After six years of fundraising, the west London venue plans to build new facilities including drama, dance and recording studios, a sensory space for children with disabilities and storage areas for props and costumes by February 2014.

At a launch event held today, executive director Jessica Hepburn said the project will “change the landscape of Hammersmith” with its two-storey extension over the shopping centre that is adjacent to the venue.

All the data associated with a construction project can be difficult to manage. However, with a good collaboration solution, construction teams can easily share information electronically with other project participants across the globe.

As a recent example, Skanska, www.skanska.com, Stockholm, Sweden, decided to implement Revu from Bluebeam Software, www.bluebeam.com, Pasadena, Calif., for PDF-based collaboration, offering the solution to its project teams throughout the world.

Balfour Beatty Living Places has secured a £150 million maintenance contract with Wiltshire council.

The firm will provide highway maintenance, grass cutting, litter collection and street lighting in Wiltshire, as well as problems caused by winter weather and maintenance of drainage systems and bridges.

The work was previously carried out by four different organisations, but Balfour has taken on the role as a single operator.

A ROOFING contractor is facing a £23m claim over a catastrophic fire that devastated a West Midlands factory.

Central Roofing Ltd, based on David Street on the Bridgend Industrial Estate, faces the action after fire tore through Mueller Europe’s copper tubing factory in Bilston in 2008.

It’s claimed the blaze was sparked by gas heaters igniting a scaffolding deck put up to replace a roof containing asbestos.

Morgan Lovell is being sued for over £1.3 million over allegations of failures with the air conditioning system installed in the McLaren Building, Birmingham.

The office design and build specialist, part of the Morgan Sindall group, was engaged by Bruntwood 2000 Beta Portfolio under a £4m contract signed in 2009, to carry out refurbishment works on the 21-storey building in the centre of Birmingham.

Preston-based property regeneration group Forrest is working on a scheme which guarantees apprentices work for the full term of their training.

The company has teamed up with Lancaster City Council, Constructing the Future Lancashire and CITB ConstructionSkills for the project which has seen six apprentices taken on.

Tried-and-true construction solutions for project management, bidding and estimating, and accounting and job costing are getting an infusion of new and innovative features—just in time for the New Year.

Take On Center Software’s, www.oncenter.com, The Woodlands, Texas, enhanced product announcement as one example. During a Webinar yesterday, Cecilia Padilla, president, On Center Software and Angelo Castelli, vice president, operations, On Center Software, announced the latest release of its portfolio of solutions, which includes On-Screen Takeoff, Quick Bid, and Digital Production Control.

National Grid has awarded long-term deals worth almost £3 billion to Balfour Beatty and a Skanska/ Morrison Utility Services joint venture.

Skanska and Morrison Utility Services have won an eight-year deal for National Grid’s gas mains replacement programme and associated activities in the UK.

The total amount of the contract is £1.6 billion and the contractors will be responsible for two of four regional areas in England: the East of England and North London.

The UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) has announced the senior appointment of Terry Barker MA, PG DIP, as Chief Executive Officer. This newly-created role serves to continue to enhance the organisation as the leading training association in its field.

Terry will officially take up his new duties with the Association from 1 January 2013, and his appointment ends UKATA’s search for a suitably experienced and qualified CEO to take the Association forward. Terry is now tasked with leading from the front and achieving the ambitious growth targets set by the Executive Committee.

“We are delighted to have secured Terry’s services as our new CEO,” said UKATA Chairman Mike Smith. “Several high calibre candidates were interviewed but the Executive Committee felt Terry ticked all the right boxes, with his combination of knowledge, expertise and passion essential for this key post. Terry’s reputation in the industry precedes him and I’m sure his appointment will prove an important strategic watershed for the Association.”