Posts by Iain Murdoch

  • Giving notice under a construction contract – difficulties for companies?

    A recent Court of Appeal decision set many construction practitioners thinking about how the parties communicate and give notices to each other. In particular, when a statute or contract requires a company to give a notice or sign a document, do the execution rules of the Companies Acts always apply?

  • CABE proposes minimum design standard and deregulation for housing

    CABE (the Commission for Arcitecture and the Built Environment) has published Simpler and Better, a report which argues for the introduction of a minimum design standard for homes, combined with better, leaner regulation of new homes through (for example) the planning and building regulation systems.

  • Existing buildings are inefficient, so should we demolish?

    Question: What do Paul Morrell and Sir John Betjeman have in common? Answer: They might both like to demolish Slough town centre. The poet famously said: “Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It isn’t fit for humans now, There isn’t grass to graze a cow. Swarm over, Death!”

  • State your intentions…

    This week, we have reported on another Court of Appeal decision on a letter of intent. (Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal gave judgment in RTS v Muller.) The case (Whittle v Hollywood) sounds very rock and roll…

  • Ask the Team: What is EPCM contracting?

    PLC Construction recently received an enquiry asking for information about EPCM contracting. Our thoughts below give an overview of how EPCM contracting operates and what distinguishes it from other forms of procurement, particularly EPC contracting.

  • UK infrastructure is “vulnerable”

    The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has published a report, The State of the Nation: Defending Critical Infrastructure, on the security of the UK’s key infrastructure networks. The report pulls no punches, stating that “without reform, the UK is in danger of not having the infrastructure it needs to operate.”

  • How to avoid disputes about timesheets and invoices

    The recent case of Furmans Electrical Contractors v Elecref Ltd concerned a construction dispute over only a few thousand pounds. Although it made no headlines, this case raises an interesting question – one which you are best avoiding going to court to answer.

  • Blacklist adjournment debate: blacklisting the blacklisters

    In the House of Commons last night, during the adjournment debate on blacklisting in the construction industry, the Government Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs, Mr Pat McFadden, confirmed that the Consulting Association, run by Ian Kerr, will be prosecuted under the Data Protection Act 1998 for compiling its database of blacklisted individuals.

  • LDEDC: the merry-go-round of amendments

    The seventh list of amendments to the LDEDC Bill 2008, which amends the Construction Act 1996, were published today (the next Grand Committee hearing is tomorrow).

  • Get Britain Building campaign

    A coalition of politicians and industry trade bodies has launched the “Get Britain Building” campaign. The campaign promotes a ten point plan:

  • Balfour Beatty v Modus Corovest

    We wrote an update on last week’s judgment in Balfour Beatty Construction Northern Limited v Modus Corovest (Blackpool) Limited.

  • Does alliancing matter?

    Alliancing matters to clients, contractors and professional consultants. It can deliver what was once thought undeliverable, but it can also exclude innovative SMEs (small and medium enterprises) from projects that they might otherwise transform.

  • Welcome

    I am delighted to bring you PLC Construction. The breadth of the launch site is built on the labours of PLC Construction’s professional support team, with incredible support from within PLC and from many contributors, so a huge thank you to all. I hope you enjoy the site. Here are some of its highlights: