the wider housing market so desperately needs,’ he explained.

Vinci subsidiary Nuvia has been handed the tricky tasks of taking down the tallest chimney stack at the Sellafield nuclear plant.

The 61m chimney sits on top of the 11-storey First Generation Reprocessing Plant, standing 122m high in total.

It is right in the centre of one of the busiest areas of the site, so cannot just be knocked down or blown up. Instead it will be surgically dismantled using a special platform, a process that will take several years to complete. Some 600 tonnes of concrete and rebar and more than 25 tonnes of stainless steel will be removed, bit by bit.

Project manager Matthew Hodgson said: “The job of bringing down the stack is going to be a delicate operation to ensure 100% safety of all personnel and surrounding nuclear plants.  We have employed Nuvia Limited who has been working with us and a number of other contractors, including Delta Steeplejacks, for the last three years on the demolition scheme.

“Obviously conventional demolition using explosives is not feasible therefore we will use an ingenious self-climbing platform which will bring the chimney down bit by bit in a controlled manner.”

This technique is similar to that being used to bring down the chimneys of Battersea Power Station. 

Mr Hodgson added: “A mini-replica of the tapered chimney will be built to test the methodology as the diameter of the chimney increases the lower you go down, so the platform will correspondingly have to increase in size.  A specialist diamond wire cutting system will be used to remove large sections of the concrete structure and the internal metal flue, all of which will have to be lowered to the base of the stack for monitoring before disposal.”

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Built in the early 1950s the first generation reprocessing plant carried out the first stage of reprocessing fuel from the Windscale Pile Reactors to produce materials for the UK’s Cold War defence programme.  It was later modified as a head end plant for commercial oxide fuels following the opening of the Magnox reprocessing plant 50 years ago. Operations ceased in 1974 and oxide reprocessing was transferred to the Thorp reprocessing plant in 1994.

Recent assessments of the 1950s stack have confirmed that it doesn’t meet modern design standards and its removal is considered a high priority for Sellafield Ltd, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR).

Work on site will soon begin to install an industrial lift and a roof bridge structure, allowing access to the base of the chimney. The lift and bridge will then be used for the removal of waste materials when demolition starts.

Nuvia is the nuclear division of Soletanche Freyssinet, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vinci.

Sellafield Ltd has been owned and operated by Nuclear Management Partners (NMP) since 2008. NMP is a joint venture of URS, Amec and Areva.

Across the UK buyers of prime property are continuing to favour urban locations and homes in cities are now on average just 1.7% below their peak, a new analysis shows.

Prime properties in regional cities saw growth of 1.7% in the three months to the end of June, with annual growth totalling 8.1%, driven by demand from those relocating from London and downsizers.

This compares to quarterly growth of 0.9% for village properties and 0.5% for prime properties in rural locations, and annual growth of 5.3% and 3.3% respectively, according to the analysis from real estate firm Savills.

However, the report points out that the market above £2 million remains more fragile, with the price threshold that resulted from stamp duty increases remaining entrenched. This is evidenced in the prime country house market which recorded quarterly growth of just 0.1%.

‘The recovery in this high value marketplace is hard to generalise, since every property and location is unique. Some properties are selling rapidly, with competition, while others require price adjustments to sell as fragile buyer sentiment remains susceptible to the changing news agenda, in particular the renewed spectre of a mansion tax,’ the report says.

It also explains that the prime market is responding to the positive sentiment in the mainstream market, with stock levels increasing as downsizers in particular sense an opportunity to sell into a more buoyant market.

‘However, in some cases, headlines of house price growth are giving sellers a false impression of the value of their property, creating a gap between their expectations and those of the buyers who are sensitive to headlines of interest rate rises and the like,’ it adds.

‘At the top end of the market, there is a threat around the 2015 election, given that taxation of high value properties is high on the political agenda. We expect values to plateau in locations with a high concentration of properties over £2 million as buyers remain cautious. New sellers entering the market should price for these market conditions,’ the report points out.

‘However, assuming there are no further changes to the taxation of high value property, our outlook for the prime regional markets remains positive, with a forecast of 22.7% over the five years to 2018,’ it says.

It also shows that the strongest growth continues to be seen closer to the capital reflecting a displacement of London housing wealth into commuter markets. The prime suburbs have outperformed the capital for the first time since the credit crunch, recording growth of 5.7% in the first six months of 2014, compared to the prime London average of 4.9%.

