Author Archives: Harmsworth

Balfour Beatty has been retained to carry out highways maintenance in Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull, winning a new seven-year, £315m, deal. The contract was awarded by Warwickshire County Council alongside Coventry City Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, running from May 2026 to May 2033. It includes an option to…

Bury Council has launched the first stage of a highways works framework worth up to £168m, covering construction, maintenance and civil engineering services across the borough. The Metropolitan Borough of Bury published the tender notice on 30 January under the Procurement Act 2023, with the framework due to run for…

Laing O’Rourke has been confirmed to deliver a £250m cancer centre at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. The project, funded through the New Hospitals Programme and the Department of Health and Social Care, will provide a regional Centre of Excellence in cancer care serving over 60,000 patients annually…

National Highways chief executive Nick Harris has announced he is stepping down. He will remain in post during a short transition phase, though no fixed end date has been confirmed. The board will appoint an interim chief executive while recruitment for a permanent successor begins in the spring. In a…

Developer BGO has submitted plans for a £750m mixed-use healthcare and research campus in Whitechapel, east London. The proposed scheme, designed by PLP Architecture and backed by Barts Health NHS Trust, aims to support key workers and relieve pressure on clinical services at the nearby Royal London Hospital. The development…

Sefton Council has named Vinci Building as its preferred contractor to deliver the Marine Lake Events Centre (MLEC) in Southport, more than two years after procurement for the project began. Vinci will enter into a pre-construction services agreement (PCSA) while the council finalises the scheme’s design and contract details. Sefton…

Bowmer + Kirkland has been appointed main contractor for a £240m student accommodation redevelopment in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Castle Leazes scheme is being delivered for Unite Students and Newcastle University. It will replace a 1960s-era, 1,250-bed complex with 2,009 rooms built to modern design and sustainability standards. The gross…

Robertson Construction Central East has been appointed to deliver the main construction works for Scotland’s new National Centre for Music in Edinburgh. The £47m contract was awarded by the Royal High School Preservation Trust to restore the former Royal High School (pictured) on Calton Hill. The project follows a series…

Three contractors have been appointed to deliver a £2bn housing repairs programme for Birmingham City Council over the next decade. From July 2026, Equans, Wates and Mears will take responsibility for day-to-day repairs, planned maintenance such as kitchen and bathroom upgrades, and the refurbishment of empty properties across the city’s…

Wates Smartspace has been appointed to deliver a £32.8m Category B office fit-out of a major government hub in Manchester. The contract, issued by the Government Property Agency (GPA), will see the contractor carry out the internal fit-out of the First Street development in the city centre. The project is…