As Building celebrates its 175-year anniversary, we launch the most significant and comprehensive editorial campaign in the publication’s history This week we launch our “Your Future” agenda: building on 175 years’ of expertise, we will spend the next 18 months exploring how the construction industry will look in the future, by mapping the challenges as well as the unprecedented changes affecting the sector right now. All aspects of the built environment are facing seismic disruption. In just the last few months, a series of events that are already having profound effects on our industry have developed at an astonishing pace. From the regulatory review after the Grenfell fire to the widespread fallout from Carillion, one of the largest corporate failures in history, the full impacts of these hopefully one-off events are not yet fully known. But even as we try to take stock, the wider context around our industry is also changing, and faster every year. In the last decade, from top to bottom, people in the industry have struggled to adapt to the fast-moving factors that affect the way they design, procure, build and engineer. From the technological and digital innovations sweeping through the construction process to the impacts of terrorism, global sustainability issues, population growth, and economic and political volatility – the one thing we can be certain of is uncertainty. I've uploaded a recent issue of Building Magazine which details the launch of the YOUR Future campaign.

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3. BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018
16.03.18
Leader
Russian courage / Tom Broughton
Quick, housebuilders! You’d better
vote the Tories out quick. No, not
because Russia is in fighting mood,
and Theresa May is busy poking it
with a big old stick. But because the
chancellor has just opened the door
to some reforms that should make
you sit up and listen.
Philip Hammond only stood up for
about an hour this week to do his
Spring Statement and, as boring as it
was, once he got past his sluggish
growth rate patterns the chancellor
mooted some uncomfortable
changes to the way housebuilders
may be forced to operate. It’s
connected to Carillion’s demise too,
but more of that in a moment.
First, on Tuesday, Hammond
presented the initial findings from
the government-commissioned
review by former cabinet minister
Oliver Letwin (remember him?) into
land-banking, which has squarely
blamed our lack of housing on big
housebuilders’ stranglehold on the
pace of delivery on large sites (see
page 9). But it also specifically
accuses housebuilders of
manipulating something called the
“absorption rate”. Via this nifty
manoeuvre, Letwin says, they boost
demand and, therefore, prices by
holding back new homes until
desired sale prices are achieved.
Letwin also says that build rates are
held back by slow delivery of the
social housing that this country
really needs, so he’s looking at
alternative ways of doing that. I’ll tell
you for free, Oliver: government
intervention and investment. But,
the government does like to
continually spin that the UK’s
housing crisis is everybody else’s
problem but their own.
This is, however, Letwin’s big
moment. And he’s seizing it by going
nose-to-nose with the powerful
housebuilding lobby, who, while they
are not quite as volatile and
all-powerful as the US gun folk, do
know how to throw the odd coffee
cup about in a minister’s office in a
fit of rage. So we’ll wait and see how
they fight back over the summer.
Hammond has promised the
government’s housebuilding
recommendations will be fully
reported in November’s Autumn
Budget. So it may still be kicked into
the political long grass – but Letwin
has, for once, come up with some
crunchy rhetoric with detail that
could make developers behave
differently.
For example, it looks likely he will
recommend that large-scale housing
sites be broken up and delivered by
multiple companies. The government
could also require developers to offer
a wider range of homes on sites.
These measures, by spreading the risk,
would increase delivery. And with
Hammond also declaring that,
following Carillion’s collapse, the
government will examine payment
practices in the construction industry
and their impact on small firms, you
can start to see how they may run
public sector procurement in the
future. You can expect a greater
number of smaller firms delivering
housing – and maybe much more
varied government frameworks than
just shortlists of the same old chosen
few giants. Whether the government
takes a further step and regulates or
incentivises the private sector to do
the same and share out work to the
masses remains to be seen.
Of course, we’ve heard some of this
before and governments do like to
posture on this issue, playing off the
nimbys against the folk in need. But
step back and if you were to come up
with a plan to unlock housing –
along with a few billion quid’s worth
of investment – this would probably
be it. So the question really is: IS
Theresa May politically brave
enough to implement far-reaching
reforms to unseat housebuilders?
Well, if she’s prepared to take on
Putin, maybe she is. So, on that basis
housebuilders, consider yourselves
on notice.
Tom Broughton, editor-in-chief,
Building
Oliver Letwin
has, for once,
come up with
some crunchy rhetoric
with detail that could
make developers
behave differently
“
This week, Building launches
its “Your Future” campaign
as we celebrate our 175th
anniversary year (see pages
22-24). We will spend the
next 18 months exploring how
the construction industry will
look over the next 25 years by
mapping the challenges as well
as the unprecedented structural
changes impacting the sector
right now.
We will look at all aspects
of the construction industry,
from the Future of Contracting
following Carillion’s demise,
to the Future of Regulation
post-Grenfell. And we’re going
to look at the future of the
professions, how the role
of architects and quantity
surveyors and other specialist
consulting roles are changing.
We’re going to engage with
you through the pages of this
175-year-old magazine, online
via www.building.co.uk and
across our CPD and webinar
learning platforms as well as
at our face-to-face events
culminating in our Building Live
and Awards events in November.
We’re going to navigate you
through the challenges and
consider the best solutions
for an industry facing
unprecedented changes as
driven by global technological,
social, design and environmental
developments. As well as
how all of you trade, transact,
govern and procure each other’s
services now and in the future.
So watch this space.

4. Global strategic thinking and practical
solutions to the most pressing
challenges of our changing world.
Summit London
23–24 April 2018
InterContinental London – The O2
Join the discussion about
this rapidly changing sector.
Register now at rics.org/wbef
Hear from leaders and innovators including:
Keynote Speaker
JB Straubel
Co-founder and
CTO, Tesla
Nadja De Jager
Chief Investment Risk
Officer, CBRE Global
Investors
Chris Choa
Vice President, AECOM
Anne Kerr
Global Head of Cities,
Mott MacDonald
Martin Wolf CBE
Chief Economics
Commentator,
Financial Times
Ilya Espino de Marotta
Executive Vice President,
Panama Canal Authority
Andreas Svenungsson
Senior Vice President,
Volvo Group
Claire Penny
Global Industry Leader –
Cognitive IOT for
Buildings, IBM

5. Subscriptioninformation
Tel020-89557078
Emailcustomerservices@building.co.uk
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News
9 News
17 Financial news
Comment & Analysis
21 Hansom
22 Yourfuture starts here
Welaunch ourcampaign,BuildingYourFuture.
So,what’sitallabout,andhowcanyoutakepart?
Agenda
3 LeaderTomBroughton
26 Simon Rawlinson PreparingforaBrexitno-deal
29 PeterNewtonHowIlearnedtolovehigh-density
32 Homes improvement
Lastweek,TheresaMaylaunchedarevisedNational
Planning PolicyFrameworkinabidtosolvethe
housing crisis.Whatarethechancesitwillwork?
Projects
36 Having a ball
Technicalinnovationsaremakingiteasiertobuild
spherical.Here’saround-up
Legal
41 Tony Bingham ThetroublewithPFI
42 Hamish Lal Termination disputes
42 MatthewJones Risksindesignandbuildcontracts
Economics
44 Cost update Brexit-relatedpressureonlabourand
materialscostscontinuedinQ42017
Business leads
48 Jobs
16.03.18 Contents
In the magazineOnline
Online
Read the whole magazine online. Free to access forall
subscribers at building.co.uk/home/digital-editions
EnjoyBuildingwhereveryouare
WIKIPEDIACOMMONS
OnlineBuildingYourFuture
Commentthisweek:building.co.uk/communities
As Building celebrates its 175-yearanniversary,we are
launching the most significant and comprehensive campaign
in the publication’s long history.As part of the campaign to
examine the future of the sector, the infrastructure it creates
and the futureworking practices forthe peoplewithin it,
Building is askingyou, the reader, to get involved.We’re
looking forthe future innovators of the profession,
trailblazing structures that have marked a change in the
industry, andyourthoughts onwhat the built environment
should look like in 25years’ time.
Go to P22 orvisit www.building.co.uk/175
Chances forchange afterCarillion
Tim Haynes, HKA
The ayes have it: towhat extentwill estate regeneration ballots
benefit residents?
Collette McCormack and Lindsay Garratt, Winckworth Sherwood
Where construction goes from here
Nick Sterling, Osborne Communities

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9. BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018
N E W S
finance p17
ByDaveRogers
The chief executive of the country’s
largest contractor has said Carillion’s
bosses put off making decisions to
save the firm until it was too late.
Balfour Beatty boss Leo Quinn
was speaking as the firm shrugged
off the woes of recent years to see
underlying profit more than double
in 2017.
Quinn joined Balfour at the start of
2015, just weeks before announcing
it had racked up a £304m pre-tax
loss, which he admitted was the
firm’s “darkest hour”.
Carillion had made a bid for the
firm the previous summer, and
Quinn told Building his
appointment was in part made to
see off that takeover threat.
Balfour Beatty was working with
Carillion on the loss-making
Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route
road scheme at the time it went bust
in January, but Quinn admitted that
working on the same project
provided it no prior warning the
firm was about to go under.
He said: “It surprised me. I knew it
would take three or four years [for
Carillion] to get out of it but I think
they made important decisions
too late.
“We had to get stuck in [making
changes to the business] and there’s
no doubt the things we’ve done have
made Balfour Beatty a stronger,
safer company.”
He added: “The management we
had that got us into the mess has
moved, and we have more energy
and better discipline. Culturally, we
are in a very different place.”
Quinn also ruled out taking over
Carillion’s disastrous hospital jobs
in Liverpool and the West Midlands
and said interested firms – believed
to include Kier, Skanska and Laing
O’Rourke – should think twice
before agreeing to finish them off.
“Taking over jobs absorbs some of
your best talent,” he said.
And he said he would never have
signed the PFI deal to build the
58km road around Aberdeen, had
he been in charge. “It would never
have got approval now [because of]
the onerous terms and conditions,
liabilities and liquidated damages,”
he added. The firm said it has been
forced to book a £44m loss on the
job in its 2017 accounts following
Carillion’s implosion.
The scheme remains the biggest
loss-making job on its books, with
Quinn saying Balfour has drawn a
line under more than 90% of the 89
problem contracts in the UK that he
inherited.
The Aberdeen road is due to finish
this summer, but Quinn revealed
that since the middle of December
inclement weather has enabled only
eight days’ work on blacktop laying
and concrete work.
Quinn has also overseen the firm’s
withdrawal from a number of global
markets including the Middle East
last year, which he said “was a real
drain on the company’s resources
and management”.
And he has ruled out raiding rivals
for businesses, saying: “We have no
interest in acquisitions. Growth will
be organic.”
Quinn was speaking as the firm
posted underlying profit of £196m,
up from £69m in 2016. Pre-tax profit
jumped from £10m to £117m, with
revenue remaining flat at £8.3bn.
Balfour Beatty said it has been
helped by a recovering performance
at its largest business, construction
services. Income at this business
edged up 2% to £6.7bn, while
underlying profit returned to the
black with a £72m profit, up from a
£21m loss last time. The firm said
much of the improvement was
down to a £21m profit at its UK
business from a £65m loss in 2016.
BalfourbosssaysCarillionleft
vitaldecisionstoolate
Leo Quinn contrasts rival contractor’s strategy with Balfour Beatty’s recent return to financial health
Councils are racing to submit theirlocal plans by
the end of the month to avoid housing targets being
imposed on them undergovernment reforms to the
planning system.
Underthe reforms, all local planning authorities
will have to use a standard methodology, known as
the local housing needs assessment, towork out
how many homes are needed in theirareas.
But councils have quietly been told by the
government that they can avoid having to use the
new formula this time if they submit theirlocal plans
by the end of this month.
“A numberare pushing through local plans early,”
confirmed Martin Curtis, associate directorat
lobbying firm Curtin & Co.
The biggest increases in housebuilding targets are
set to be in southern England,where Conservative
MPs are underpressure from theirconstituents
to protect greenfield land. Lastweek, housing
secretary SajidJavidwas asked by Crispin Blunt,
Tory MP forReigate, to confirm housing needwould
“not trump issues such as […] the green belt”.And
Tory MP forChesham andAmersham, Cheryl Gillan,
wanted “the strongest possible protections for
areas of outstanding natural beauty”.
The government thisweek gave more clarity on
what OliverLetwin’s review into the housebuilding
shortfallwill recommend this autumn. He is looking
intowhetherhousebuilders can speed up the rate at
which they buildwithout pushing prices down.
Councilsallowedtododgenewhousingneedsformula
Leo Quinn
WE HAVE MORE
ENERGYAND
BETTER DISCIPLINE
LEO QUINN
STEFANROUSSEAU/PAWIRE/PAIMAGES

