Sustainability

Construction sites without access to mains electricity could be powered by solar and green hydrogen instead of diesel in the wake of promising results from a major sustainable energy trial. Kier is testing the viability of solar, with green hydrogen as a backup, to act as the primary power supply…

Government plans to strip back environmental restrictions on smaller developments in a bid to accelerate housebuilding have been welcomed by construction leaders as heralding a more proportionate approach to environmental regulation. But nature bodies warned the move left biodiversity net gain (BNG) protections “dead in the water” as the majority…

Low-carbon bricks made from construction waste have been approved for use by the British Board of Agrément (BBA), a UK construction products certification body. Scottish firm Kenoteq developed the K-Briq using gravel, mortar and plasterboard and it is made up from nearly 100 per cent recycled construction and demolition waste.…

The government has been warned that its plan to ditch the lower level of landfill tax for less-polluting materials risks hitting construction and demolition firms with an unsustainable increase in disposal costs. Treasury proposals to reform landfill tax would see the lower rate of £4.05 per tonne gradually increase until…

Tier one contractor Costain is conducting intensive clay investigations at a proposed site for the UK’s first planned reservoir in more than 30 years, with the aim of reducing the risk of cost overruns. The firm is leading clay compaction trials (CCTs) at the site near Abingdon, in Oxfordshire. If approved,…

A specialist contractor body has called for the creation of a national electrification taskforce to boost the UK’s transition to renewable energy. The Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) said a cross-government panel could coordinate efforts across different areas including transport, housing and skills. This was one of 10 recommendations published this…

A planning decision to block HS2 from upgrading a crucial farm lane in Wendover could push up its costs by “tens of millions” of pounds, it has said. The response came as Buckinghamshire Council refused planning permission for an underground chamber and ditch, as part of HS2’s Wendover Green Tunnel…

Technology is changing. And so is Construction News. Our editorial team has been using artificial intelligence (AI) behind the scenes for some time now to summarise long reports and data as part of our research process, as well as produce some illustrations. But we have not used it to produce…

Public sector bodies abandoned one in six decarbonisation projects awarded funding through a £553m scheme, after “changes in the wider economic climate” took their toll. Public sector bodies that received funds from phase 3a of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) were forced to abandon 17 per cent of their…

The government will allow hydrogen-powered diggers, mobile cranes and other construction machinery to operate on public roads. Transport minister Lord Peter Hendy told Parliament that the Labour government would move ahead with the law change, which was first proposed in 2024 by the previous Conservative administration. Hydrogen-powered non-road mobile machinery…