Values throughout the commuter zone are now back to, or above, their 2007 peak levels. This quarter saw house prices in the outer commuter zone, a ring of up to one hour’s travel distance from the capital, return to peak for the first time.

However, beyond the commuter zone, prices remain some way below their 2007 peak, despite annual price growth. At the extreme, in Scotland, where the…

A London construction company and the director of a Hertfordshire roofing firm must pay out close to £30,000 after a worker broke his back falling through a void for a roof light.

The fall occurred on a site in Brent on 29 February 2012. Golders Green-based Right Angle was refurbishing and extending three residential properties. Some of the work had been subcontracted to Rickmansworth-based John Donald, trading as John Donald Roofing. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted both parties after identifying a number of safety failings across the site as well as those linked to the roof work.

Westminster Magistrates Court heard last week that the injured worker, then aged 28, fell as he cleared materials from a flat roof. He picked up a piece of ply board that he assumed was debris without realising it concealed a roof light void beneath. He fell feet first through the void and landed on the first floor some 5.6 metres below, fracturing his spine on impact.

HSE established that the measures taken to mark and protect this and other similar voids were unacceptable, and that other workers could have suffered a similar fate.

Numerous other height safety failings were identified on the site, including lack edge protection, fall risks on the scaffold, open joists, and open staircases where there were no handrails.

Fire risks and inadequate fire prevention measures were also noted, as well as numerous slip and trip hazards caused by excess rubbish and debris, and dangerously stacked window frames.

Right Angle Ltd, of Finchley Road, London, NW11, was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £5,375 after pleading guilty to a single breach of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

John Donald, of New Road, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth, was fined £4,000 with £3,965 costs after admitting a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

HSE inspector Danielle Coppell said after the hearing: “There were numerous failings on the part of Right Angle Ltd that exposed multiple operatives to a host of foreseeable risks, including falls, slips and trips. John Donald has to accept culpability as an experienced roofer who should have known better. He instructed the injured worker to work in an unsafe area where there were wholly insufficient measures in place to prevent or mitigate a fall. The end result is that a young man has sustained life-changing spinal injuries from which he may never fully recover.”

Construction is set to start this year on the first of 30 more tower blocks that are to be built at London’s Canary Wharf.

With Tower Hamlets Council yesterday giving planning permission for a multi-billion pound extension of Canary Wharf, contractors will begin work before the year is out.

Canary Wharf Group plans to build a net 4.9m sq ft (6.5m sq ft gross) mixed use development at Wood Wharf, which is the eastern continuation to the existing Canary Wharf district.

The scheme will result in a further 30 big tower blocks at Canary Wharf, with roughly half the new space for apartments, making Canary Wharf a place to live as well as work. Completion of the first phase of this development will coincide with the arrival in 2018 of the Crossrail train service at Canary Wharf.

The new Canary Wharf neighbourhood will provide a net 2.6m sq ft (3.4m sq ft gross) of residential space, including 3,100 new homes, ranging from park-side townhouses to high-rise buildings designed by signature architects. Among the new tower blocks will be a network of parks and public squares with approximately nine acres of interconnected public spaces, including 1km of dock-edge walkways.

The new district will also include net 1.9m sq ft of office space (2.6 sq ft gross), targeting the media, technology and telecoms sectors.

The masterplan by Allies & Morrison also includes a primary school, an NHS medical centre, a community centre, a hotel and more than 100 high street shops, restaurants and cafes.

 Canary Wharf Group chairman and CEO Sir George Iacobescu said: "We are very pleased to have worked in collaboration with Tower Hamlets and the local community in helping to achieve this important planning permission. This major eastern development of Canary Wharf will reinforce the district as one of London's most vibrant and dynamic mixed-use commercial and residential districts. It will combine new high quality offices aimed at the fast emerging TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications) sector; a wide variety of high street shops and restaurants, and a range of new housing opportunities designed around generous newly created public spaces. We expect to be on site in the fourth quarter of 2014, with the first buildings to be occupied as early as the end of 2018."

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The average small and medium sized construction company carried trade debt of £484,000 last year, according to a new survey.

Companies with 10-49 employees and a turnover between £2m – £10m were the worst hit, with an average debt of £627,000 – representing 16% of turnover.

Debt recovery firm Debt Guard Solicitors analysed the accounts of 550 construction SMEs.