10. 10/news
16.03.2018 BUILDING MAGAZINE
Councilssaw
Carillioncrash
cominginJuly
Authorities started lining up replacement contractors
right after firm’s £845m writedown last summer
ByJordanMarshall
Local authorities were advised to
start preparing for Carillion’s
collapse as soon as it issued its first
profit warning last July, a
parliamentary inquiry has heard.
Bigwigs from local authority
groups faced MPs from the public
administration and constitutional
affairs committee this week to
answer questions about contracts
with the failed contractor.
The inquiry is seeking to learn
lessons from the collapse about the
sourcing of public services.
David Simmonds, Conservative
leader of the Local Government
Association (LGA), said there were
350 contracts between either local
authority or NHS partnerships and
Carillion.
He added: “There were 30 councils
across the country who were directly
affected by the collapse and in
addition to that there are 220
schools […] In all cases, essentially
[…] the local authority has stepped
in either to resolve the issue directly
or engage with the contractor about
what will happen to that contract
because another part of a consortium
is due to pick it up.”
Asked what contingency planning
had been in place for the failure of
the firm, Simmons said the LGA
had been in touch with government
since Carillion announced a £845m
writedown on 10 July last year.
He added: “Obviously there had
been a number of things that had
been going on relating to the share
price performance and just general
gossip in the market about what was
happening in the business.
“Through that process there had
been sharing of what local knowledge
is coming up through the LGA and
also what government was aware of,
in order to manage the situation.”
The information sharing contrasts
sharply with a supplier briefing
update Carillion sent on 21 July last
year to convince thousands of
suppliers to stick with the contractor.
In its letter, the firm said
government awards, including two
jobs on the HS2 railway, were “a sign
of the confidence that our key
customers have in our ability to
meet their requirements”.
But Nigel Kletz, director of
commissioning and procurement
for Birmingham city council and
chair of the National Advisory
Group for Local Government
Procurement, told MPs this week his
authority had been lining up
replacements since the autumn.
He said: “We got good intelligence
from the Cabinet Office, Crown
Commercial Service and through
the LGA of the profit warnings and
risks to this.
“We were in dialogue with directors
of Carillion directly about that and
we put contingency actions in place.
“Luckily we were able to ready the
alternative suppliers to take
[contracts] on board and we did that
in the autumn through the advice
and advance warning we had.
“So come the day we were able to
transfer staff; we were able to
transfer work quite easily with
minimum disruption and with
minimum loss of jobs.”
In January housing undersecretary
Jake Berry told MPs his department
had been working with the LGA in
the weeks leading up to Carillion
going bust. He said: “This was to
ensure they had appropriate
contingency plans in place.”
Councilswereput onalert afterCarillion’s£845m writedown lastJuly
Carillion’s largest investors said the
failed firm’s management did not
address theirconcerns on ballooning
debt and the risks itwas taking on.
At the parliamentary inquiry into
Carillion’s collapse, Euan Stirling,
global head of stewardship at
Aberdeen Standard Investments, said
neitherexecutive nornon-executive
board memberswere prepared to
change the company’s strategy.
Stirling said: “What became clear
to uswas the companywas going to
continue on its strategy despite our
questioning of that and that strategy
was leading to higherdebt levels,
a higherrisk profile and greater
complexitywithin the group.”
Both Stirling and Murdo Murchison,
chairof Kiltearn Partners,which at one
stage held 10% of Carillion’s stock,
said therewas a lack of challenge from
Carillion’s non-executive directors.
Murchison added: “I’m concerned
about the role of non-executive
directors. In this particularsituation
it’s not clearto me that they have been
able to exercise any effect orcheck on
the executive management team.
“It appears theywere hoodwinked as
much as anyone else, and I think that’s
a serious issue.”
He also laid into the performance
of the failed contractor’s external
auditorKPMG, telling MPs: “I’m
extremely frustratedwith the audit
performance here.We rely heavily on
audited financials.”
He said that given the scale of
money lost by investors, “the folks
closest to the scene of the crime” had
a case to answer.
Amra Balic, managing directorat
asset managerBlackRock, admitted
thewritedown and subsequent
collapse had come as a shock on the
back of KPMG’s audited reports.
She said: “In this case thiswas a
company thatwas solvent, not just
this but it had audited financial
statements that gave investors’
confidence itwas a going concern.”
InvestorstellMPsCarillionboardignoredtheirconcerns

11. news/11
BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018
Arcadis has nominated former
Skanska UK president and chief
executive Mike Putnam to the
company’s supervisory board fora
four-yearterm.
Provided his nomination isvoted
through at the consultant’sAGM
next month, Putnamwill succeed Ian
Grice, formerAlfred McAlpine chief
executive,who has served
as a supervisory board member
since 2010.
Putnam left Skanska UK lastyear
after22years at the firm and had
previouslyworked forBalfourBeatty.
He is also a non-exec at Network Rail
and SouthernWater.
Niek Hoek, chairman ofArcadis’
supervisory board, said Putnam
would bring “solid industry knowledge
aswell as a good understanding
of the challenges ourindustry is
facing particularly due to the digital
transformation”.
Ex-SkanskabossjoinsArcadis
Peabody has shortlisted two developers
for its £4bn Thamesmead Waterfront
regeneration scheme in the London
borough of Greenwich.
Lendlease and Morgan Sindall are the
final two bidders vying to work with the
housing association to build 11,500
homes on the 250-acre site, which has
2.5km of undeveloped riverfront.
The winner, to be chosen this summer,
will also help transform 1 million ft2
of
town centre space.
John Lewis, executive director for
Thamesmead at Peabody, said: “Both
Lendlease and Morgan Sindall have an
excellent track record of developing
great places at scale.”
The scheme – which is set to benefit
from London mayor Sadiq Khan’s
proposed extension of the Docklands
Light Railway across the river from
Newham toThamesmead – is the
biggest ever undertaken by Peabody in
its 156-year history. A concept
masterplan has been produced by
Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands.
Twoviefor£4bnPeabodyjob
Carillion paid advisers including
accountant EY and law firm
Slaughter and May more than £6m
in fees just days before it went under.
The contractor shelled out £6.4m
to a dozen firms, with EY picking up
£2.5m while Slaughter and May got
£1.2m. Others to benefit included
FTI Consulting, which pocketed
£1m, while financial advisory firm
Lazard & Co got £500,000.
The payments, revealed by the
parliamentary inquiry into
Carillion’s collapse, were made just
24 hours before Carillion chair Philip
Green wrote to the government
asking for short-term funding.
Green told John Manzoni,
permanent secretary for the Cabinet
Office – on 13 January, two days
before it went under – that the loan
would not be a bailout.
Carillion wanted £160m in
government finance to guarantee
£60m in bank loans. Green’s letter
also proposed the government ask
HMRC to defer £62.7m tax payments
as it scrambled to stay afloat.
This week the Official Receiver,
which is sifting through Carillion’s
contracts for the Insolvency Service,
said the number of employees who
had lost their jobs in the wake of the
collapse had topped 1,500.
There was better news for those
working on a Carillion scheme in
Manchester with replacement
contractor Robertson taking on staff.
£6m to advisers as firm teetered
The government has agreed a deal
with the West Midlands to build
215,000 homes in the next 12 years,
chancellor Philip Hammond
announced in his Spring Statement
this week, writesJamieHarris.
The region will commit to building
the homes by 2031, supported by a
£100m grant from the Land
Remediation Fund.
The West Midlands was among 44
authorities that the chancellor said
had bid for money from the £4.1bn
Housing Infrastructure Fund.
Housing minister Dominic Raab
will announce further allocations in
the coming days.
Meanwhile, London is to receive
£1.67bn in extra funding to build an
additional 27,000 affordable homes
by 2022.
In addition, the Housing Growth
Partnership will more than double
its funding, meaning £220m will be
available to provide support for
small housebuilders across the UK.
The chancellor also announced
there will be a review of how late
payments can be avoided, following
Carillion’s collapse in January.
The government is also set to bring
forward business rates revaluation
by a year to 2021, with further
reviews set in three-yearly periods.
Hammond also gave updates on
funding for improving transport
infrastructure across England, with
the government now inviting
proposals from cities for the £840m
fund announced last November.
Elsewhere, a £29m construction
skills fund will open for bids next
month, in addition to £80m to help
small firms across all UK industries
take on apprentices and £50m to
help employers prepare for the
rollout of T-level work placements.
Hammondhandshousing
cashtoMidlandsandLondon
See feature on the government’s
new planning framework P32
Whoknew?
Suppliers clearly didn’t, says Dave Rogers
As the various parliamentary probes
into Carillion’s fall begin to wind down,
perhaps the most shocking revelation
– for Carillion’s stricken suppliers at
least – has been made towards the end.
Councils and other public sector
bodies, it seems, were tipped off as
early as last summer that Carillion was
so much of a basket case that it could
fall over at any minute and that they had
better get contingency plans in place.
Birmingham council’s director of
procurement this week told MPs his
council had received “good intelligence”
from a number of government agencies
about Carillion’s plight. In other words,
they were getting a heads up.
Carillion’s supply chain, meanwhile,
had no such luck.Thanks to a letter the
firm sent out 11 days after its £845m
writedown last July, firms were being
told to stick with it because, after all,
the government was – it had just
awarded two HS2 contracts worth
millions as proof of its faith in the firm.
What’s becoming increasingly clear is
that, on the one hand, government was
drawing up contingency plans for the
public sector, while on the other
Carillion’s suppliers were hung out to
dry and left to fend for themselves.
They have every right to feel peeved.
CRAIGYATES/ALAMYSTOCKPHOTO

