April 2005 - News from the UK

News: Timber Frame, Construction & Property News

• New Homes Fall Short of Prescott's Plans
  (18 April 2005, Housebuilder's Week)
  The number of new homes built last year recovered to its highest level since 1995, but is still well short of requirements. A total of 184,600 homes were completed, about 9,500 more than in 2003, as the industry responded to the Barker report that called for at least 210,000 each year to meet rising demand.
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• Price of New Flats Slumps by 10%
  (18 April 2005, Housebuilder's Week)
  The price of new flats has fallen by 10% over the last year amid fears that housebuilders have saturated the market. The figures from smartnewhomes.com shows that while figures for new detached homes lept by 17.8% between March 04 and March 05, the price of new flats fell by 9.8%. Some agents suggest demand is still out there, but others suggest they will have to cut prices dramatically - especially for two-bed flats in metropolitan areas.
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• Affordable Housing Plans Criticised
  (7 April 2005, Financial Times p4)
  Roger Blitz reports that the government is planning to build more than double the number of homes needed in an attempt to reduce house price inflation. However, a report produced by the Institute of Public Policy is critical of the governments housing agenda and concludes that an increase in the housing supply in the south east is not the way to make homes more affordable.
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• Contract Journal and 4Projects team up to break down barriers to collaborative working
  (5 April 2005, Contract Journal)
  What is the reality behind partnering? Neil Jarrett, director of the Collaborative Working Centre (CWC) tells Tim Wood that the construction industry is still only scratching the surface in its attempts to improve business performance.
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• Labour 'to boost home ownership'
  (1 April 2005, BBC News)
  Labour will create one million new homeowners within five years of an election win, Gordon Brown will pledge.
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News: Environment, Climate & Attitudes

• Ozone layer most fragile on record
  (27 April 2005, The Guardian p3)
  The protective ozone layer over the Artic has thinned this winter to its lowest levels since records began. Paul Brown reports that the alarming news has come as a shock to scientists who had believed the ozone layer had begun to heal. The increase loss of the ozone allows more harmful ultraviolet light to reach the Earth's surface and scientists yesterday warned that people going out in the sun, especially children and outdoor enthusiasts should protect themselves with sun creams and hats this summer.
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• Commission adopts eco-design Directive despite claims it lacks ambition
  (15 April 2005, EDIE)
  The European Parliament has formally adopted the Directive on the eco-design of energy using products, despite claims by environmental groups that the directive lacks ambition.
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• Commission formally rejects UK request for increased emissions levels
  (15 April 2005, EDIE)
  The European Commission has formally rejected the request from the UK to increase the number of emissions allowances to be granted to UK companies in the country's national allocation plan.
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• Economic costs of renewable energy blowing in the wind
  (13 April 2005, Financial Times p5)
  As power prices come under pressure from the rising cost of oil and gas many companies are investigating the economics of renewable energy such as wind power but many are still not convinced that it is cheaper than conventional energy. Fiona Harvey adds that BT have started trials of a new wind-powered generator at one of its telephone exchanges in Cornwall, and if successful is likely to trigger an increase of interest in wind energy from other companies. BT has become the world's largest company to commit to taking all its electricity from environmentally sound sources.
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• Ozone-friendly gases "cause global warming"
  (12 April 2005, Financial Times p6)
  Chemicals used as substitutes for ozone-depleting compounds are thought to be causing global warming reports Fiona Harvey. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that chemicals such as CFCs and the common alternatives HFCs contribute to about 5% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions.
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• New Report Concludes that 22% of Homeowners want Greener Lives!
  (6 April 2005, Green Building Press)
  About a quarter of people in the UK would like to lead 'greener' lives according to as recent report commissioned by the Energy Saving Trust (EST). But is this enough to convince the building industry to pay more attention to energy efficient and healthier - more planet friendly building methods and products?
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• Political Parties Unite in Green Debate
  (6 April 2005, Green Building Press)
  Environmental delegates from the UK's three main political parties have expressed their support for the growing environmental industry sector at a Pre-Election Debate held in the House of Commons by the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC). All agreed that new and cleaner technologies were key to confronting the challenge of climate change....
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• Green fuel plant finds recipe for cooking oil
  (5 April 2005, Financial Times p4)
  Commercial production has started at the UK's first large biodiesel plant making environmentally friendly fuel from animal fat and used cooking oil reports Andrew Bolger. The "green" fuel will be produced in Scotland where it is mixed with mineral diesel and will be marketed under the Bio-plus brand, which requires no change to vehicle engines.
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• London left underwater without climate action
  (1 April 2005, EDIE)
  The Houses of Parliament were flooded this week - with a projected image of where the Thames water level would be in 100 years if climate change continues at the present rate.
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• Allowing degradation of our planet is 'economic suicide'
  (1 April 2005, EDIE)
  Businesses and governments around the world must stop treating our ecosystems like inexhaustible supplies of natural resources, according to a shock report showing the economic implications of not protecting our planet.
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• CO2 rise forces energy rethink
  (1 April 2005, The Guardian)
  Carbon dioxide emissions are rising rapidly in the UK, forcing the government to consider a range of new measures to keep its pledge to combat climate change.
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News: Responsible Business and the Community