Firms with fewer than 10 employees and a turnover of less than £2m each had an average trade debt of £41,000, accounting for a slightly smaller 14% of turnover.

 Medium-sized companies with between 50 and 249 employees and a turnover between £10m and £100m, as expected, had the highest levels of SME trade debt at £969,000. This accounted for a more manageable 13% of turnover.

Debt Guard Solicitors chief operating officer Mark Burgess said: “This research highlights the financial headache caused by outstanding and unpaid bills in the construction sector. It is clear that smaller SMEs in particular need much greater support in this respect, as many are facing the very real threat of closure due to trade debt pressure.

“Our message to all construction SMEs struggling with late payment is, ‘don’t write off your debt’, look at legal ways to professionally recover it as, by improving credit flow, this will help put your business on a more stable financial footing.”

If Labour wins next year’s general election, there will be an end to umbrella companies and a full public inquiry into construction’s blacklisting scandal.

These are just two of the measures put forward by construction unions and agreed by the Labour Party’s national policy forum last weekend.

On blacklisting the Labour Party has agreed that: “If the current government will not launch a full inquiry into the disgraceful practice of blacklisting in the construction industry the next Labour government will. This inquiry will be transparent and public to ensure the truth is set out.”

The policy statement adopted on employment status in the construction industry is: “False self-employment in construction is a scandal that is costing the taxpayer hundreds of millions each year…..The next Labour government will put this right by tackling problems with the Construction Industry Scheme and setting criteria for deeming contracts in the construction industry for an individual’s personal service to be employment contracts for the purpose of both taxation and employment rights, and will abolish the loopholes in existing deeming measures, including through the use of umbrella and payroll companies.”

Other issues close to the hearts of construction union activists have also made it into Labour policy. For example, papers relating to the 1972 trial of the Shrewsbury pickets will be made public.

On pleural plaques it was agreed: “Labour will introduce legislation for a proper compensation scheme for sufferers of asbestosis and asbestos related conditions, ensuring they are given the payment they are duly owed without delay, by enshrining the levy on the insurance industry in law. This will secure a sustainable funding stream for compensation for victims and ongoing research into asbestos related diseases and their treatment. The compensation scheme will be extended to include pleural plaques should evidence be found to show pleural plaques are symptomatic.”

On the treatment of construction workers in Qatar it was agreed that: “Labour is appalled by the human rights abuses being perpetuated in Qatar and deprecates the system of sponsored employment known as the Kafala system; Labour calls on the Qatari authorities to adopt ILO Conventions of Freedom of Association and to ensure all migrant workers are covered by the standards contained in Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and legacy Worker’s Charter. If the Qatari authorities fail to take appropriate steps Labour will call for Qatar’s right to host the 2022 World Cup to be removed”.

Steve Murphy, general secretary of Ucatt, said: “Ucatt is delighted that Labour has agreed these commitments. Labour has listened to Ucatt concerns and the concerns of construction workers. The challenge will now be in ensuring they are implemented by securing a Labour victory at next year’s general election.”

Property sells faster in Cambridge than any other city in the UK, taking only 27 days on average to be marked as sold, according to leading real estate portal Rightmove.

The University and techno city is closely followed by London boroughs of Lewisham and Sutton both with 29 days and Waltham Forest with 31 days. Warwick at 33 days and St Albans at 34 days) also make the fastest selling top 10.

Overall the average time to sell has fallen to 65 days this year compared to 75 days in the same period in 2013 with properties across the country selling 10 days faster than this time last year.

In the slower selling markets properties could be for sale for an average of more than 100 days before a deal is made, with areas in Wales and the North making up the majority of the list.

Powys in Wales has the slowest selling properties, taking 113 days on average, followed by Gwynedd at 112 days and Sefton in Merseyside at 106 days.

The new data includes all properties that were changed to Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC) by agents during April to June 2014, and measures the interval of time since they were first listed for sale on Rightmove.

Although some of the slower towns have seen increases in time to sell compared with 2013, all regional averages have fallen showing the housing market recovery to be broad based.

The biggest falls year on year were in London with 32% drop from 60 to 41 days, the South East with a 22% drop from 65 to 51 days and the East with a 20% drop from 70 to 56 days. The North East sees the smallest fall of 2% from 90 to 88 days, followed by Wales with a 5% fall from 92 to 87 days.