12. 12/news
16.03.2018 BUILDING MAGAZINE
L&G has taken full control of
housebuilder Cala Homes, with its
Legal & General Capital arm
splashing £315m on the deal, writes
JordanMarshall.
The insurance and investment
group announced today that it had
bought the 52.1% of the company it
did not previously own from Patron
Capital Partners and Cala’s
management team. The valuation
of 100% of the equity in Cala
Homes was £605m.
Revenue at Cala tripled between
2013 and 2017 from £241m to £748m.
Legal & General said Cala Homes
had attractive growth prospects
under its ownership based on Legal
& General Capital’s long-term
approach to investing and the
attractive market for housebuilding
in the UK.
Kerrigan Procter, chief executive
of Legal & General Capital,
said Cala Homes was a growing
business “which we know and
understand well.
“It has a strong management team
with proven experience of
managing a housebuilding business
across business cycles, and has
delivered great returns for
shareholders since its acquisition in
2013, having tripled in revenue
during this time.”
The industry has welcomed
the move, with Mark Farmer,
chief executive of consultancy
Cast and the author of 2016’s
Modernise of Die report, saying it
was a positive sign for the
housebuilding sector.
Farmer said: “Legal & General’s
move to take over Cala in its
entirety is encouraging for the
entire sector, as an injection of
large-scale fresh capital combined
with L&G’s much broader strategic
ambitions to tackle the UK housing
crisis on a number of fronts can
only be a good thing.
“Personally, I am certain that this
move will be a positive for an under
pressure homebuilding sector being
increasingly scrutinised for poor
corporate governance, land
banking, and its reliance on tax
payer funded Help to Buy.”
In 2016, Legal & General launched
a modular housing business, Legal
& General Homes, and is planning
to deliver around 3,000 homes a
year from a production facility it
has set up near Leeds.
The firms said its homes will
arrive on site almost complete –
with kitchens, bathrooms, doors
and carpets fitted in its factory
at Sherburn and certified as
defect-free.
L&GtakesfullcontrolofCalaHomes
Formore housing news, go to
www.building.co.uk
NOWISTHETIMETO
THINK LIKE DONALD
RUMSFELD – NOTJUST
TO PLAN FORTHE
KNOWN UNKNOWNS
OF BREXIT, BUTALSO
THE UNKNOWN
UNKNOWNS
SIMON RAWLINSON, P26
NEWSINBRIEF
RLB poachesT&Tto head healthcare
The Rider Levett Bucknall has poached
Kyle McClelland fromTurner &Townsend
to head its healthcare business across
London and the South-east.
Pascall &Watsonwins Stansted job
Architect Pascall & Watson has been
confirmed to design a £130m arrivals
terminal at London Stansted airport
which will see the existing Foster +
Partners-designed terminal reconfigured
fordepartures-only.Workfinishesin2024.
MaceallsetforOneCrownPlace
Mace will begin next month on
Malaysian developer AlloyMtd Group’s
£500m One Crown Place scheme in
the City of London. Designed by KPF, it
will include two towers the tallest of
which will be 33 storeys.
Clarion gets all-clearforthree estates
Clarion Housing Group has the green
light for a £1bn plan to transform three
housing estates in Mitcham and
Wimbledon, south-west London, into
2,800 new homes.
Forterraupsbrickstargetby40million
Materials group Forterra wants to make
40 million more bricks ayearto cope
with increased demand forUK housing.
Pre-tax profit in 2017was up 16% on
revenue up 12% to £331m.
Legal & General is fast becoming a major player in the housebuilding sector
More than 60 construction and
maintenance trade bodies have thrown
their support behind the bill looking to
protect retentions in the construction
industry.
In the wake of the Carillion collapse,
the trade bodies are backing the Aldous
bill, which proposes cash retentions
owed to the supply chain be held in trust.
Tory MP Peter Aldous introduced the
bill to parliament in January.
The support comes from across the
industry, including those working in
electrical, plumbing, heating, interiors,
housebuilding, roofing, scaffolding and
demolition.
Major trade bodies in support include
the Federation of Master Builders and
the Federation of Small Businesses.
Electrical Contractors’ Association,
director of business Paul Reeve said:
“Quite simply, the time for major change
to retentions is now.
“Putting retentions in trust would help
to protect the supply chain from future
upstream insolvency, and it would
reduce the amount held in retentions
when buyers see that they can no longer
use suppliers’ cash to support their own
business model.”
Aldous said the coalition of support
showed the urgent need for reform and
unity of industry following Carillion’s fall.
“Support covers so much of the industry
that we now have a golden opportunity
to change construction for the better.
“I hope government gets behind
industry and this bill. We need action to
protect SMEs before more millions are
lost, and this bill is about ensuring
people’s money is safe so businesses
can grow and invest in their future.”
The bill, which had its first reading six
days before Carillion collapsed, wants to
ensure payment retentions are
protected in special ring-fenced deposit
schemes, to minimise damage to the
supply chain in the event of
insolvencies.
The second reading of the bill is set for
27 April.
Morethan60tradebodiesbackAldousbill

13. news/1
BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018
ByDaveRogers
Andrew Wolstenholme is joining
defence contractor BAE Systems as
managing director at the part of its
business that makes submarines
and tanks.
The firm said the outgoing
Crossrail chief executive will join
towards the end of May in a newly
created role on the firm’s executive
committee.
He will report directly to chief
executive Charles Woodburn in his
capacity as group managing director
of the UK Maritime and Land arm.
BAE’s maritime business also
includes warships, torpedoes and
radars while its land business
includes amphibious combat
vehicles and ammunition.
Woodburn said: “Andrew has a
proven track record in leading major
organisations and his diverse
knowledge and business insight will
complement the skills, talent and
sector expertise within our Maritime
and Land UK teams as they focus
on delivering our commitments to
our customers.”
Wolstenholme steps down from
the top job at Crossrail at the end of
this month after seven years.
He is taking up a non-executive
role at HS2 Ltd, the company
building the high-speed railway
between London and Birmingham.
Chris Grayling, the secretary of
state for transport, said he was
“delighted that my department will
be continuing to work with
[Wolstenholme] in his capacity as a
non-executive director of HS2,
where his experience and skills will
continue to be put to good use, to
the benefit of the sector”.
Crossrail programme director
Simon Wright, who worked on
projects for the 2012 London
Olympics, will take on a combined
chief executive and programme
director role as the organisation puts
the finishing touches to what has
been one of Europe’s largest
building projects, officially known as
the Elizabeth line.
Last month HS2 began the hunt
for a new chairman after incumbent
David Higgins said he would be
stepping down from the role later
this year after four years.
From the summer, Crossrail will
begin handing over the completed
infrastructure to TfL for operational
testing, ahead of the TfL-run railway
opening in December 2018.
Kieris preferred bidderon a £7.2m deal to build
Europe’s first 360-degree cinema.
Real Ideas Organisation has picked the contractor,
whichwas due to announce its 2017 interim results
yesterday (15 March), to turn the grade II-listed
Market Hall in Devonport, Plymouth, into a centre
forimmersive technologies.
Thevenuewill become a centre forresearch,
enterprise, education and culture in new
technologies, includingvirtual reality, augmented
reality and mixed reality.
An exhibition centrewith a dome-shapedvirtual
reality cinemawill be built in the 820m2
extension.
The cinemawill have a capacity of 150visitors
and provide avirtual reality experience,with sports
events, concerts and films set to be shown.
Work is due to start laterthis spring,with the
centre set to open to the public in late 2019.
The project,whichwas designed by local
architectural practice Le PageArchitects,was given
planning approval inJuly lastyear.
AndrewWolstenholmejoins
BAESystems’tankdivision
Outgoing Crossrail chief will take new post in defence contractor arm that handles submarines and tanks
KierpickedtodeliverEurope’sfirst360-degreecinema
Something’sbrewing
The architect behind London’s Westfield
shopping centre has unveiled its
masterplan for Central Quay in Cardiff.
The Benoy-designed scheme, which will
sit on land formerly occupied by the SA
Brains brewery just south of Cardiff
Central’s rail station, will include a
waterfront plaza featuring retail outlets,
1,000 flats and 1.5 million ft2
of office
space. Work on the 2.5 million ft2
scheme by the RiverTaff is due to be
completed by June 2020. Brains is
relocating to a new facility, Courtney
House, in Cardiff’s Pacific Business Park.
aSendyourproject images to
buildingimages@building.co.uk
ANDREWHASA
PROVENTRACK
RECORDINLEADING
MAJORORGANISATIONS
CHARLESWOODBURN, BAE SYSTEMS

