Weekly news round-up - latest

CBI wants focus on deficit reduction, archaeologists fear Stonehenge tunnel could damage 4000 year old history, Rochdale to rediscover its medieval bridge and more.

  1. Cutting the deficit should be the government's priority in 2015, the CBI has said, and it also called for major changes to preserve public services. In its new year message, the business lobby group said reducing the deficit is a "must" for whichever government takes power next year. It also suggested a radical education reform to scrap GCSEs at the age of 16 and introduce a scheme with options more geared to training for work introduced. It proposed integrating health and social care, and a significant increase in services available online to help the public sector save money.

  2. A Deloitte Real Estate-led consortium with AECOM and HOK has been reappointed to support the Palace of Westminster’s Restoration and Renewal Programme. A report containing the findings of the work required is expected to be published in June/July with costs estimated at £1bn. 

  3. House prices in the UK will see an average increase of three percent over the course of next year, bolstered by recent changes to Stamp Duty, continuing demand and lack of supply of property, according to the RICS housing forecast for 2015. 

  4. Lottery funding of £1.2M is to be used to uncover Rochdale’s medieval bridge and take the Roch river out of culvert so it can be opened up as an amenity and focus for regeneration. Environment Agency funding of £1M will also go towards the project which will help alleviate flooding in the town.

  5. Mott MacDonald has been appointed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to carry out a regional study on the climate resilience of buildings in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. The study will provide a framework for a series of targeted country-specific assessments.

  6. Arup has been appointed to take forward the design of a visitor centre and bridge walk for The Forth Bridge. With the iconic landmark set to celebrate its 125th birthday, the centre will give visitors the opportunity to gain a unique perspective on the bridge via a dramatic viewing platform 110m above sea level.  

  7. A 100m tall wind turbine collapsed in light winds last week with reports of the blades spinning out of control. The turbine was one of eight at Screggagh Wind Farm in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. An investigation has been launched.

  8. A builder who tampered with sluice gates during last winter's floods on the Somerset Levels has been fined £1,000. Lee Goddard, 40, from Hambridge, pleaded guilty to opening Slabgate sluice between 20 and 23 December to divert water from his home. Taunton Magistrates' Court heard his actions caused an estimated 45,000 cubic metres of water to head towards the village of Thorney. The private prosecution was brought by the Parrett Internal Drainage Board. By opening the sluice gate, Goddard breached a local by-law and the Land Drainage Act. Goddard was also ordered to pay £1,500 for the prosecution costs and the cost of repairing the sluice gate.

  9. Plans for the road tunnel under Stonehenge have been slammed by archaeologist who fear it could damage the oldest encampment yet discovered near the monument. Charcoal, flints and animal bones dug up from the Mesolithic encampment at Blick Mead in the world heritage site, 2.5km from the stones, has been tested and dated to around 4,000 BC, archaeologists said.

  10. The 16 remaining staff at collapsed wave power company Pelamis are to be made redundant after no final offers were made for the business. The firm went into administration last month.Meanwhile construction of the largest planned tidal energy project in the world is expected to begin off the Scottish coast next month, developers have announced. Atlantis, majority owner of the MeyGen project, said it had finalised all of the conditions required to initiate its first drawdown from financiers The Crown Estate and Scottish Enterprise. The project has the potential to power nearly 175,000 homes through a network of 269 turbines on the seabed at Ness of Quoys in Caithness, north-east Scotland. The first power to the national grid is expected to be delivered in 2016.

If you would like to contact Jackie Whitelaw about this, or any other story, please email jackie.whitelaw@infrastructure-intelligence.com.