‘This new data shows just how different the pace of the housing market is at a very local level, and clearly displays that speed is key for both buyers and sellers,’ said Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst.
‘Buyers want to know that they can be the first to find new properties on the market, and sellers expect to have their property marketed as quickly as possible to find a suitable buyer,’ he added.

Shipside pointed out that when selling a property you need to consider local market conditions to help set the asking price and ask your agent how soon they can have your property on the market.

‘Our study looks at the average time from first listing, to being confident enough in the buyer's ability to proceed, to actually mark it up as sold subject to contract. So although some sellers might find a potential buyer in a few days, the averages reflect the time taken to carry out thorough checks to minimise the risk of the sale falling through,’ he explained.
‘A good agent will establish proof of cash, ability to get a…

EDF Energy and trade unions have reached agreement on collective agreements for workers involved in building the proposed new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset.

The agreements with the unions GMB, Prospect, Ucatt and Unite, cover supervisors and support service workers as well as construction workers. They set the project's policies and culture for effective collaboration between all parties involved, including EDF Energy management, contractors, unions and the entire workforce, EDF said.

The agreements are for not just pay and productivity, but also industrial relations, recruitment, training, health and welfare, as well as skills development and workforce communications.

The new deal builds on an agreement signed between EDF Energy and the construction unions last year, giving a minimum craft rate of £13 an hour.

Approximately 5,600 people are expected to be employed on site at peak of construction on the £14bn project. EDF said that it was important to secure these agreements now, even though the project is still subject to a final investment decision, so that it and when the project does go ahead, it will stay on schedule.

EDF Energy chief executive Vincent de Rivaz said: “These landmark agreements have been reached through constructive dialogue, with genuine commitment on all sides. The collective nature of these agreements is their most important feature, and they represent a new template for others to follow. They ensure that the Hinkley Point C project will benefit from excellent workforce relations, with everyone working as one team with a common approach agreed ahead of time.

“These progressive agreements are genuinely novel, and will help us ensure we have the right team of people in place to deliver the project.”

A leading piling specialist has issued a warning to main contractors and clients that, with construction industry recovery under way, they need to factor in longer lead times to avoid project delays.

Aarsleff UK is warning that the time between securing a contract and being able to mobilise on site is coming under strain as the number of contracts being let increases.

Managing director Chris Primett said: “Whilst it is great to see signs of recovery within the construction sector, the demand this presents on a finite pool of resources, positions occupied by the specialist contractor such as piling, is considerable. The ability to adapt to the rate of contracts available is not an easy one and has the potential to ultimately present itself on site.”

With lead times for many construction materials being stretched, with some block manufacturers quoting lead times of four months and longer, as well as for the services of the specialist contractors, Aarsleff says there are wider ramifications. “Any delays can cause problems on site but they could also threaten the rate of the UK’s recovery and possibly lead to swings in the price of construction products and services as a consequence of supply and demand.”

Mr Primett continued: “As well as a better appreciation by Tier 1 contractors and clients that longer lead times may be needed, there must also be a better understanding of the effects moving previously programmed start dates can have on a specialist contractor, as this might have quite a significant impact, especially for any follow-on-projects that may have been committed to. Piling, as the work of specialist contractors, has always been considered a long lead-time element and where these appear on the construction time-scale or pathway, they should be given due consideration and scheduling so that any delays do not to impact on the entire project.”

He acknowledged that suppliers and subcontractors had a role to play in preventing scheduling problems.  “It is important that specialist contractors clearly identify lead times and communicate these to clients from the outset of discussions,” he said. “This will allow projects to be planned better, with works scheduled and front-end elements like piling and ground works may even benefit from early contract placement to protect the entire project and remove them as the rate limiting step for future works on the construction pathway.”

Wellingborough-based construction training provider Citrus Training has acquired near neighbour Altitude Safety, which supplies safety equipment.

Altitude specialises in the sale, hire and servicing of personal protective equipment, breathing apparatus, gas monitoring and detection equipment, alcohol & drug testing kits, fall arrest systems and compressors.

“Altitude is a great fit for Citrus,” said Citrus managing director Wayne Taylor. “Both companies share similar philosophies with a passion for developing a culture of safety, understanding customer needs and exceeding expectations.”

Former Heathrow Airport chief executive Colin Matthews has been appointed non-executive chairman of the Highways Agency (HA).

He takes over from Alan Cook, who has been in post since 2011.

Mr Matthews will have to pilot the transformation of the Highways Agency into a government-owned company, assuming that the Infrastructure Bill that will do this is enacted before the next general election.  Mr Cook is credited with coming up with the reform plan.

An engineer by professional background, Colin Matthews has run various types of infrastructure businesses. Before joining BAA and subsequently Heathrow, his previous jobs include running gas company Transco, recruitment firm Hays and water company Severn Trent.

The new chairman will take up his post at the Highways Agency on 1 September 2014. He will be paid £130,000 for a minimum of 78 days’ work a year. This is more than Mr Cook has been getting – “to reflect the revised role, the challenges that the Highways Agency face in the coming years”, the government’s official statement said.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “Colin Matthews’ appointment demonstrates the commitment we have to revolutionising our roads. His strong business record will give the new strategic highways company the leadership and focus on customer service it needs, which means taxpayers and road users will get a network fit for the future economic demands of this country.”

Mr Matthews said: “I am delighted to be taking up the chair of the Highways Agency. Roads matter to drivers and the economy. My focus will be on making them work better. Long-term stable investment will mean that all road users will be better able to get to their destination safely and quickly‎.”

Home values in half of the 100 largest metro areas in the United States will not reach their pre-recession peak levels again for another three plus years, it is claimed.

According to the second quarter Zillow Real Estate Market Report the residential real estate market recovery is still very much in its middle stages.

Nationally, home values remain 11.3% below their 2007 peak. Looking ahead, home values are expected to rise another 4.2% through the second quarter of 2015, according to the Zillow Home Value Forecast.

That means it will take 2.7 years for national home values to re-achieve their prerecession levels, assuming a steady rate of appreciation at the forecasted level.

Locally, in 50 of the nation's 100 largest metro markets, it will take three years or more for home values to reach prior peaks. Notable large metros where full recovery in home values will take longer than a decade include Minneapolis at 14.5 years, Kansas City at 12.5 years and Chicago at 11.7 years.

‘In dozens of markets home owners that bought at the peak of the market in 2006 or 2007 will have to wait until 2017 or later to get back to the breakeven point on their home, a lost decade in which they will have built up no home equity,’ said Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist.

‘This is reflected in stubbornly high negative equity and effective negative equity rates, with more than a third of Americans with a mortgage lacking enough equity to realistically list their home for sale and buy another,’ he explained.

‘But there is a silver lining as we navigate these tricky middle innings of the recovery. Because home values remain so far below their peak levels in so many areas, it is still possible for buyers to find bargains. This will be critical to maintaining home affordability over the coming years, especially as mortgage interest rates rise,’ he added.

The report shows that home values climbed 6.3% year on year in the second quarter, the slowest annual pace of appreciation recorded so far this year and a sign that the market is returning to more normal levels.

In a more normal market, home values appreciate at roughly 3% per year. Home values nationwide were up 1% compared to the first quarter and 0.5% from May.

Nationally, rents rose 2.5% year on year in the second quarter but fell 0.3% compared to the first quarter. The quarterly decline was the largest recorded since Zillow first began publishing the Zillow Rent Index in late 2010. Rents were flat month on month.

At the current rate of house price growth of around 10% a year, the buyer of an average UK home will be subject to a 3% stamp duty tax rate before the end of 2016, new research shows.

This amounts to £7,500, an additional £5,000 when compared to the 1% band, stamp duty for a home costing £250,001, according to figures drawn up by haart estate agents.

The firm’s latest report also shows that the acute shortage of supply is easing as new homes for sale increase 5% annually and new buyer demand falls by 1.8%.

The June report also shows that property prices were up 1.9% month on month and 9.9% year on year taking the average price of a house to £204,429.

But on London the figures have soared, up 5.8% month on month and 20.3% year on year, taking the average prices of a home in the city to £490,595.

Prices seem to be having a knock on effect on the market with house sales down 0.7% month on month but up 9.2% compared with June 2013. Viewing are also down. Month on month viewings dropped 6.3% but are up 7.1% compared with a year ago.

Paul Smith, chief executive officer of haart, the UK’s largest independent estate agent, with a network of over 200 branches, said that if national property prices continue to increase at their current rate, the average price of a UK home will fall within the 3% stamp duty tax bracket before the end of 2016.