14. 14/news
16.03.2018 BUILDING MAGAZINE
Construction output shifted from
“grim to glacial” at the beginning of
2018, according to one industry
observer, as new official data
revealed a 1% dip in January, writes
HamishChamp.
A 4.1% slump in private
commercial work signalled what
proved to be the ninth successive
three-month on three-month
decline in January 2018, according
to the Office for National Statistics
(ONS).
Headline figures have “moved
from glacial to grim”, according to
Blane Perrotton, managing director
of consultant Naismiths, who said
that a sustained slowdown “can no
longer be dismissed as a blip”. While
housebuilders continue to buck the
downward trend, they are powerless
to reverse it, he added.
The fall in new orders is “a stark
reminder of how Brexit uncertainty
is eroding investor appetite,”
Perrotton said, although he added
the government’s planned shakeup
of the planning rules could help
maintain new housing projects.
“As long as the Brexit melodrama
continues, the pattern of
intermittent growth and slowdown
is likely to hamper the industry’s
progress,” he said.
According to the ONS, month-on-
month activity also fell in January,
down 3.4% – the largest such decline
since June 2012 – following two
months of growth. Year-on-year
figures are even starker, with
January’s 3.9% fall the biggest since
March 2013.
According to the ONS,
construction output peaked in
March 2017, reaching a level nearly a
third (31%) higher than the lowest
point of the last five years, which
was January 2013.
“Despite the month-on-month
decrease in January 2018,
construction output remains 25.6%
above this,” the ONS added.
A toxic mix of higher costs,
weak sterling and an unsettled
economic outlook were behind a
near 4% fall in the total value of
work to £12.6bn, according to
Scape Group chief executive
Mark Robinson.
“However, it is important to
remember that there remains a very
significant need for new schools,
housing and infrastructure. Quicker
decisions from the government on
more ambitious projects, such as the
new Heathrow runway, would go
some way to lift the mood in the
industry,” he added.
A government deal to help deliver
more affordable homes and better
infrastructure across Oxfordshire
has been given the green light.
Endorsed at a meeting of
Cherwell council last week, it has
now been approved by all of
Oxfordshire’s city and district
councils. Oxfordshire county
council and the Oxfordshire local
enterprise partnership have also
signed off on the deal.
The Oxfordshire Housing and
Growth Deal was first announced
by the government as part of last
November’s Budget and will see
£215m of extra funding given to
support growth, deliver housing
and tackle congestion across the
county.
The additional cash will be used
to help reach the target of building
100,000 homes across Oxfordshire
between 2011 and 2031.
Barry Wood, leader of Cherwell
council, said: “This government
funding is a ringing endorsement
of our plans for the growth of
Cherwell.
“It will assist us in tackling the
shortfall of affordable housing
which affects so many people, and
help deliver the infrastructure we
need to keep the district moving.”
The funding includes £150m to be
spent on infrastructure, £60m for
affordable housing and £5m of
capacity funding. It will be
delivered over a five-year period.
The Oxfordshire Growth Board,
representing all of Oxfordshire’s
city, county, and district councils,
will be responsible for allocating
the funding and delivery
programmes.
Ministers want local authorities
across the Cambridge-Milton
Keynes-Oxford corridor to agree a
long-term vision with central
government. The National
Infrastructure Commission has
also said it hopes local authorities,
local enterprise partnerships,
national delivery agencies and
government departments will
collaborate “to develop an
integrated strategic plan for
infrastructure, housing and jobs”.
ONSfiguresconfirmsteadyfallinoutput
Oxfordshire councils seal
£215m housing deal
Justcapital
Edinburgh firmThomas &Adamson has
been appointed project managerand QS
forthe firstVirgin hotel to be built outside
the US. Itwill oversee the development,
designed by Glasgow-based architect
ICA,whichwill occupy the India Buildings
in Edinburgh’s Cowgate district.Workwill
involve refurbishing three listed buildings
in the Scottish capital and building a new
pavilion.The 225-bed hotel is set to open
in 2020.
ITWILL ASSISTUS
TACKLINGTHE
SHORTFALL OF
AFFORDABLE
HOUSING WHICH
AFFECTS SO MANY
PEOPLE
BARRYWOOD, CHERWELL COUNCIL

15. BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018
ByDaveRogers
Architecture firms have begun
reporting that the flow of CVs from
EU architects has started to slow up.
According to the latest Future
Trends research from the RIBA,
practices are seeing applications
from EU nationals fall as worried
architects turn their backs on the
UK because of fears over whether
they will be able to stay in the
country following Brexit.
RIBA executive director (members)
Adrian Dobson said: “A number of
practices noted a reduction in the
number of CVs received from job
applicants, particularly from EU
architects, an undoubted result of
the uncertainty surrounding the
Brexit negotiations.”
According to the RIBA and the
Architects Registration Board,
around a quarter of the country’s
39,000 architects are from the EU.
The news underlines the warnings
given in December last year by
RIBA president Ben Derbyshire,
who said the UK crashing out of the
EU without a deal could lead to a
skills exodus and risk its position as
a global architectural hub.
He said: “A no-deal Brexit is not an
option; it would be a disaster for UK
architecture and our built
environment, and the government
must take this option off the table.”
He added that post-Brexit, the UK
needed to remain “open to the best
and brightest talent from around the
world”, warning: “Anything less will
lead to a skills exodus, higher costs
across the industry and the failure to
deliver domestic policies on
housing, infrastructure and the
industrial strategy.”
The survey said confidence among
firms has seen its first year-on-year
drop in nearly five years.
The RIBA collects quarterly data
on the value of in-progress work and
according to its latest RIBA Future
Trends survey, the figure in January
was 4% lower than a year earlier –
the first drop since April 2013.
But the group said architects’
optimism edged up to +12 in
January this year compared with the
+8 recorded the previous month.
London remained the most
pessimistic region, with a score of
-14, while East Anglia, the Midlands
and the north of England all
recorded positive scores.
Among work sectors, private
housing retained pole position in
terms of positivity among architects,
continuing upward from +9 in
December to +13 in January.
But commercial fell, while the
public sector stayed in negative
territory.
ArchitectsseenumberofCVs
fromEUapplicantsdrop
RIBA survey also reveals first year-on-year fall in optimism since April 2013
Oxforddouble
Amanda Levete’s practice AL_A has
been given planning to design a brace of
buildings at Oxford university’s Wadham
College.The city centre scheme is being
bankrolled by Hong Kong businessman
William Doo along with college honorary
fellow Lee Shau Kee – the majority owner
of developerHenderson and Hong Kong’s
second richest man,with an estimated
personal fortune of $24bn (£17.2bn).
Eachwill have a building named after
them.A main contractorhasyet to be
appointed,withwork due to start this
July and finish inAugust 2020.
Bosses at Build UK want to benchmark
members’ payment records as part of an
initiative to tackle the industry’s late
payment culture.
The trade group said the system would
help clients, contractors and suppliers to
make better decisions about who they
work with.
It also said it was creating a taskforce
to identify and challenge contractual
clauses regularly introduced to the
standard forms of contract that “demand
the impossible and perpetuate the
inequitable transfer of risk”.
The move follows Carillion’s collapse in
January, which Build UK chief executive
Suzannah Nichol said “shows the
outcome when a major industry sector
player operates with a commercial
model that is not fit for purpose”.
GallifordTry has been appointed to
revampWolverhampton train station
undera £19m deal.
The scheme,which includes
improvements to the ticket office, a
largerpassengerconcourse, more
ticket barriers and betterretail and
cafe facilities, is part of awider
£150m investment in the interchange.
Ion, the Liverpool developerformerly
known as Neptune, is acting as
delivery partner.The current phase is
expected to be complete in 2020.
City economy councillorJohn
Reynolds said: “As part of this
regeneration it is crucialvisitors to our
city get the best first impression
possible and theirtravel experience is
enhanced and this new state-of-the-
art stationwill deliverthat.”
LastmonthIonsubmittedaplanning
applicationfortheproposedi9
building,drawnupbyGlennHowells
Architects,closetotherailwaystation.
Galliford bags £19m rail revamp BuildUKbossesvowtotackle
poorpaymentpractices

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17. finance/17
The investment firm set up by former
Partnership for Schools chiefTim Byles
has appointed former KPMG partner
Fiona McDermott as its new chief
executive.
Byles founded Cornerstone seven
years ago when he left the government
agency in summer 2011.
Cornerstone usesprivate investment to
develop surpluspublicsectorassetsfor
use aslocal facilitiessuchasschools.The
company,whosechairmanisJohn
McDonough, aformerCarillionchief
executive, operatesasamutual,returning
profit toinvestorsandtoitsthirdsector
partner, theTransformationTrust.
Byles is moving to a non-executive role
as deputy chairman.
Laing O’Rourke recently announced
it had narrowed losses at the
business last year, has won the
AUS$955m (£537m) contract to
work on the upgrade of Australia’s
biggest railway hub, Central station.
The project for the Sydney Metro
City & Southwest has been designed
by architects John McAslan +
Partners, which designed the King’s
Cross station extension in London,
and Australian firm Woods Bagot.
The station revamp – which
includes the main and northern
concourses – is part of a wider
AU$20bn (£11bn) Sydney Metro
project, Australia’s biggest public
transport infrastructure scheme.
Pre-tax losses at Laing O’Rourke in
the year to March 2017 fell to £67m
from £246m, on revenue up to
£3.2bn from £2.5bn.
Laing picks up Sydney rail job Byles’Cornerstoneinvestment
firmhiresnewchiefexecutive
ByDaveRogers
Building products supplier SIG
is moving out of its historical
Sheffield home in Hillsborough
and leaving its corporate head
office in London’s Paddington
next month, as it looks to cut costs
and get it back into the black.
The news comes as the firm said a
probe into accounting irregularities
at the business – which last month
admitted that profit booked in the
previous 18 months had been
inflated by more than £6m – has
found no more issues.
SIG brought in KPMG to look into
claims made by a whistleblower at
SIG Distribution – its insulation and
interiors business.
The company’s latest results
revealed turnover in the year to
31 December 2017 remained flat at
£2.9bn with pre-tax losses more than
halving from £110m to £51m and
underlying pre-tax profit up 4% to
£79m. In an update accompanying
the results, the group said KPMG has
now completed its review at SIG
Distribution. The review, it said, “has
identified no further material
accounting cause for concern”.
But heads are rolling, with a
number of employees leaving the
business “following disciplinary
investigations into the
circumstances”. It added: “The
historical overstatements have been
thoroughly investigated and
reported and we have moved swiftly
and decisively to address these
serious matters.”
The FTSE 250 firm, which
provides insulation and roofing to
sites up and down the country, said
it has taken steps to restructure the
business following the arrival of new
chief executive Meinie Oldersma
last April. This has included selling
a number of businesses, with it
offloading its loss-making offsite
construction business to developer
Urban Splash for £1.
SIG said it “has restored customer
focus by reducing the distraction
from internal initiatives”, which
included suspending the group’s
regional distribution centre
programme and completing the
roll-out of an enterprise resource
planning systems.
The rejig will also see the firm
move out of its Hillsborough office,
where it has been since setting up in
the 1950s, and into smaller offices.
SIG said it has taken the axe to
rising costs by cutting discretionary
expenditure, scaling back group
functions and stripping out layers of
management including from the
UK and Ireland executive team.
It said operating costs began to fall
in the second half of last year,
adding that it expects these to head
further south throughout this year.
Oldersma said: “We have begun to
get a grip on operating costs and
working capital and we have made
significant steps in refocusing the
portfolio, exiting 11 businesses.”
But he warned SIG’s UK business,
which accounts for close to half its
business with a turnover of £1.4bn
last year, has become more
challenging in recent months.
SIGslashescostsasitdraws
alineunderaccountingprobe
Materials firm says issues highlighted by whistleblower have now been resolved
Posting a 4% rise in annual turnover, brick
manufacturerIbstock said its markets had
“shrugged off” concerns about Brexit,with demand
continuing to come from the new build sector.
As the firm delivered a 12% increase in pre-
exceptional profit before tax fortheyearto
31 December2017 to £88.3m, on turnoverof
£451.6m, its chief executiveWayne Sheppard said
economists had been “overly pessimistic”
in thewake of 2016’s EU referendum.The group’s
volumeswere progressing strongly into the
new-build sector, he added.
Sheppard said margins are likely to rise, as the
housing shortage and UK government commitment
to boost housebuildingvolumes remain robust.
“During 2017, UK brick demand exceeded
supply, manufacturers destocked and import
levels increased. Consequently the investmentswe
have made to increase capacity in both brick and
roof tiles have beenwell-timed and ourcustomers
value this additional capacity.We therefore expect
a margin improvement of one to two percentage
points forourUK brick business in 2018.”
Ibstock said a new brickmaking plant in
Leicestershirewill add 100 million bricks to its
output once it comes fully online nextyear, taking
the firm’s total capacity to around 780 million.
BrickmakerIbstockunfazedbyBrexitfearsasprofitsoars
BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018

