Blogs

So, that nice boy George Osborne has been urged to slash the VAT rate for the building industry in today's Budget.

How typically British we all are. At the first hint of a lack of supply of something - bricks, blocks, bread or bacon, we head for the tills to stock up.

So, the CPA tells us that private house building starts are now growing at a faster rate than predicted even three months ago.

The last time I saw this many was probably when the digital TV switch off was looming.

Sometimes our friends do things that we wish they hadn't. We understand why they do them and we wish them well, but it can disconcert us.

Blimey. I didn't expect that. There I was last Thursday night, idly contemplating whether to go to bed at 10 and get up at 4am when the count usually starts to get interesting when David Dimbleby announced the results of THAT exit poll and had me spluttering into my cocoa.

Planners and planning departments come in for a good deal of criticism from the building community. And rightly so in a good many cases. The planning laws can be said to be archaic, overly complicated, onerous and enforced by people to whose heads are full of the little bit of power they have been granted.…

I got home this afternoon to find the post-box stuffed with a leaflet from the Electoral Commission, explaining the EU Referendum and how I can cast my vote.

The annual ‘Ecobuild’ show once again looms (5th-7th March at the ExCeL Centre in East London), the world’s biggest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment. It’s a show we have long supported –this will be the first time we have a presence as Lafarge Tarmac, so we’re looking forward to showcasing our…

The Olympics are over and despite the prophets of doom, there were no terrorist incidents and even the much criticised London transport system coped.