‘This means buyers forking out at least £7,500 on top of other costs when moving home. Where a property tips over into this 3% tax band, an extra penalty of at least £5,000 is incurred on any property priced over £250,001,’ he explained.

He pointed out that stamp duty bands have not moved upwards in line with house price inflation, a fact that successive governments have benefited from to the tune of £4.7 billion for 2012/2013. First time buyers, who pay an average £154,645, have no relief as they are already in the 1% stamp duty band.

‘The government, and the Bank of England, need to be careful not to overcool the market and by raising the stamp duty tax threshold could help keep the market fluid,’ added Smith.

He also pointed out that the new Mortgage Market Review measures are having an impact, but the new affordability tests and stricter scrutiny are applied at an early stage which means that only realistic buyers are considered and unrealistic ones are filtered out of the process quickly.

‘This explains the fall in buyer registrations by 1.8% annually UK wide but this is really a fall in unrealistic mortgage applicants being able to progress with no accompanying dip in average property prices or in annual UK sales. These are the first signs of the market undergoing a natural, cathartic process of self correction,’ he concluded.

The value of sporting property assets in the UK has increased by 32% over the last 10 years, led by grouse moors, according to a new Sporting Property Index from Knight Frank.

The Index tracks the 10 year change in value of rivers, moors and deer forests and of all of them grouse moors have shown the greatest rise in capital value with an increase of 49% over the past decade. Salmon rivers increased by 29%, followed by deer forests at 29% and lastly trout chalk streams at 16%.

Clive Hopkins, head of Knight Frank Farms and Estates, explained that the recession tore the heart out of the market in 2008 and 2009. ‘The first thing that suffers during an economic crisis is this kind of very expensive and very discretionary purchase. The fact that growth is positive at all shows how resilient an asset a specialist sporting estate is,’ he pointed out.

To reflect their diverse nature and levels of desirability, each asset in the index is also split into three categories; primary, secondary and tertiary.

Primary rivers are those considered trophy purchases, such as the best stretches of the Test or Itchen for trout, and the Spey, Tweed, Tay or Dee for salmon, and are often bought by ultra high net worth buyers.

Those in the secondary category, which for trout could include the Kennet and Lambourn, and the Findhorn and Oykel for salmon, still offer fantastic sport for the enthusiast, but don’t command as high a price premium.

The index report points out that Tertiary rivers may not be the most fashionable or provide large catch numbers, but are sought after by individuals or syndicates looking for a cost effective way to enjoy their passion. Examples include the Piddle and Frome chalk streams and the Doon or Thurso salmon rivers in Scotland.

A property maintenance firm has been prosecuted for failing to check a wood dust extractor in its joinery workshop.

Stockport-based High Peak Remedial Services Ltd was prosecuted by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) after it failed to comply with an enforcement notice requiring its wood dust extractor to be properly tested, as required every 14 months by law.

Trafford Magistrates’ Court heard that an HSE inspector issued an improvement notice during a routine visit to the Park Road workshop on 13 July 2013, after it emerged the company had not arranged a recent test of its extraction system.

The company was given just over eight weeks to comply with the enforcement notice, but asked for an extension on the day before it was due to expire. The firm was then given another four weeks to arrange a test but it again failed to meet the deadline.

High Peak Remedial Services Ltd, of Buxton Road in Stockport, was fined £8,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £1,662 after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to comply with an Improvement Notice.

HSE inspector Emily Osborne said after the hearing: “High Peak Remedial Services put its employees’ health at risk by not arranging for its wood dust extraction system to be tested. We gave the firm several chances to arrange for an engineer to visit the workshop over a three-month period, but it failed to take any action. We therefore had no choice but to prosecute.”

First time buyers are being squeezed further out the market in the UK with house sales by this group down 20% in the last month alone, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

The NAEA’s June Housing Market Report shows that the number of first time buyers dropped to 20%, down from 25% in May 2014, a 20% decrease to the lowest level recorded since May 2013.

The first time buyer struggle is reflected in the age of this month’s house buyers, as those aged 18 to 30 represented just 3% of all house sales in June, the lowest percentage of young house buyers recorded by the NAEA to date.

Nearly 80% of NAEA member agents believe the recent announcement by the Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, on the cap on high risk mortgages, which will see only 15% of new mortgages at 4.5 times a borrower's income, will affect the number of first time buyers and home owners looking to move.

