Time and date
CONSTRUCTION DIRECTORY
Ireland Construction News Archive for August 2010
31/08/2010
News that property values are on the rise in parts of Great Britain has been revealed at the same time as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors commented that Northern Ireland's housing market is "particularly vulnerable" in the face of the looming public sector cuts. The organisation's Chie
31/08/2010
A company director has been disqualified for his running of a decorating business. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (the Department) has accepted a disqualification undertaking for six years from Kieran Murphy, 42, of Stranmillis Wharf, Belfast in respect of his conduct as a direc
31/08/2010
Builders who commute in their work's van face a slap from the Government with news of a €900 tax hike on all drivers use their work vehicles for personal use. Motorists who drive commercial 4 x 4s and small vans will be affected. Even though the AA has called the changes "silly" the move is to go
31/08/2010
One of Northern Ireland's leading lettings portal has cemented its credentials after being confirmed as the UK's most popular dedicated residential lettings website. According to Experian Hitwise, the online competitive intelligence company, in a custom category of residential lettings websites mor
31/08/2010
Patient care in Co Fermanagh has just taken a major step forward with news that an important phase has been completed on the site of new Enniskillen hospital. Stormont Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey visited the site of the new acute hospital in Enniskillen, to see the 'topping-out' of the main
31/08/2010
Ballymena Rugby Football Club has scored a winner with the local construction sector company, the Patton Group confirming it is to continue its role as principal sponsor of the Ballymena team. The construction group will remain as major sponsors of the Eaton Park-based All-Ireland League club for a
27/08/2010
Prospective buyers of luxury Belfast apartments who have since been hit by the recession and are unable to go ahead with their purchase agreement have been thrown a legal lifeline. CMG Solicitors Belfast, acting for a number of buyers in the city's Titanic Quarter apartment scheme, has welcomed a l
27/08/2010
An important housing organisation has been hailed a success as its new offices are opened. The NI Social Development Minister, Alex Attwood, has this week paid tribute to a life of service to the social housing sector, as he attended the official opening of new offices for the Northern Ireland Fede
27/08/2010
Environmental 'anarchists' has been camping in Co Tyrone to register opposition to a multi-million pound road project earmarked between Londonderry and Augnacloy. Climate Camp Ireland - a group that believes in taking direct action against the local causes of climate change - arrived in Victoria Br
27/08/2010
Detailed plans have been submitted to Galway Council by Coir na Gaoithe Teoranta for the construction of a wind farm at Lettergunnet, Co Galway. The plans outline a ten-year planning permission to construct a wind farm in the townlands of Lettergunnet and Derrycrih. The proposed development will
27/08/2010
Western Building Systems' new HQ has been officially unveiled. The new premises is the centrepiece of a £2m expansion programme which has seen the Co Tyrone manufacturing and administrative facilities consolidated into one site at Coalisland's Mountjoy Road. The group has a number of divisions and
27/08/2010
A major event for Irish architects is to take place this autumn as the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) Conference is held for members to learn and experience a particular aspect of architecture, design and urban development. This year the Conference, 'The Architecture of Recovery –
26/08/2010
Hundreds of houses are lying empty in Co Galway with a current value of around €1.4 billion - according to shocking new figures. There is an estimated oversupply of almost 7,000 houses in Galway's so-called ghost estates caused by years of overdevelopment during the property boom. The level is onl
26/08/2010
The level of construction activity across NI is still on the way down. That's according to the Central Survey Unit of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), which recently published the latest edition of the Northern Ireland Construction Bulletin. It is the primary measure o
26/08/2010
A long-running row over the proposed John Lewis store for Lisburn yesterday spilled onto the steps of Belfast City Hall when Lisburn councillors told of their disappointment at being "excluded from a meeting" about town centre regeneration including the Sprucefield development. The event, organised
26/08/2010