18. 18/finance
The Canadian company that owns
Multiplex has withdrawn from a
deal to taking over dozens of FM
contracts previously managed by
Carillion in the UK barely a month
after signalling it would take on the
schemes, writesJordanMarshall.
Around 2,500 former Carillion
staff who were set to be transferred
to BGIS’ team have been left in
limbo by the withdrawal.
In the middle of February BGIS, a
Brookfield subsidiary, said it has
struck a deal to buy “a large
portfolio of Carillion FM contracts
in the UK”.
At the time BGIS chief executive
Gord Hicks said: “We are excited to
welcome the more than 2,500
Carillion employees that will join
the BGIS team upon closing. This
deal provides continuity of services
for a large number of customers
providing critical infrastructure
within the UK market.”
But a stock exchange
announcement issued last week
confirmed the deal had fallen
through.
The company said its “previously
announced agreement to acquire a
portfolio of Carillion facility
management contracts in the
United Kingdom will not be
proceeding, as certain closing
conditions have not been met”.
Hicks said the firm was still
pursuing opportunities to expand in
the UK.
“While we are disappointed at this
outcome, we are continuing to
pursue opportunities to grow our
global business into the UK and
welcome continued dialogue with
prospective customers as we build
out our platform for future growth
opportunities.”
As the deal had never been signed
its failure does not affect the
Insolvency Service’s redundancy
figures for Carillion.
To date, 8,216 jobs have been saved
while 1,458 people have lost their
jobs. Another 7,500 employees,
including the 2,500 who were set to
transfer to BSIG, are still in limbo.
Before its collapse in January,
Carillion employed more than
40,000 staff globally, around half of
whom worked in the UK. Its head
office in Wolverhampton had
around 400 staff.
BGIS has over 7,000 employees
and looks after more than 320
million ft2
of space covering 30,000
locations around the world
including North America, Europe
and the Middle East.
Multiplex, which was set up in
Perth, Australia, by the late John
Roberts in the early 1960s, was
bought by Brookfield in 2007.
MultiplexownerwithdrawsfromCarilliondeal
Hitting the acquisition trail has bolstered
aggregates business Breedon, which
posted a 43% hike in revenue and a
52% rise in pre-tax profit in 2017.
The Leicestershire-headquartered firm
recorded turnover of £652.4m for the
year to 31 December 2017 and a
pre-tax profit of £71.2m.
Breedon said it had benefited from a
full-year’s contribution from Hope
Construction Materials, which it bought
in 2016 for £336m, as well as activity
from two smaller firms it had acquired in
the past year, Sherburn Minerals and
Humberside Aggregates.
But it gave no update about a possible
takeoverof Northern Ireland firm
Lagan Group.The £350m turnover
business,which is separate from the
Lagan Construction Group that recently
put fourof its businesses into
administration,works across a numberof
sectors including building, civil
engineering and plant.
Consultant Waterman is carrying
out work on a 14-storey block of flats
in Melbourne the developer claims
is the most high-tech resi scheme in
Australia.
Residents will not require keys or
smart cards to access their homes at
The Muse development and instead
will be able to access all the
building’s facilities and control their
homes remotely through an app.
Waterman’s building services and
sustainability director Brian Mason
said: “The level of technology being
developed is unprecedented.”
Developer Devitt Property Group
said the building will include 35 to
45 apartments with 6-star
amenities, including access to a
20m lap pool, relaxation pool and
spa, gym with sauna and steam
rooms and a residents’ club lounge
with meeting rooms.
Designed by local architect Bruce
Henderson Architects, it will include
a A$40m (£22.5m) penthouse.
The project on the city’s St Kilda
Road is due to finish in late 2020.
Waterman lands Melbourne job AcquisitionspushBreedonto
hikeinpre-taxprofit
The boss ofAvant Homes has urged the government
to overhaul the HelpTo Buy scheme by linking
access to funds to the numberof homes built.
Speaking ahead of thisweek’s spring statement
Colin Lewis, the Chesterfield-headquartered
group’s chief executive, said the changes must be
made to rebalance the benefits of the policy “to
homebuyers and away from housebuilders”.
LastweekTheresa May set out plans to ramp up
housebuilding activity, but Lewis called on ministers
to go furtherand re-boot HelpTo Buy in orderto
incentivise firms to build more homes.
“The government has criticised housebuilders but
we are saying that it should look at how HelpTo Buy
is used in orderto increasevolumes.”
Lewis said the scheme should stimulate the
market “at price points thatwork and help more
people buy the home theywant”. Pointing to
Scotland,where the average purchase price of a
house bought through the schemewas £179,000,
Lewis said the level of subsidy there “helped
homebuyers and builders alike”.
He added: “Let’s link the availability of Help to
Buy funds forhousebuilders to an increase in the
numbers of new homes they build.”
If a housebuilder failed to increase output by
a given percentage in one year, its access to
Help to Buy subsidies the following year should
be reduced, Lewis said, “and thereby switch the
emphasis to answering the supply question more
than the demand”.
Ahead ofAvant’s 27April financialyearend
Lewis said the groupwas on track to delivera 25%
hike in revenue. In 2017Avant reported group
revenues of £369m and pre-exceptional operating
profit of £45m.
Lewis said the firm was expecting to hit its
existing target of 2,000 units ayear by
December 2018, 12 months ahead of schedule,
and the firm was setting itself a new, five-year
target of more than doubling output to 4,000
homes a year by 2023.
OverhaulHelptoBuytoincreasenumberofhomes,saysAvant
16.03.2018 BUILDING MAGAZINE

19. With one of the most comprehensive product ranges
on the market, Reynaers really does have a solution for
almost any building, whatever shape or size.
Our multi-level façades, for example, mean that architects
need never again feel that their creativity is constrained by
product limitations.
The range has been specifically developed to allow maximum flexibility
in design and performance.
Discover more at reynaers.co.uk/anyspace-curtainwall
New angles on
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20. and make a splash for CRASH in 2018!
Form a crew
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21. comment/diary/21
BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018
HANSOM NOTA GOOD LOOK
While the picture in the Carillion inquiries gets ever muddier – not helped by an excess of Watsons – over at
Apple, employees are seeing too clearly for their own good and have the bruises to prove it
Painful clarity
Apple employees are known for their braininess,
so it’s a surprise to hear they seem incapable of
walking around the company’s brand new $5bn
headquarters in Cupertino, California, without
bashing their heads against the glass walls. In an
apparent triumph of form over function, the
Fosters-designed spaceship-shaped HQ has
ultra-transparent doors and walls that are hard to
tell apart, leading to several employees walking
into the walls head-on and needing emergency
treatment. You would have thought some bright
spark would invent an app to alert staff glued to
their iPhones of the approaching danger. But no,
yellow sticky notes were stuck on the doors
instead – then promptly banned as an affront to
the building’s design. Apple has now resorted to
placing rectangular signs around the building.
Let’s just hope they’re not transparent.
Falling short
There I was last week, savouring a cup of Earl
Grey and reading about how well UK brickmaker
Ibstock was doing with profit up, when a younger
colleague happened to mention that Lego, the
famous toy brick manufacturer, had admitted
that sales and profits had fallen for the first time
in 13 years. It seems the Danish firm had made
too many bricks and was having to sell off stock
cheaply. No wonder, I say. There are a staggering
3,700 different types of Lego brick.
Sounds fishy
It looks like Carillion bosses thought they were
involved in high stakes espionage rather than a
rescue plan in the contractor’s final months, with
names of secret projects scattered through board
meeting minutes. An independent business
review carried out by EY was named Project Ray,
while Project Salmon was the name given to
a plan to raise equity in the struggling firm by
way of a rights issue. As the MPs on the
parliamentary inquiry looking into its collapse
are finding out, it was becoming more and more
clear that the firm was heading for the
knacker’s yard towards the end of last
year. Surely Code Red would have
been more appropriate?
Elementary
One MP in the Carillion inquiry got
a bit mixed up with his Watsons last
week. Conservative Stephen Kerr
began taking EY partner Lee
Watson, who was hired by
the contractor as chief
transformation officer
last September,
to task over an
apparent
contradiction in comments he made about
the board. Watson told MPs that from what he
saw, the board was “engaged and appropriate”, which was at odds, Kerr said, with a board
minute from last year in which Watson accused it
of “wilful blindness”. Watson’s colleague, EY
global restructuring leader Andrew Wollaston,
was forced to step in and clarify: “There is a
gentleman who made those comments called
Stephen Watson.” Turns out Stephen Watson
was the number two to Carillion’s interim chief
executive Keith Cochrane. “Not Lee Watson?”
queried a somewhat desperate Kerr. “Not Lee
Watson,” confirmed Wollaston. I think that’s
pretty clear, Mr Carr.
Mind the carpet
Last week, International Women’s Day coincided
with plenty of groups out there trying to push for
more women in the industry. One was the FMB,
which released a survey revealing that one in
three homeowners would prefer to hire a female
tradesperson. There’s just one thing: the main
reason people gave was that women may be more
likely to be respectful of their homes. I’m not
exactly sure that’s breaking the mould.
CITYSPIN
SME developerClickAbove certainly took theirlatest
press briefing a step above,with one of my hacks
being fortunate enough to be given a bird’s eyeview
of London in a helicopter.The choppertook them on a
loop of London, taking in everything fromWindsor
Castle in thewest to Greenwich in the east.The lucky
few on board also got a peek from above at Battersea
PowerStation,with a quick flyoverrevealing plenty
happening on site.The only downside to living the
high life?A bit of turbulence that left everyone on
board feeling a little green.
aSend any juicy industry gossip to
hansom@building.co.uk

