Construction National

Housing recovery: is it just a case of starting from rock bottom?

It has been a rollercoaster ride for the construction industry in recent months. While both the NHBC and RICS have reported continuing falls in registrations and sales, both are optimistic for the New Year. Glenigan, the lead source for contracts and new work in the industry, has seen a veritable seesaw of new starts. That won't be seen as registrations or sales for some time yet, so there is always a lag, but the figure for the construction industry as a whole rose by 3% for the quarter to November compared to last year. It followed a 1% fall in October and a massive 11% fall to September.

Private housing is leading the way, with the social housing sector starting to stir. A note of caution was sounded by Glenigan's economist Andrew Whiffin.

"The turnaround in the sector is a bit of a shock," he said, "but the steep increase this month has a lot to do with the weakness of the sector at the end of last year rather than any strength in the latest data."

Read more: Housing recovery: is it just a case of starting from rock bottom?

Dancing to the rhythm of the piledriver; and mind how you go

As I have been carrying out my various commissions in the comfort of my home I have been somewhat distracted by the rhythmic 'thwack-thwack' of a piledriver somewhere in the valley outside. I say somewhere, because it is not easy to distinguish from the echo around the valley which of the two major construction sites in the source. Yes, I said TWO major construction sites. One is a new development of social housing, while the other is a supermarket in the making.

It is the first sign of sustained activity in this small town since the new homes on the edge of the town completed its latest phase. It might disturb my concentration, but it's still a welcome sign.

Read more: Dancing to the rhythm of the piledriver; and mind how you go

The heavy plant in Santa’s sack: just the job for the tunnellers of the future

It's that time of year again, when a wife's fancy turns to thoughts of Christmas presents for grandchildren. In our case, little Samuel will soon be three and is already keen on building and – mainly – demolition. So off we go to investigate the world of construction toys all over again.

Things have changed! No longer is the world of JCB, John Deere and Caterpillar confined to more-or-less faithful reproductions for the sand pit or just looking at. No; these days children can own miniature versions of the real thing. Some are electrically driven while others (preferred by this advocate of an active childhood) are pedal-powered. Some ranges have all the attachments available to the real builder (not just a 'digger' but a back-hoe loader).

In my column of 1 November I reported on initiatives by the industry to improve its image. I venture to speculate that the future of construction (and demolition) will be enhanced thanks to the opportunities offered to the very youngest to get used to some of the skills on offer.

Read more: The heavy plant in Santa’s sack: just the job for the tunnellers of the future

There’s a PR offensive going on, despite continuing woes

There is still little to cheer in the housing sector, with both RICS and the NHBC issuing figures in the past week on third quarter statistics. The NHBC reported a fall in registrations for the quarter from last year in both the private and public sectors. The public sector saw a fall of only 5% from last year, but with the sector flat on its back there is little left to cut. The private sector had been a little more positive, but that optimism has evaporated.

The RICS, too, reported a continuing decline in both private and public sectors, with a net 11% of surveyors reporting a decline in public-sector workload over the period compared to 4% in the private sector.

Read more: There’s a PR offensive going on, despite continuing woes

How much open space do you need in a public building? Enough, it seems, to save a concrete plant

I commented at some length recently (5 July) about the announcement of the Priority Schools Building Programme, the £2bn scheme to keep at least some schools functioning which replaced the Building Schools for the Future programme aimed at replacing all secondary schools.

The most recent news about the scheme, to be found elsewhere on the Construction National site, is that the original cost of the scheme, which was to be £2.4bn of which £2bn would be via a Private Finance Initiative, is to be reduced by nearly £700m.

The savings, from the PFI part of the programme, will be made by applying a new design standard resulting in a review of the cost per square metre. According to the Education Funding Agency, that would not result in "smaller classrooms becoming more acceptable".

Read more: How much open space do you need in a public building? Enough, it seems, to save a concrete plant

London’s triumph begets Rio contracts; but does Whitehall know what it’s doing on procurement?

Much emphasis in the construction news of the past week or so has been on building procurement in the public sector. First, on 10 September the All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in Public Building – a snappy title, you must agree – published its report calling for a "procurement revolution" to deliver better value for money in public sector construction projects.

It cited the Olympic Delivery Authority for London 2012 as a shining example of how it's done. This week the PM revealed during a visit to Brazil (one of the downsides of hosting the next Games) that many of the people and companies involved in delivering that infrastructure project have been engaged by the Rio organisers to perform the same task next time around.

Read more: London’s triumph begets Rio contracts; but does Whitehall know what it’s doing on procurement?

Bigging up extensions and putting down councils, and what has happened to Mr Prisk?

So David Cameron and Nick Clegg are going to get Britain building again. Cameron said his Government is serious about rolling its sleeves up and doing all it can to kick-start the economy. So they came together to announce...the relaxation of planning rules on extensions! That is great news for people who build extensions, of course – provided that their prospective customers, freed from the jack-booted oppression of petty minded officialdom in town halls across the country, can actually afford to build them.

To be fair, there are some things that will boost housebuilding. The extension of the FirstBuy scheme is to be welcomed, even if it only applies to new builds. There are elements, however, that seem to display a desire to hand public money to private developers: the mooted Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill, for instance, that will guarantee "the debt of housing associations and private-sector developers" (my emphasis).

Read more: Bigging up extensions and putting down councils, and what has happened to Mr Prisk?

Let's hear it for wood, and pointy things

In September visitors to Timber Expo in Coventry will be able to preview the shortlisted projects for the Wood Awards 2012. This year the competition – celebrating its 10th year – has seen an unprecedented number of entries – so much so that the categories for furniture and architecture had to have the deadline for entries extended to June. In the past Construction National has had its front cover adorned with winning entries of marvellous beauty and fantastic design.

Also new this year the categories have been revamped: a new main category of Small Project has been introduced to separate it from the Private category, and the Conservation/Restoration category has become Repair and Adaptive Re-use, to allow for projects that have undergone "ingenious restoration" while being adapted for other purposes.

Read more: Let's hear it for wood, and pointy things

Chasing the poor out of ‘nice’ areas – even when they belong there

At the end of last month the NHBC released figures for new home registrations for the second quarter of the year. It makes grim reading. The figures show a decline of 24% in registrations compared to the same quarter last year. Private-sector registrations fell by 10%, driven by a decline for June compared to June last year, although April and May saw slight rises.

The real hammer blow came from public-sector registrations which fell by a massive 42% compared to last year. That was in the face of a soaring in demand to fill the ever-widening gap between housing supply and demand.

Richard Tamayo, the NHBC's commercial director, commented: "As the year progresses we must hope to see a rebound in social housing numbers as providers adapt to new methods of funding."

Read more: Chasing the poor out of ‘nice’ areas – even when they belong there

Cauldron sets hearts afire, and Hear, hear! to Prince Charles

Like everyone else, I gasped in wonder as the Olympic cauldron hoisted itself into place following the lighting of the flames by nine young athletes: each sponsored by a British Olympian. The cauldron, designed by Thomas Heatherwick – himself a trailblazer – was a masterpiece of thoughtful design, with each 'petal' inscribed with the name of a country which will be given it as a keepsake.

It set me looking at other notable Heatherwick designs, from the UK Pavilion at the 2010 Expo in Shanghai to a design for a café on the front at Littlehampton. The latter is set on a long, thin piece of land between the promenade and a sewer pipe, described by Heatherwick as "the shape of a cigarette". Not 'a cylinder' or anything so prosaic, note.

Read more: Cauldron sets hearts afire, and Hear, hear! to Prince Charles