There's a new housing development being planned for Co Kildare with detail plans submitted this month to Kildare County Council. The developer is Martin Flattery who is bidding to construct the 60-plus housing development at New Road, Glebe, Barony of North Salt, Straffan. The development will c
26/08/2010
People living near George Best Belfast City Airport will have the chance to raise any issues they have with the airport's management this week. Events have been arranged for today and Friday with Dr Liz Fawcett, Chair of the Belfast City Airport Watch Steering Group, commenting: "While we welcome t
26/08/2010
A delegation from XEMC Group, one of the largest generator manufacturing organisations in China, has been visiting Northern Ireland to explore potential investment opportunities within the renewable energy sector. This is Xiangtan Electrical Manufacturing Corporation Ltd's first ever visit to the
25/08/2010
Despite claims of a lack of cash from the NI Department of Education (DE), more than £350m set aside for school buildings has not been used. A Government spending watchdog, the Audit Office said Stormont's Department of Education had "consistently underspent its capital budget". In the last five y
25/08/2010
Detailed plans have been submitted to Kildare County Council by the National University of Ireland Maynooth for the construction of a new student accommodation block. The development is for the North Campus, with the expected total floor area of the complex to be around 13,000 square metres and com
25/08/2010
The PSNI are probing how thieves damaged two businesses in Fintona on Tuesday. A six-ton dumper truck and a digger were stolen from the building site on the Lisdergan Road. The thieves drove through a fence and onto the green of Fintona Golf Club, causing substantial damage. The stolen vehicles w
25/08/2010
Helm Housing is behind a £2.5m housing project currently underway in Newry, Co Down. The main contractor has now been appointed for the works involved with the construction 22 new dwellings on lands to the east of Park View, Newtowncloghogue, Newry. This site, circa 1.54 hectares, is undeveloped
25/08/2010
An Bord Pleanála has outlined details of the proposed new route for the Corrib gas pipeline during a hearing in Belmullet, Co Mayo. Shell Ireland is seeking planning permission to build an undersea tunnel to carry a 4.9km section of the pipeline. Shell has been battling for eight years with reside
25/08/2010
One of Northern Ireland's leading lettings portal has cemented its credentials after being confirmed as the UK's most popular dedicated residential lettings website. According to Experian Hitwise, the online competitive intelligence company, in a custom category of residential lettings websites mor
24/08/2010
Up to 400 construction workers will be employed during the redevelopment of the Great Island power station at Campile in Wexford. In addition, around 40 people will be employed on the site when the new development is finished. It will be located within the existing operational power plant facilit
24/08/2010
Computer technology is going down the drain in the North West with news that Internet users in Derry could soon benefit from free high-speed broadband. The Foyle Sinn Féin MLA Martina Anderson said that a meeting she held with technology company, H20 revealed they are planning to install state-of-t
24/08/2010
The beleaguered construction sector is set to get a boost with news of a new training initiative. The Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan, has just announced details of the training providers which have been approved for an additional €12 million under the Labour Market Ac
24/08/2010
Some 500 houses planned for Omagh won't now be built after news that the firm behind the plan was placed into receivership. The Ulster Bank is owed more than £19.6m by Shergrim Properties who were to build 413 homes at Strathroy Road and another 106 at Beltany Road in the Co Tyrone town. Ulster Ba
24/08/2010
The construction of a major by-pass road around the Co Antrim market town of Ballyclare could be put on hold until next year, it has been revealed. The proposed relief road, linking the Templepatrick Road and Rashee Road, is a major part of the £400 million Ballyclare West housing project which rec
24/08/2010
Tenders are now being sought by the YMCA for the construction of a new premises in the seaside town of Carrickfergus. The new building will be in Irish Quarter West and will include a single-storey general activities hall and two ground floor shop units as part of a three-storey elevation. Total o
23/08/2010
Construction jobs will be 'flying' into Co Offaly soon as Dublin and district benefits from the construction of another airport. A plan to build an international airport in Co Offaly has cleared the first hurdle after a decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant it strategic infrastructure status. Th