22. AS BUILDING CELEBRATES ITS 175-YEAR
ANNIVERSARY, WE LAUNCH THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT AND COMPREHENSIVE EDITORIAL
CAMPAIGN IN THE PUBLICATION’S HISTORY

23. BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018
This week we launch our “Your
Future” agenda: building on 175
years’ of expertise, we will spend the
next 18 months exploring how the
construction industry will look in the
future, by mapping the challenges as
well as the unprecedented changes
affecting the sector right now.
All aspects of the built
environment are facing seismic
disruption. In just the last few
months, a series of events that are
already having profound effects on
our industry have developed at an
astonishing pace. From the
regulatory review after the Grenfell
fire to the widespread fallout from
Carillion, one of the largest
corporate failures in history, the full
impacts of these hopefully one-off
events are not yet fully known. But
even as we try to take stock, the
wider context around our industry is
also changing, and faster every year.
In the last decade, from top to
bottom, people in the industry have
struggled to adapt to the fast-
moving factors that affect the way
they design, procure, build and
engineer. From the technological
and digital innovations sweeping
through the construction process to
the impacts of terrorism, global
sustainability issues, population
growth, and economic and political
volatility – the one thing we can be
certain of is uncertainty.
These changes are profound and
their consequences are only going to
escalate over time. They will disrupt
the way delivery teams interact,
engage and collaborate from their
drawing boards right the way
through to the engineering feats,
digital and technical delivery. And
the roles of the professions are
coming under the spotlight, too, at a
time when they are asked to be even
more accountable – in the way various
factions in this complex sector
procure, transact and pay each other
and also to how national and local
government works with an industry
that is being ever more closely eyed by
fierce regulatory watchdogs.
And finally, there is you. The people
who deliver it all. First of all, there’s
not enough of you out there to deliver
what’s required over the coming
years. There’s a challenge of delivery
but also of leadership. And closely
linked is the fact that the way you live,
work, behave and communicate is
changing faster than at any other
period in history. Social and cultural
trends are magnified more now than
ever before through social media and
a new generation of workers who are
challenging the status quo with new
sets of values and needs. But,
fundamentally, the occupiers and
end-users that you build for are also
changing – and everyone must
change to suit.
So, our aim over the next year and a
half is to help you simplify this picture
and navigate through the challenges
the future will bring. We’re going to
engage with you to look ahead and
understand the landscape to help
inform your choices, and ask how
you want this industry – and the
structures we build – to look in 25
years’ time. To look at the issues, the
professions and the challenges
everyone faces – together.
BUILDING YOUR FUTURE WILL:
Examine the key issues and giveyou the latest facts and
commentary through a series of special features
Discuss and debate possible solutions through question
time events and round tables
Look back in time using our175-yeararchive to evaluate
the lessons from history to plot a path in the future
Examine the professions: what is the future of architecture,
quantity surveying, contracting and specialist contracting
and consulting roles?
Bring it all together: in November, at ourBuilding Live
event,wewill debate the key issues and showcase best
practicewith panel discussions and keynote speeches
Celebrate: finally … at the end of the yearwe’ll celebrate our
industry’s most innovative and successful figures at the
Building Awards
OVERLEAF:
FIND OUT
HOW YOU
CAN GET
INVOLVED

24. 16.03.2018 BUILDING MAGAZINE
BUILDING YOUR FUTURE CHANGEMAKERS
Is there someone in your organisation that has introduced innovations, who seems
to understand where your profession is going? Would you like to see more people
like them in the industry? Nominate your colleague as a “Changemaker”, and they
could be profiled in the pages of Building magazine. Simply send their name, job
title, a photo of them, and up to 500 words on what makes them innovative to
building@building.co.uk
BUILDING YOUR FUTURE TRAILBLAZERS
What buildings from the last 175 years were futuristic in their time, or marked a
change in how the industry built?Tell uswhat structureswere trailblazers, andwhat
we can learn from them for our future projects. Email building@building.co.uk
THOUGHT FOR TOMORROW
What would you like the built environment – or the sector that creates it – to be like
in 25 years’ time? And what’s the one change that might get us there? Send us
250 words with the answers to these questions to building@building.co.uk,
with Building Your Future in the subject line
IN THE SKIP!
What single thingwouldyou consign to the skip of history?Attitudes,
tech, policies, practices: ifyou hate it,wewant to know about it! Use the
hashtag #Building175 to tweet uswhat doesn’t deserve to survive the next
25years
WatchoutforBuildingYourFuturecontentintheprintmagazineandonwww.building.co.uk–andgotowww.building.co.uk/175
Want to contribute? Email building@building.co.ukwith ‘BuildingYourFuture’ in the subject linewithyour“Changemaker” nominations,
“Trailblazer” suggestions and “Thoughts forTomorrow”. For“In the Skip” nominations, tweet @BuildingNews using the hashtag #Building175
HOUSING, INFRASTRUCTURE, BUILDING
PERFORMANCE, OCCUPIERS, PEOPLE,
REGULATION, LAW AND PROCUREMENT,
DESIGN, SUSTAINABILITY
CONTRACTING, ARCHITECTS, QSS,
ENGINEERING, SPECIALISTS
BUILDING LIVE, QUESTION TIMES,
ROUND TABLES, WEBINARS,
PANEL EVENTS, PODCASTS
FOCUS ON
SECTORS
In a series of features, comment and reader contributions,
we will examine the future of …
CELEBRATE
FOCUS ON
PROFESSIONS
In a series of features, comment and reader contributions,
we will examine the future of …
DEBATE
BUILDING AWARDS:
THE YEAR’S BEST CEO, CONSTRUCTION CLIENT,
WOMAN, MAJOR CONTRACTOR, PRODUCT
INNOVATION, HOUSEBUILDER, AND MUCH MORE …
GOOD EMPLOYER GUIDE:
THE MOST FORWARD THINKING EMPLOYMENT
PRACTICES
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2018 / 19
Get involved
This is all about your future working practices and we want to hear about your careers,
colleagues and businesses. We will be rolling out lots of editorial opportunities aimed at getting
you involved, but to get us started, ways to participate in the debate include:

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26. 16.03.2018 BUILDING MAGAZINE
Agenda
Comment / Simon Rawlinson
N
ext week, the EU 27 will agree the text of
their negotiating mandate for Brexit – the
text that deliberately binds the hands of the
negotiating team and guards against a split in the
ranks of the remaining EU states. After nearly two
years of phoney war, the process is about to get
serious – with the risks of dissembling, delay and
disagreement by the parties growing as the stakes
get higher. Irrespective of whether people agree or
not with the referendum result, no one voted for a
no-deal scenario. However, this outcome is
becoming increasingly plausible. While there were
some suggestions of areas of compromise in
statements by both the UK government and the
European Commission, the reality is that the two
sides are locked in a zero-sum game. Hard-ball
negotiating strategies could easily result in an
accidental “no-deal”. Now is the time to think like
Donald Rumsfeld – not just to plan for the known
unknowns of Brexit such as the workforce
challenge, but also the unknown unknowns – the
issues that businesses don’t know they don’t know.
Most of the attention of the industry has
naturally focused on the long-term post-Brexit
challenge of rebuilding the industry’s workforce.
However, given that the status of current migrants
is built into the withdrawal agreement, this issue
has at least been addressed for now. What about
customs procedures, changing patterns of VAT
payments, and the requirement for suppliers to
hold more inventory just in case products are
delayed? None of these issues can be quantified
but must be seen as a practical consideration
for design and construction contracts that
are now under negotiation. It is not hard to
foresee a scenario where a European supplier
of programme-critical components such as
bathroom pods or items of plant will not be able to
accept risks associated with the knock-on costs of
delay, should their products get stuck in a customs
queue. Who should take this risk? Similarly, who
will take the cash flow hit on VAT charged at the
border when the UK gains the status of being a
Third Country in relation to the EU?
From September, Ryanair is going to include a
warning on its tickets that will read: “This flight
is subject to the regulatory environment allowing
the flight to take place.” Increasingly, other
organisations on either side of the contractual
divide are introducing a Brexit clause into their
agreements. The use of a Brexit clause will help
to kick the liability of an event to the other party.
Given the complexity of the interwoven supply
chains that feed into construction projects, in
practice the Brexit clause is helping to kick the
can down the road – buying time for one of
the contract parties to better understand their
unknown unknowns.
But think of the wider impacts of Ryanair’s
measure. People might choose to book flights
with other airlines, meaning that the airports
and destinations served by Ryanair could lose
business. Similarly, if a Brexit clause upsets
the delicate balance of liabilities enshrined in
agreements, contracts could become unworkable.
Imagine an industry slowdown that occurs not
Thinking the unthinkable
Ryanairispreparingitscustomersforano-dealBrexitbyinsertingaspecial clauseintoits
agreements.DoesourindustryneedtobemoreproactiveinrecognisingBrexit risk?
ThoughtforTomorrow:Cities
AspartofBuilding’s175thanniversarycelebrations,wehavelaunchedaseriesin
whichreaderssharetheirvisionsofhowconstructioncouldbein25years’time.
Here,MattGoodwinarguesthatanuancedapproachtourbanisation
couldtransformthecapital
The industry has a collective
responsibility to look ahead and ensure
that we are creating sustainable,
integrated and inclusive communities
for future generations. In London we
are witnessing significant restricting of
parts of the city in response to a very
specific requirement for more housing.
This is positive, but the increasing
implementation of a "one size fits all"
globalised standard development
model risks accelerating socioeconomic
polarisation.
Cities thrive on a formula of
complexity, diversity and an element of
uncertaintywhich encourages energy,
communication and innovation.As
we develop London overthe coming
25years,well-intentioned but poorly
considered government policy focusing
predominantly on the delivery of housing
numbers ratherthan the development
of communities, could scupperthat
formula.
Future development must also
considerhow tech is changing the city.
Evidence is growing to suggest London’s
population may actually fall as jobs
become increasingly flexible location-
wise. Use the London Underground
on Friday andyou’ll already see fewer
commuters as people stay put andwork
from home.
I hope that in 25yearswe have a more
intelligent and nuanced approach to
the challenges of urbanisation. While
development would be considered at
a more local level, we would also see
a broader approach to regeneration,
which will encompass all areas of the
city and not just pockets. In this new
world, planning policy would be nimble
enough to encourage diversity, both
in scale and context, and to engage
a broader range of stakeholders in
reshaping our urban future.
MattGoodwinismanagingdirectorof
theArchitectureInitiative
Doyou have aThought forTomorrow? Just send your name, job title and company, and 250 words to building@building.co.uk, with the heading “BuildingYour Future”,
answering these questions: Q What would you like the construction industry to look like in 25years' time? Q And what needs to change to make that happen?
Cities thrive on
a formula of
complexity,
diversity and an
element of uncertainty
“