• Women set to shift the balance of power in business
  (28 April 2005, The Times p61)
  Women are half as likely as men to be involved in starting a business, writes Michelle Henery. The UK has one of the lowest proportions of entrepreneurial women in the developed world.
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• Men ‘left behind in risk-taking at work'
  (22 April 2005, Telegraph p4)
  A new study has found that women who hold senior positions in business are likely to be more persuasive, assertive and willing to take risks than their high-flying male counterparts. Sarah Womack adds that the study, The DNA of Women Leaders, carried out by Aurora, a women's networking organisation, and Caliper, an international management consulting firm, studied the specific traits most common in senior women business leaders in Britain and America compared to their male counterparts.
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• Students less confident of walking into good lobs under Blair
  (21 April 2005, Telegraph p6)
  John Clare reports that the proportion of final-year students at good universities who expect to walk into a graduate job has fallen by a third since Labour's first year in office, a survey published yesterday found. The research which was carried out by High Fliers Research found that this year's finalists are so gloomy about their prospects in a overcrowded market that a quarter of them plan to take a post graduate degree, in the hope of making themselves more employable.
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• Business disappointed by party's silence over tax on employers
  (14 April 2005, Financial Times p3)
  Jean Eaglesham reports that Labour's new manifesto failed to mention any commitment to contain or even reduce taxes on employers which has set alarm bells ringing for concerned businesses. John Cetizia, political advisor at the EEF, the manufacturers' body said, "Business tax is the main worry. Employers got their fingers burnt with the last national insurance rise." The Federation of Small Businesses stated its members "were hurt" by the 2002 budget rise in NI contributions, "and would not want that repeated."
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• Vision and ethics at the heart of training
  (4 April 2005, Financial Times p12)
  Morgen Witzel reports that companies spend huge amounts on moulding future leaders but he thinks that much of their effort is missing the point. He writes that there is a "crisis in business leadership referring to two studies, one from the Harvard Business Review showing that 55% of leaders are associated with below average corporate performance and one from the CIPD suggesting that many companies are suffering from a shortage of effective leadership.
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• Average incomes 'fell last year'
  (1 April 2005, BBC News)
  Average household incomes have fallen for the first time in a decade, says the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS).
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News: Finance & Economy

• Crackdown on "failure payouts"
  (25 April 2005, Guardian p2)
  Foreign & Colonial, the fund management group and one of the UK's biggest investors, is demanding a new clampdown on "rewards for failure" to executives who walk away from troubled firms after banking big bonuses. Julia Finch and Jill Treanor add that the group wants directors to be forced to pay back bonuses if it is later proved that their company had not been performing as well as it appeared.
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• Halifax reports a 0.5% rise in prices in March
  (11 April 2005, Halifax)
  The Halifax House Price Index revealed a 0.5% rise in prices in March, on the back of a 0.5% fall in February, as the annual rate of price growth dropped to 9.7%, down from 12.1%. The data provides further evidence of a flat market, with Halifax commenting: "Overall, there has been virtually no change in UK house price since September 2004."
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• Ecology Building Society Announces Record Lending
  (4 April 2005, Green Building Press)
  There is no stopping Ecology Building Society, who have just published their annual accounts showing growth in total assets to £55 million at the end of 2004, an increase of over 9% on 2003's year-end. Yorkshire-based Ecology is proving that green consumerism is soaring with gross mortgage lending reaching a new high of £10.5 million last year.
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• Sharp fall in claims against employers
  (4 April 2005, The Telegraph p32)
  Evidence compiled by the Engineering Employers' Federation shows that employers are winning more employment tribunal cases as compensation claims for unfair dismissal and discrimination show a sharp fall, writes Roland Gribben.
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• Housing inflation down to lowest in four years
  (1 April 2005, Financial Times)
  Annual house price inflation has fallen into single-digit territory for the first time in almost four years but activity in the housing market remained stable, data showed yesterday.
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Feature Article of the Month - Builder & Engineer Magazine; Timber Frame Supplement

Seasonal, 2005

Expert Viewpoint: Dr Michael Benfield

Dr Michael Benfield is one of the leading Timber Frame Construction Experts. He spoke to Builder & Engineer about how the Construction of more Timber-based buildings will help meet the ambitious carbon emission targets set by the Government...