23/08/2010
Down District is set to receive £7 million worth of additional investment to make improvements to the area's renowned St Patrick Christian Heritage Trail. As part of the project Down District Council has been asked to contribute up to £200,000 towards the cost, which will include improvements to
23/08/2010
Letterkenny is to benefit from a major housing development soon, but it has emerged that it will not go ahead until contracts for the upgrade of the Letterkenny waste water treatment plant are signed. An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission for the controversial planning development of 213
23/08/2010
A training partnership between Irish architects and a UK energy consultancy has resulted in a course in low carbon housing refurbishment being developed specifically for Ireland. The course will give building and housing professionals the chance to learn about the practical issues that are essenti
23/08/2010
Just six months after the building materials supplier Kingspan recorded falling profits and sales, a major turn-round in fortunes has seen the firm make its first operating profit in three years. The Cavan-based company, which has a factory in Portadown, said profits from January to June rose to €3
23/08/2010
A Co Armagh quarry business was fined £750 plus £31 court costs at Armagh Magistrates' Court last week. George Emerson, c/o Norman Emerson Group Ltd, Ardmore Road, Derryadd, Craigavon, was fined for making a polluting discharge to a waterway. On 17 November 2009, a Water Quality Inspector, acting
20/08/2010
Cheeky thieves are being sought by the police investigating criminal damage of more than €100,000 to vacant newly built homes in Galway. The incident occurred in mid August and saw 16 of the 18 vacant homes in the Slíabh Bhán estate in Ballybane 'attacked' by vandals on one hand and targeted by thi
20/08/2010
The regulatory and support body for architects in Ireland, the RIAI is to hold a special course on designing low-energy domestic contracts. To be held on August 24, at the RIAI's Merrion Square offices in Dublin, the event is being run in partnership with Joseph Little Architects. 'Designing Low-E
20/08/2010
Plans to redevelop south Belfast's Wellington Park Hotel have been rejected. The Mooney Group, which owns the hotel on the Malone Road, had proposed to demolish the existing building and build a larger hotel and an associated apartment block. Initial plans announced in 2005 were rejected in 2008 a
20/08/2010
A dispute over a single controversial letter has emerged at the heart of a fast building 'scandal' surrounding the suspension of a top NI civil servant. Now, the Committee for Regional Development is to hold a special meeting in closed session at Stormont today. It follows news that Paul Priestly
20/08/2010
Rising temperatures, increased risks of floods, wetter winters, drier summers and more intense storms are some of the climate changes anticipated to impact on Irish businesses in coming years. However changes in climate can also bring opportunities as well as risks to Irish businesses, according
20/08/2010
Savers from the beleaguered Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS) have hit out at the Presbyterian Church for spending over £4m renovating its Belfast HQ. The church has spent £4m replacing stonework on the exterior facade of Church House and now has interior refurbishment work planned including an upg
20/08/2010
Sixty planning officers are to move to Land and Property Services in Northern Ireland it has been announced. Stormont Environment Minister Edwin Poots has welcomed the move to secure posts for the Professional Technical grade officers to work on a project for the Department of Agriculture and Rural
19/08/2010
Plans to build a new shopping centre on the site of An Post's flagship Galway City building have been scrapped as a result of the recession. Advanced discussions with a 'preferred buyer' collapsed within a few weeks of sealing the deal worth, said to be worth in the region of €25 million. Develope
19/08/2010
SmartBuilder Software Ltd has launched 'Site Clean Up', a novel iPhone application to assist building firms of all sizes to clean-up their construction sites more efficiently and cost effectively. SmartBuilder Software, a new Irish start-up, was established earlier this year to develop mobile soft
19/08/2010
A public inquiry has been launched into proposals for a north-south electricity interconnector. Stormont Environment Minister Edwin Poots ordered the Planning Appeals Commission to investigate NIE and Eirgrid's plans for a substation at Trewmount Road in Moy. The scheme includes a single overhead
19/08/2010