27. comment&analysis/agenda/27
BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018
because clients don’t want to build, but because
it is too risky to build. Clients and their suppliers
should not allow this to happen, but given the
dearth of preparation for Brexit, particularly
among SME businesses, this should be
considered as a known known.
So how does industry mitigate the gathering
risk of Brexit-induced inertia? If we take the
example of our European pod supplier, they
could reduce their exposure by bringing forward
production, shipping to the UK earlier and
holding the materials in a warehouse rather
than relying on just-in-time delivery as they do
now. However, these provisions cost money and
if one bidder makes these assumptions and the
others don’t, the chances are that they won’t win
the contract. Can they take the risk to manage
the Brexit risk? In reality, mitigation must be
driven by the client and the client’s team as well
as by the specialists who are directly exposed to
changes in the way that markets operate.
If clients are to make these interventions, then
they need to be confident that they are making
the right ones. Detailed scenario planning is a
well-established method for envisioning future
states. Royal Dutch Shell famously claim to
have modelled the 1970s oil crisis as one of their
scenarios, equipping the business at the very least
to have a developed point of view on how the
situation might develop – even if they don’t have
all the answers. So far in connection with Brexit,
scenario planning hasn’t been that helpful. The
potential outcomes are so varied and complex
that it is difficult to develop an actionable view of
what might happen. However, at the level of the
project, where the boundaries of what is known
and what is not are easier to agree, the process
has a lot to offer. Scenario planning is, however,
more than an excuse for a workshop. The
scenarios need to be evidence-based, there need
to be multiple options and – most importantly –
the scenarios have to consider a different chain of
events from those that are expected. Now is the
time to be thinking in terms of Brexit scenarios –
positive, neutral and negative.
Recent data pointing to a creeping slowdown
in construction activity highlights the industry’s
delicate balance between entrepreneurial
confidence and Brexit-induced risk aversion. By
recognising the unthinkable, and by planning to
mitigate the worst outcomes of a no-deal Brexit,
we will be better able to keep the industry’s show
on the road.
Simon Rawlinson is head of strategic research and
insight at Arcadis and a member of the CLC
building.co.uk/communities
@PropertyRunClub
What a turnout for
ourfirst morning run
of #MIPIM2018.Who
would have thought
it.. 7am at a property
conference, 30+ keen
professionalswanting
to get an early run in
before a day of meetings.
Thanks formaking
today ourmost popular
MIPIM runyet.
ShortandtweetfromMipim Followourjournalistsontwitter.com/buildingnews/editorial
@ToughGuideMIPIM
It’s the first day and we’ve already
spotted some interesting get-up.
This year’s style guide: pleather,
shabby green shirts, and
moth-hole ridden pantaloons. Get
the look. Get the #MIPIM look.
Given the complexity of
the interwoven supply
chains that feed into
construction projects, in
practice the Brexit clause is
helping to kick the can down
the road
“
@lucy_homer
Agoodstartto#MIPIM2018
withafemaletaxidriver
#notjustforboys
@LondonatMIPIM
BonjourLondondelegates!
#MIPIM2018hasstarted.Join
uson the @LondonatMIPIM
stand,whichisalreadybuzzing
@8build
Good Luck to our
Paul Normanwho
started his Cycle
to MIPIM, Cannes
today.Wewishyou
and the team all
the best onyour
ride!!
#MIPIM2018

28. Find out more about what our people can
do for you, visit www.nhbc.co.uk or call
0344 633 1000
When he’s on the riverbank, Lee relies on expertise,
patience and experience for reeling in the big catch.
It’s no different in his work for NHBC, where the same
tenacity helps to maintain our high standards.
“Whenitcomestobuilding
inspection,I’mhooked.
Onmydaysoff,
Ireelthemin.”
Lee Fairall
Quality Team Building Inspector
& Fisherman

29. Agenda/29
BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018
Agenda
Comment / Second opinion
W
e need to talk about density. Too often
it’s a word that invokes imposing
high-rise flats and the most undesirable
extremes of urban living. But it shouldn’t.
And it’s time we put an end to these myths and
stopped skirting around the subject, because
it’s something that we’re going to start hearing
much more about.
The need to develop sites at much higher
densities was recognised by the prime minister,
Theresa May, and housing and communities
secretary Sajid Javid last week when launching
the revised National Planning Policy
Framework (NPPF). And in his draft London
plan, London major Sadiq Khan has shelved
previous density limits in an attempt to boost
the number of new homes being built.
But density serves a critical purpose beyond
tackling the housing shortage. It is key to
creating successful places.
The social fabric of any community – the
artisan markets, thriving pubs and active
community groups – depends on there being
a certain density of people to thread together.
And never is this more important than when
trying to establish new places and build a
substantial number of new homes. People
nowadays don’t want to move into dormitory
suburbs that they leave in the morning and
come home to at night – they expect certain
amenities and focal points for residents,
which are often only viable at higher densities.
Density lets places prosper
Density ultimately creates and ensures the
critical mass that we need to establish new
communities and help places to prosper.
It is what gives a place a vibrant, dynamic
atmosphere and attracts people to live, work
and play there.
And high density today doesn’t have to look
like the urban density of old. Delivering higher
levels of density does not simply equal more
high-rise development.
There are a whole spectrum of other housing
typologies that sit between, at one end, our
traditional notion of low-density, suburban,
semi-detached houses with gardens and
garages and, at the other extreme, high-density
blocks of flats. This includes maisonettes, mid-
rise mansion blocks, and urban townhouses of
three or four storeys with roof gardens and roof
terraces instead of typical backyards – but this
list is by no means exhaustive. It is by exploring
the breadth of this range and stimulating
greater innovation and variety in types of
housing that density can be increased – in ways
that are attractive and appealing.
The industry needs to embrace this more
design-driven approach to density and get
creative. Khan has cottoned on to this too – this
year, the Greater London Authority (GLA)
will be working on new design guidance to
make high-density housing more appealing to
Londoners and show that high-density living
need not mean high-rise.
Good design can also bridge the gap between
different levels of density and integrate different
typologies alongside each other – so that
sites don’t have to be so uniform, and can be
developed at varying, complementary densities
with a more bespoke and interesting aesthetic.
We may be firmly in the midst of a housing
shortage in this country, but that doesn’t mean
that consumer choice should be limited to the
same old traditional products. Today’s first-time
buyers have very different lifestyles from those
of 50 years ago. Our homes need to reflect that.
For instance, we have got used to designing for
cars and around parking space requirements
– but with the rise of driverless cars and the
decline of personal car ownership, need that
continue? How long will it be until the car-free
mentality starts to ripple out of urban centres
and impact more rural areas too?
Public opinion needs a push
As an industry, there is no denying that we have
a way to go to shift public opinion. Our housing
ideals and tastes have been heavily influenced
and entrenched by popular culture – such as
British sitcoms set in cobbled terraced streets or
around London squares – and people still seem
instinctively more drawn to familiar types of
housing, such as Edwardian or Victorian period
properties. Victorian terraces are among the
highest-density housing types in the country,
yet are still hugely sought-after – while many
contemporary attempts to achieve similar levels
of density have had communities running for
the hills.
Given the current pressures on housing
supply, the housebuilding industry has a
pivotal opportunity to champion new housing
typologies. It’s important to start showing that
through effective design, higher density can
be achieved today in a more sustainable and
aspirational way.
It’s time to start appreciating the positive face
of density. We need to see more of it.
PeterNewtonisarchitecturaldirectoratBarton
Willmore
Density isn’t a dirty word
The housing crisis demands we learn to love high density’s strengths.
Part of the challenge is to convince others that higher densities can be
achieved in a sustainable and aspirational way, says Peter Newton
The social fabric of any
community – the artisan
markets, thriving pubs
and active community groups
– depends on there being a
certain density of people to
thread together. Density […]
gives a place a vibrant, dynamic
atmosphere and attracts people
to live, work and play there
“
See National Planning Policy Framework
feature P32