‘Things are getting even tougher for first time buyers. Not only do you now need to stump up ridiculously large sums of money in terms of deposits and stamp duty to be able to get on the ladder, but new rules mean buyers will also have to prove they can easily afford repayments now and in the future,’ said Mark Hayward, NAEA managing director.

‘Alongside this, a scaling back of the governments Help to Buy scheme and the implementation of the MMR in April will also have a significantly negative impact on the first time buyer market,’ he added.

There is some good news in this month’s NAEA housing report, as June saw an increase in the average number of properties available per NAEA member branch. Available properties increased to an average of 46 compared to 44 in May 2014.

But the number of properties available per member branch is still historically low, and has not reached above 50 per month since November 2013, and above 60 since May 2013.

The average number of house hunters registering with NAEA agents decreased slightly in June, from an average of 374 house hunters in May to 371 in June. However, NAEA member agents also reported a decrease in the average number of sales agreed per branch, down from 10 in May to nine in June.

The rising price of bricks helped producer Michelmersh Brick Holdings to increase its profits in the first half but there is little happening there to aid shortages in the construction industry.

In fact, stocks are now said to be “at their lowest level in living memory”.

Michelmersh sold 34 million bricks in the first six months of 2014, down from 35.2 million in the first half of 2013. But the average selling price was up 12.8% to £387 per thousand.

This meant that its half-year turnover grew 8% to £13.6m (2013 H1: £12.6m) and operating profit was £1.4m (2013 H1: £0.1m).

With much reduced finance costs, last year’s first-half pre-tax loss of £300,000 became a pre-tax profit of £1.3m.

Cost of production increased only marginally, with energy costs staying steady, gross profit margin increased to 33% for the period.

Chairman Eric Gadsden said that construction industry recovery was now spreading nationwide. “In the first half of last year the focus was very much on London and the South East, and whilst this remains an important long-term market for us, we have seen a spread of new work and RMI sector improvements at a national level. In addition we are continuing to gain quality new orders in Scotland and grow our market position there.”

He added: “The brick industry is benefiting from rising demand and we have now seen for the first time since 2008 signs of increased national brick prices with stocks at their lowest level in living memory. “

However, he said that there was little that brick producers could do in the short term to ramp up output to meet demand.

“Capacity in the industry is largely fixed and can only be increased through significant investment and the availability of appropriate consented mineral reserves, which requires long term planning,” he said. “Margins are still not at a level where the industry is enjoying normalised levels of return on capital such that there is adequate return for new investment in this vital industry. Brick manufacturing in the UK is in a state of flux as a result of the forces created by the long awaited reduction in national stocks, now at historic low levels, and improvement in demand against the backdrop of long-term under investment in the industry.”

Last week Wienerberger announced plans to increase its UK brick production capacity by 200 million bricks by the end of this year. (See previous report here.)

Renew Holdings has promoted engineering services director Paul Scott to its main board.

Mr Scott becomes only the third executive director on Renew’s board, alongside chief executive Brian May and finance director John Samuel.

Paul Scott, aged 49, has headed Renew’s nuclear contracting business, Shepley Engineers for seven years.

He reports to chief executive Brian May, who at 63 may be considering his succession strategy.

Chairman Roy Harrison said: "I am pleased to welcome Paul to the board of Renew. Over the last seven years, Paul has developed Shepley Engineers Ltd into the leading mechanical and electrical contracting business at Sellafield and since assuming the position of engineering services director in 2012, has successfully championed the integration and growth of our engineering services businesses whilst maintaining their independent brand strengths."

The number of first time buyers in the UK the first six months of 2014 reached their highest level since 2007, according to new research.

The bi-annual Halifax First Time Buyer Review shows that there were an estimated 144,500 first time buyers in the first six months of 2014, an increase of 25% on the same period last year and also the highest total for the same six months period since 2007.

For the third successive year the number of first time buyers, in the first half of the year, has been over 100,000, representing the strongest performance, for this period, since the start of the financial crisis.

First time buyer numbers also rose by more than the total number of home movers which increased 20% over the same period. They also increased their share of the home purchase market from 44% in the first half of 2013 to 46% in the same period this year, the highest proportion since 2000.

The review also says that mortgage affordability has also improved significantly in recent years. The proportion of disposable earnings devoted to mortgage payments by first time buyers stood at 31% in the first half of 2014, substantially below of the peak level of 47% in the first half of 2007 and below the long term average of 34%.