The Co Antrim builder, Farrans, has been awarded the long-awaited Bangor Pool Project, which is valued at £30 million. It will include Northern Ireland's first 50m Olympic-sized swimming pool. The publicly funded project, which is being promoted by North Down Borough Council, has secured £15 mill
19/08/2010
Patton Fit-Out has picked up a top prize for its work on a library in Shepherds Bush, London. The Ballymena company, part of the Patton Group, took the Gold Award in one of three major categories within the annual Interior Fit-Out Awards organised by the UK-wide Association of Interior Specialists
19/08/2010
A £15m educational facility for west Belfast that will boost economic development and promote employability, entrepreneurship and enterprise (or e3) has been announced. The centre is to be constructed on what would have been west Belfast's proposed Springvale university campus - a project that was
18/08/2010
There's a €1.8 Million hospital conversion contract ready to start which will see part of the old Accident and Emergency facility at Drogheda's Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital made into a Medical Assessment Unit. It follows the opening of a new multi-million euro emergency department at the Co Louth f
18/08/2010
Activity in the local construction market fell further in the second quarter of the year, according to chartered surveyors. The latest RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Construction Market Survey shows that Northern Ireland is the UK region with the largest number of construction sect
18/08/2010
There is confusion this week over the construction of a new Tesco Superstore in Newtownards after contractors brought in to lay foundations were told they were no longer required, according to the town's newspaper. The Newtownards Chronicle reports that signage and equipment on the Portaferry Road
18/08/2010
The man at the helm of the official PSNI oversight body has been at the receiving end of investigations this week. The Chairman of the NI Policing Board, Barry Gilligan, has gone voluntarily to a police station to be interviewed about his role in a controversial Belfast land deal. In March, the NI
18/08/2010
The winners of this year's Construction Excellence Awards 2010 are to be announced in a few weeks time. The short listed finalists are to enjoy a special Gala Evening in the Culloden Hotel, Co Down on 7th October having been successful in the first round of judging in which over 100 entries were ri
17/08/2010
A huge new medical facility in south Dublin could be open as early as 2013 - but there would be a 'cost'. As reported in brief on
17/08/2010
A Waterford firm that develops software and delivers services designed specifically to help kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and home study designers, ArtiCAD Ltd has launched a new lower cost, entry-point solution product. ArtiCAD-Lite is a new product that evolved following demands of the current econo
17/08/2010
A developer has applied for planning permission to part-demolish a retail premises in Selskar, Wexford, so as to open a three-storey development which may feature a restaurant. Bawn Developments Ltd. has sought planning permission from Wexford Borough Council for the development at Well Lane, Selsk
17/08/2010
A Belfast-based electrical distribution business, AJ Hurst, is on the expansion trail following the success of a green initiative that is helping customers power ahead on the energy-efficiency front. The family-owned company, which specialises in the total solutions provision of electrical equipmen
17/08/2010
A major re-development of the border town of Strabane could mean a boost for the local economy and a major fillip for the construction sector. Work is already set to start next month on a new hotel, as well as the expected launch of a consultation on the long-awaited town centre masterplan. It is
17/08/2010
Supermarket company Lidl have lodged plans for a new store in Lisburn. This is the third planning application for a store at the junction of Antrim Road and Prince William Road in Lisburn. A spokesperson for Lidl said: "The new planning application for the Bentrim Road in Lisburn has now been revi
16/08/2010
After a four-year €1bn upgrade to Dublin's M50 the new, improved will be finished next month. Once the country's most notorious traffic jam, with 16km tailbacks not uncommon, the National Roads Authority (NRA) will announce the completion of the massive upgrading project in the coming weeks. Barri
16/08/2010
A Co Antrim shop fitter is toasting success this week with news that it has secured a deal worth €500,000 to install Costa Coffee outlets within six Applegreen motorway service stations in the Republic of Ireland. It will be coffee all round for executives at Dunmurry-based McNicholl Hughes to cele
