Building Britain

Construction Surety Bonds - UK Building Blog

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Jobs and growth are being created by Britain’s manufacturers and constructors. From micro-electronics to major infrastructure projects, exciting schemes are bringing massive benefits to the economy.

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New high-skills jobs open up as UK construction sector transforms

Latest Industrial Strategy investment will promote access by a diverse pool of candidates and create better homes and public buildings through modernisation.

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Earth Overshoot Day marks the day when humanity has used more resources from nature that our planet can renew in the course of a year. In 2000, Earth Overshoot Day fell today, 23rd  September. This year, 2018, the date receded to 1st August.

Is there a way we can live in harmony with our Earth and #movethedate? Can the Anthropocene – the era of humans – be ‘good’?

GIF by eyedesyn via Giphy.    

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Infrastructure of the 21st century 

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TransPennine and Midland Mainline electrification works to resume

Work on electrification of TransPennine and Midland Mainline to restart under plans announced today.

• Work on electrification of TransPennine and Midland Mainline to restart

• TransPennine line will deliver faster journeys and more capacity to help deliver a Northern Powerhouse

• Midland Mainline improvements will mean electrification to Kettering and Corby by 2019

Work to electrify TransPennine and Midland Mainline railways will resume under plans announced today, Wednesday 30 September 2015, as part of Sir Peter Hendy’s work to reset Network Rail’s upgrade programme.

For more information visit GOV.UK 

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Free Wi-Fi now available on buses, trams and trains in nine UK cities

Millions of users are making regular use of free Wi-Fi which has been rolled out on hundreds of buses, trams and trains in nine cities across the UK.

For more information visit GOV.UK

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Transport projects speed ahead in the Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award shortlist

The Prime Minister’s Award is the pinnacle of The British Construction Industry Awards. It recognises publicly funded construction projects that are completed on time, on budget and that bring real change to their local community.

Twelve out of the 32 projects shortlisted for this year’s award are helping to create better journeys across the country by improving the country’s transport infrastructure.

Find out more on GOV.UK

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We are investing in Cornwall's transport

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Cycling revolution goes electric

Cycle-hire schemes across the country will receive hundreds of electric bikes to make cycling more accessible and make it easier for people who are keen to cycle more. The £700,000 competition supports hire schemes across the country with hundreds of new electric bicycles to get more people cycling.

The ‘e-bikes’, which offer battery-assisted pedalling at the flick of a switch, will make it easier for people to cycle more who may be put off by hilly routes or not having cycled regularly.

The Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Sharing Pilot Scheme is the latest announcement backing the government’s commitment to double the number of cycle journeys by encouraging people of all ages and abilities to get on their bikes.

Find out more on GOV.UK.

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How smart motorways help to deliver better journeys

The smart motorways programme has been created to deliver increased connectivity across England. Technology driven solutions will tackle congestion, improve journey time reliability and add much needed capacity on key parts of the motorway network.

For more information about smart motorways, please visit GOV.UK for news, video clips, campaigns and more.

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Improving the M1 in Leicestershire

Find out more on GOV.UK 

[Video: Skanska Apprentice Sam Hill, 18, from Leicester shares his reasons for starting an apprenticeship]

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Full speed ahead for HS2

At least seven new contracts will be opened up to companies, with a total combined value of £11.8 billion. HS2 will create 25,000 jobs during construction, at least 2,000 new apprenticeships and will create 3,000 jobs when up and running.

To find out more visit GOV.UK

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Apprentices have a head start in achieving milestones

New apprentices and those that have graduated like Emma Taylor and Thomas Harrison are helping to create better journeys for people across the UK by improving and maintaining our railways.

New research by Network Rail shows that apprenticeships’ value goes beyond the workplace skills they provide, enabling apprentices to achieve personal and career goals earlier than their friends. The survey of 355 graduates of Network Rail’s Advanced Apprenticeships Scheme revealed that many of them are the first among their friendship group to buy a house (52%), make a big purchase on something they’ve always wanted (66%), buy a car (40%) or to book and pay for a summer holiday or travel (47%). Their career progression matches the pace that they reach these life milestones, with almost three quarters of the graduates – who all now work full-time at Network Rail – saying they were the first among their friends to be promoted, and almost half reportedly on track for a senior management position within the next five years.

For more information on the Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme, go to https://www.facebook.com/networkrailadvancedapprenticeship. For more details of the survey, see the Network Rail website.

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Redesigned Birmingham New Street station is open to the public

Birmingham New Street, one of Britain’s busiest interchange stations, now has capacity for 300,000 people every day. The redeveloped New Street station was unveiled to the first passengers on 20 September with brighter, de-cluttered platforms, new lifts and escalators to every platform, and new facilities.  The state of the art building includes a spacious concourse beneath a spectacular atrium roof, transforming visitors’ first impressions of Britain’s second city. It has also benefited the area by boosting employment and the local economy. This time-lapse film shows the iconic new station on the day that it opened its doors to the first passengers.

[Video Credit: Network Rail]

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How the government is helping build homes in the North West

Paul Lees said: ‘I’m delighted that the HCA has given us one of the largest grant allocations of any housing association in the country.

‘Working closely with our local authority partners across the North West we are committed to building quality homes in areas of acute need and this funding will assist us in meeting our target of completing the construction of almost 2,000 homes between now and March 2018.’

Adactus Housing Group is active across 21 local authority areas in the North West of England.  

The government's 2015 to 2018 Affordable Homes Programme aims to increase the supply of new affordable homes in England by March 2018.

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Simons Group are building a healthier Britain by constructing the Nuffield Health Hospital in Cambridge. The company has recently started working on a three storey extension to The Children’s Hospital in Sheffield.

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Workers for construction company Balfour Beatty are #BuildingBritain for future generations with the Urban Nest student accommodation project in central London. The construction industry is worth billions to the UK economy.