First time buyers are an important segment on the housing market, accounting for 46% of home purchases in the first six months of the year, up from 44% during the same period in 2013 and 40% in 2012,’ said Craig McKinlay, mortgages director at the Halifax.

‘The resurgence in the number of first time buyers getting on to the housing ladder has been buoyed by improving economic conditions, rising employment levels as well as government schemes such as Help to Buy, which have helped more first time buyers on to the housing ladder,’ he explained.

The data also shows that 60% of all first time buyer purchases in the first half of 2014 were above the £125,000 stamp duty threshold, this is up from 51% a year earlier. Nationally almost half, 48%, of home purchases by first time buyers were between £125,000 and £250,000, up from 44% from a year earlier.

However, there were significant regional variations in the prices paid by first time buyers. Only 1% in London did not pay any stamp duty, 10% in the South East and 23% in the South West.

In contrast, some 72% of first time buyers in the North bought a home below the lowest threshold, and therefore paid no stamp duty.

The Federation of Piling Specialists (FPS) has produced a guide to the use of continuous flight auger (CFA) piling.

The document provides background information to the flighting mechanism, helping identify some of the situations where the risk of over-flighting is likely to occur. Over-flighting is piling jargon for when the auger is rotated too much and more soil is extracted than concrete pumped in to replace it. This can result in the ground beneath the piling rig become unstable.

The guide is available to download from the FPS website, www.fps.org.uk.

It is aimed not just at piling contractors but also geotechnical designers, planning supervisors and all those involved with the specification, selection and procurement of CFA piling. It sets out the options for where the risk of over-flighting has been identified. These include:

• A more substantial piling platform.
• Selection of a drill rig to ensure that torque and crowd combinations are compatible with auger rotation and rate of auger penetration into the ground. Where risk is particularly high then cased CFA may be considered.
• Review pile diameter, auger pitch and spacing parameters and central stem diameter. The use of an auger extension pole to increase pile depth is likely to increase risks.
• Over rotation during the concreting phase should be minimised and concrete overbreak or under break records should be scrutinised to ensure potential voids have been backfilled.
• Computer control systems can provide consistency of drilling and concreting controls when the most appropriate combination of parameters has been established.

Should these measures not mitigate the risks enough then alternative pile design or construction methods might be considered.

FPS chairman Martin Blower said: “CFA piling is widely used and there have been a number of notable rig overturns recently. What this document does is raise wider awareness of the potential risks of over-flighting, loss of support and stability of the working platform that may result in a piling rig or attendant crane overturning. More importantly, the document encourages robust risk management and the controls to be implemented to mitigate such risk.”

A developer has been sent to prison for 30 months after repeatedly breaching prohibition notices while redeveloping a former office block in Parkeston, Essex.

An inspector from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) visited the site on 28 February 2013 following complaints from local residents worried about debris falling from upper storeys and of the danger to workers at height.

Eze Kinsley, the developer who was found to be in control of workers at the site, intimidated the HSE inspector who visited. The inspector had to come back with police to serve prohibition notices requiring an immediate stop to unsafe work at the site. Mr Kinsley then assaulted the inspector.

After further reports that work had not stopped, HSE issued a further prohibition notice on 3 April 2013, which was breached within just one hour of being served.

Eze Kinsley, of Edgware, Middlesex, was today prosecuted by the HSE at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on 18^th July.

He was given a 30 months prison sentence after being found guilty of two breaches of section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, to be served concurrently with three 12-month prison sentences after being found guilty of three counts of contravening a prohibition notice contrary to section 33(1)(g) of the same Act. He was also ordered to pay costs of £5,000.

Mr Kinsley was found guilty of assaulting an inspector from HSE at a separate court appearance.

After the case, HSE inspector Jonathan Elven, said: “Although no one was injured as a result of the woefully inadequate working practices this is nevertheless a serious case.

“The working conditions on this site were truly appalling with absolutely no provision for workers’ safety. In addition, the repeated breaching of prohibition notices – without any attempts to put right the reasons why work had been stopped – put workers and the general public at serious risk.

“Mr Kinsley refused to accept that he had a responsibility to make sure people who worked for him, and any member of the public living or working near his site, were not subjected to unnecessary risks – and vigorously and violently resisted all attempts to make him take actions to protect them.”