16/08/2010
Last year's agreement by the main banks for a one-year moratorium on house repossessions will not automatically be renewed - instead it will be revised. Under proposed changes to its statutory code, the Financial Regular is recommending that the moratorium should be extended beyond the initial 12 m
16/08/2010
Northern Ireland based concrete products manufacturer Acheson & Glover has won a prestigious contract to supply paving and retaining wall products to Gardening Inside Out (GIO), the buying group arm of the Garden Centre Association of Ireland. With 45 garden centre members, the Association also run
16/08/2010
An iconic piece of NI's heritage is to enjoy an upgrade with work about to begin on the amenity site to improve the visitor experience at Narrow Water Castle, Warrenpoint. The historic location, on the shore of Carlingford Lough is between Newry and Warrenpoint and overlooks the Irish Republic a sh
16/08/2010
A multi-million pound road project in Co Antrim may be facing a roadblock with news that its progress now depends on the outcome of a UK-wide spending review later this year. The long-awaited A8 road upgrade scheme has been costed at £113 million and would involve the widening of the busy commuter
13/08/2010
Plans for NI's new £142m emergency services college are now approaching the last hurdle in a long-drawn-out process. The Desertcreat College near Cookstown will train police, fire and rescue personnel as well as prison service staff. The state-of-the-art facility was supposed to open in 2007 after
13/08/2010
A contractor for a €6 million Co Dublin warehouse extension has been appointed. John Sisk and Son Ltd is the contractor appointed for the works involved with the construction of a 3,082 square metres extension to the north-eastern side of the existing warehouse at Becton Dickinson, Pottery Road, Du
13/08/2010
Despite tight financial constraints, a €1 million school extension to a school in Co Donegal is to now underway. The works involve the construction of a two-storey extension to St. Columba's College, Drumboe Lower, Stranorlar, Co Donegal. Works also include ancillary accommodation with emergency
13/08/2010
An enterprising NI company that defied travel chaos during the ash crisis has won a major UK construction sector award in a competition organised on behalf of the supermarket, Asda. The workmanship of the Mid-Ulster electrical company was put firmly under the spotlight following the recent Asda Bri
13/08/2010
There's to be a large-scale redevelopment of a Cork pharmaceutical plant. Around €3.5 million is to be spent on a process building and store on a two-storey Wexport Ltd premises, at Little Island, Co. Cork. The company's primary activity is the manufacture of unfractionated heparin and low molecul
13/08/2010
There was good news this week for a Tyrone construction sector business with an exclusive manufacturing deal for a new range of eco-friendly modular home extensions being signed. Dublin-based EcoRoom has confirmed this week the company has signed an agreement with the Tyrone-based rapid-build exper
13/08/2010
A half million-euro sports facility is to be built in Galway. It will be an extensive, two-storey changing room complex with the main contractor just appointed for the works involved with the construction of changing rooms, with the associated toilet and shower facilities at Bohermore, Galway. Fif
12/08/2010
Dublin offices of Bord Gais are to be redeveloped with architectural and building services to add office accommodation, a restaurant and a gym to the Dublin 2 premises. The works are to take place at 1 Warrington Place and aims to include other ancillary functional spaces within the recently constr
12/08/2010
Continuing public sector investment in the North West plays a key role in transforming the UK City of Culture 2013, NI Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson has said. Speaking during a visit to Londonderry to assess progress on various ongoing construction projects, the Minister said: "This is an exciting
12/08/2010
There is confusion today as to how a new Irish database to monitor market trends and house prices is to be established. Legislation announced yesterday hasn't fully outlined how data will be collected and published. On one hand, Justice Dermot Ahern said responsibility for publishing property sale
12/08/2010
Around €190 million will be invested in upgrading and developing tourist facilities around various locations in the Irish Republic to kick-start the struggling sector. However, while the building trade will also get a fillip, the overall process will take over six years to complete with the funding
12/08/2010