30. 16.03.2018 BUILDING MAGAZINE
Agenda
Comment
Failuretograsp
theconceptof
outcomesacross
theinfrastructurelifecycle
hasledtothechronic
underperformancethat
continuestoactasa
catastrophicbrakeonthe
economy
“
Why would any business invest its
hard-earned cash on a promise of
reduced operating costs and better
service for customers but then
omit to check if it actually delivers?
Well, bizarrely, it is pretty much
standard operating procedure
across the built environment when
managing assets.
Yet to professionals working in
the complex aerospace, automotive
or manufacturing sectors, the
concept of outcome-based
contracting is nothing new.
Whether it is via the
sophistication of aircraft engine
manufacturers providing power
by the hour or simply through
car parts suppliers providing
consistent quality and just-in-
time delivered components, these
industries not only understand
what they need from their
contractors but have invested in
the capability of checking.
Fortunately for the built
environment sector, life is about to
get easier as data and modelling
starts to radically impact our world.
The digital twin (a digital replica
of physical assets, processes
and systems) really does hold
the key to securing a future of
outcome-based delivery.
The National Infrastructure
Commission’s latest report
Data for the Public Good puts it
succinctly: “A national digital twin
would enable the UK to develop
a richer understanding of the
way our infrastructure works and
optimise it, so government and
industry can make more informed
decisions about the future.”
The use of data science, machine
learning and predictive analytics,
it adds, will contribute to each
model of an infrastructure asset,
network or system to power
predictive asset maintenance,
Whythedigitaltwinmakesoutcome-basedcontractinginevitable
Mark Bew is strategic adviser at the UK’s Centre for Digital Built Britain and is chairman of
engineering consultancy PCSG
support planning decisions and
enable performance optimisation.
In short, we will be able to check
– in real time – whether or not our
assets are delivering to plan and,
crucially, take steps to improve
the outcomes.
It is this richer understanding
of how our infrastructure assets
perform which has been sorely
missed across the sector for
too long. Failure to grasp the
concept of outcomes across the
infrastructure lifecycle has led to
the chronic underperformance
that we now see across the UK –
underperformance that continues
to act as a catastrophic brake on
the economy.
Read the rest of this article at
www.building.co.uk
With the advent
of Brexit,
perhaps now
we can look to our
own procurement laws
to engineer better
outcomes for the
industry
“
Much consideration has been given
recently to the state of the UK
construction market, with its low
productivity, low investment and low
take-up of digital levers that might
benefit all stakeholders.
TheUKconstructionmarketishighly
fractured,runsonmarginalprofitsand
inthecaseofmanylargeconstruction
firms,accountableforeveryfinancialblip
totheirshareholders.Thereareanumber
offactorsatplayinthecurrentfinancial
climatethatdonothelpthesematters.
Inashort-termfocusedworldwhere
cashisking,valueisoftenlost.Margins
arecutstillfurthertosecurework,
oftenpredicatedongainsfromfuture
change.Thisapproachfiltersdownthe
supplychainputtinghugepressureon
managingthefinancesatthecostof
creativethinking,triallingandadopting
innovationandlong-termtrainingofthe
workforce.Thisisthenunderpinned
bythecyclicalnatureofconstruction
thatdoesnotcountenancelong-term
investmentascompaniesbattleto
surviveinthehereandnow.
Through our experience in dealing
with disputes, we believe that a shake-
up of the procurement process is
needed.The market is characterised
by clients awarding projects based on
cost and notvalue.The cost/quality
score is generally not effective as
most bidders are able to respond to
the client’s list of “exam” questions
– the reality is the spread on median
quality scores is generally low, leaving
the winning tender to be awarded on
cost. At this stage, there is no way to
offset the cost score with the creation
of long-term value that includes the
operation of the new asset. We need a
new approach to ensure that only the
right partners are chosen, ones that
will deliver long-termvalue to their
clients, employees, the public and other
stakeholders.
With the advent of Brexit, perhaps
HowdowereducetheriskofanotherCarillionhappening?
Tim Haynes is partner and head of UK operations at HKA
now we can look to our own
procurement laws to engineer better
outcomes for the industry. Making
better choices in the procurement
phase of projects may go some way to
perfecting the situation.
More careful thought needs to be
given by clients when assessing the
risk of contractor failure, beyond what
is perceived as the current and scant
financial checks that are undertaken.
Broader considerations as to the
bidding entity’s wider portfolio of
commitments need to be brought into
play; surely, we should learn from the
mistake of continuing to award Carillion
packages of significant national interest
despite warning signs.
Read the restof thisarticleat
www.building.co.uk

31. comment&analysis/agenda/31
BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018
Reader polls
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We asked: Does the revised draft of the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
instilyouwith confidence about the future of
the housing sector? Here’s howyouvoted …
The week in pictures
Image of theweek:
Statussymbol
London Central Mosque, built in 1978 in Regent’s Park, has this week
received a grade II* listing by Historic England. Pictured is the main
prayer hall of the mosque, designed by architect Sir Frederick Gibberd
What has
played the
most important
part in Balfour
Beatty’s
turnaround of
fortunes?
a. Strong
leadership
b. Ditching
non-profitable
contracts
c. A change in
culture
Voteonour
Twitterpoll
@BuildingNews
Q Yes
Q No
KATHYDEWITT/ALAMYSTOCKPHOTO
90%
10%
PAWIRE/PAIMAGES

32. 16.03.2018 BUILDING MAGAZINE
ONTHE
HOME FRONT
32/feature/NationalPlanningPolicyFramework
GEOFFSMITH/ALAMYSTOCKPHOTO

33. BUILDING MAGAZINE 16.03.2018
feature/NationalPlanningPolicyFramework/33
The government has been making loud noises about
getting more homes built – so long as it doesn’t have to
build them itself, of course – and the revised National
Planning Policy Framework is a big part of the plan to
galvanise planners and developers into action. Is it going
to work? David Blackman reports
F
or years the government has been
browbeating local councils about the
need to get their development plans up to
date. Ministers have even threatened to strip
15 authorities of their planning powers because
they have not made sufficient progress on their
blueprints. Now the government seems to have
stumbled on a way of encouraging lagging local
authorities to get a move on.
The answer lies in an apparently dry formula
that councils will have to use in future to
calculate housing need, according to the update
of the National Planning Policy Framework
(NPPF) launched by prime minister Theresa
May last week. The first top-to-bottom revision of
the framework in six years contains a host of
changes to planning guidance for local councils
(see The Two-Year Rule, and Density and
Design, overleaf). But the biggest flashpoint in
recent months has been the government’s moves
to reform housing needs assessments, which
until now authorities have been able to do by
using their own formulae.
Under the reforms all local planning authorities
will have to use a standard methodology, known
as the local housing needs assessment, which
was road tested in a consultation paper issued in
September. That document, Planning for the
Right Homes in the Right Places, contained a
table showing that many councils are likely to
see a doubling of the official assessment of
the number of new homes needed in their
areas. The biggest hits will mainly be seen
in southern England, hence the backlash
from Conservative MPs in the shire
counties, who are under pressure from
their constituents to protect greenfield
land from housing developments.
Despite the controversy, many
commentators have noted that the
measures included in the NPPF
document appear to have been watered
down since the housing white paper or are
less radical than the political rhetoric
preceding its launch last week led us to believe.
So what exactly does the new framework say?
And will it ultimately lead to more homes
being built where they are needed?
Keeping plans local
While the standardised formula is predicted to
mean big increases in areas of high demand
cities and the South-east of England, councils
have been told by the government that they can
avoid having to use the new formula this time if
they submit their local plans by the end of this
month. “A number of local authorities are
pushing through local plans early because the
government has told them that if they can get the
local plan in, they won’t have to include the
higher numbers,” says Martin Curtis, associate
director at lobbying firm Curtin & Co.
Mark Sitch, senior partner at planning and
design consultant Barton Willmore, says that
while some councils are nearly ready to submit
their plans, the 31 March deadline has injected
added urgency. “Where they see an increase,
some authorities are pushing ahead with their
plans. There is certainly a focus following the
consultation on the standard methodology and
the realisation by local authorities about what
that could mean for them.”
A number of local authorities are taking the
government up on its offer. They include Bedford
borough council, where the council will use its
current figure of 19,000 dwellings by 2035 as the
basis for its local plan. This is a big reduction on
the 25,000 dwellings that the council would have
to use under the new formula, according to last
September’s consultation paper.
A paper presented to Bedford’s executive in
January was explicit that the council is seeking to
sidestep its new requirement. It says that
submitting the plan by the end of this month will
“enable the plan to progress on the basis of
current housing need rather than the higher
dwelling requirement likely to result from the
government’s proposed standard methodology”.
Planners in the Buckinghamshire authority of
A LOTOFTHE RHETORIC IN
THE [HOUSING SECRETARY’S]
SPEECHWASN’TREFLECTED
INTHE POLICY
ANDREWWHITAKER, HOME BUILDERS FEDERATION
»
Commentators have
noted a difference in the
rhetoric between the
prime minister, who
appeared sympathetic
to planners in her
NPPF speech, and
Sajid Javid, who has
been cast as the enemy
of nimby councils

34. 16.03.2018 BUILDING MAGAZINE
34/feature/NationalPlanningPolicyFramework
Aylesbury Vale have made a similar calculation,
stating that provided their local plan is submitted
before 31 March 2018 the “new calculation
method will not apply”. And the process of
submitting the local development plan has also
been accelerated in neighbouring Central
Bedfordshire, where the council voted
unanimously to reject the new formula.
Rhetoricversus policy
The local plan rush job illustrates that, however
strong the political rhetoric surrounding housing,
willingness to boost housing provision is often
skin deep. Some say this gap between rhetoric
and practical policy extends to Whitehall.
The talk was tough about ramping up housing
delivery in the run-up to last week’s publication of
the NPPF, with Sajid Javid, secretary of state for
housing, communities and local government,
repeating his threat to strip councils of plan-
making powers – a sanction not mentioned in
the NPPF document.
The details in the document reveal the new
framework to be a “damp squib”, according
Curtis, who is a former leader of Conservative-
controlled Cambridgeshire county council. “The
difficulty is that they have had the opportunity to
intervene and they haven’t taken it.” Andrew
Whitaker, planning director of the Home
Builders Federation, adds: “A lot of the rhetoric in
the [housing secretary’s] speech wasn’t reflected
in the policy.”
And while Javid acted the hard cop when
presenting the NPPF in parliament, May struck a
more emollient tone in her speech launching the
document earlier in the day. She talked
soothingly of planning being a “powerful tool”
and recalled the value of good planning when she
dealt with planning as a local councillor.
The gap in rhetoric between the prime minister
and her secretary of state points to a deeper
tension within the government over how far to
deregulate development, believes Matt Thomson,
head of planning at the Campaign to Protect
Rural England. “Sajid Javid and others in his
camp have been declaring war on the prime
minister by labelling people as nimbys standing
in the way of providing homes, particularly for
young people,” he says.
Javid faced stern questioning from backbench
Conservative MPs, who expressed concerns
about the impact of the revised housing
assessment formula during last Monday’s
announcement. Reigate MP Crispin Blunt, for
instance, asked Javid to confirm that “housing
need does not trump issues such as areas of
outstanding natural beauty, sites of special
scientific interest and the green belt”.
The government’s political weakness means
that it cannot ignore these critics, says Curtis:
“The government knows what it needs to do but
because of the slim majority, it can’t afford to
upset lots of MPs with lots of greenbelt land and
green space.” Consequently it has not been as
robust on changing the green belt rules as it
should be, he believes.
The ambiguity within the government’s
position can be seen in the NPPF’s stance on the
green belt: it proposes amending the policy so
that affordable housing can be built on
BHANDOL/ALAMYSTOCKPHOTO
A NUMBER OF LOCAL
AUTHORITIESARE PUSHING
THROUGHLOCALPLANSEARLY
BECAUSETHE GOVERNMENT
HASTOLDTHEMTHAT[THEN]
THEYWON’THAVETO INCLUDE
THE HIGHER NUMBERS
MARTIN CURTIS, CURTIN & CO
The new town of Wixams,
near Bedford, is one of
the most ambitious such
projects in the area for
decades. Under
construction since 2007,
it will provide 4,500
homes. Bedford borough
council – along with other
local authorities – is now
keen to limit its
housebuilding targets
under its next local plan
»