Despite suffering a major budget cut in June, the Stormont Social Development Minister Alex Attwood has pledged that his Department would "work hard to meet its urban regeneration commitments". He said that the bulk of the regeneration capital budget this year (£110million) had been set aside for B
12/08/2010
There's a growing momentum to calls for the compulsory installation of carbon monoxide detectors in new homes being built in Northern Ireland. Stormont Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster and DUP party colleague Finance Minister Sammy Wilson are to support calls for compulsory carbon monoxide alarms
12/08/2010
The Stormont Environment Minister Edwin Poots has published new planning policies that he said would help safeguard areas of established residential character from so-called 'town cramming'. Welcoming the NI Executive's agreement to publishing the Addendum to Planning Policy 7 (PPS7), the Minister
12/08/2010
Altough it is some way off - having been delayed by the recession - a project planned for Cork's docklands could provide a fillip for job creation and give the belaured construction industry a major boost at the same time. Planning permission has been sought for a major development in the Cork dock
11/08/2010
Over £2m is to be spent on a city centre office building that is to be given a major refit and refurbishment. The project is for internal work on the Department of Finance and Personnel building at College Street, an existing six-storey 1960s building. It has a reinforced concrete frame with concr
11/08/2010
Patton Fit-Out has picked up a top prize for its work on a state-of-the-art library in Shepherds Bush, London. The Ballymena company, part of the Patton Group, took the Gold Award in one of three major categories within the annual Interior Fit-Out Awards organised by the UK-wide Association of Inte
11/08/2010
There's to be a major boost for mental heath care in the North West. An £8.5m hospital construction project is moving ahead in Co Londonderry with news that tenders from contractors are now being sought. The project will involve the construction of a Mental Health Crisis Unit comprising a 30-bed a
11/08/2010
Millions of Euros are to aid job creation as the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan, announced her allocation of an additional €12 million to the Labour Market Activation Fund. Targeting the construction sector in particular, the 5,000 additional places provided under th
11/08/2010
The construction sector may soon be at the forefront of more stringent safety measures to tackle the danger posed by a deadly, invisible gas that is in daily use in thousands of households. As a probe continues into last Tuesday's suspected double carbon monoxide tragedy in Co Londonderry, it has e
11/08/2010
Residents from east Belfast have welcomed a tough stance taken by the Planning Appeals Commission, which has this week halted the public inquiry into the proposed runway extension at George Best Belfast City Airport. In a highly unusual move, the Commission has refused to go any further with the in
10/08/2010
A gas safety warning has been issued following last week's suspected double carbon monoxide poisoning tragedies. The Health and Safety Executive (HSENI) investigation into the deaths of two Newtownabbey teenagers at an apartment in Castlerock has established that a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) app
10/08/2010
The Stormont Culture Minister Nelson McCausland has announced the appointment of Arthur Acheson as the new Chairman for the Ministerial Advisory Group for Architecture (MAG) and the Built Environment in Northern Ireland. Mr Acheson is a partner in the Belfast-based Boyd Partnership Chartered Archit
10/08/2010
Sinn Féin MLA and NI Housing spokesperson Fra McCann has called on the Government to provide additional funding to alleviate the housing shortages in Northern Ireland and stimulate the local construction industry. This follows the announcement that councils in England are to be offered extra fundin
10/08/2010
A property developer who is the current Chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board is thought to have been questioned by detectives called in by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to investigate a company called Big Picture Developments, which lists Barry Gilligan as one of its directors.
10/08/2010
LazyLawn is now available in Northern Ireland through the local approved supplier and installer Future Landscapes Limited. LazyLawn is an Evergreens UK brand. Our quality range of
09/08/2010
Newry and Mourne District Council is moving closer to making a decision on the future of the city's historic Albert Basin site. In what could still provide a major fillip for the local construction industry, bids are now being reviewed for the site situated between the Clanrye River and Newry Canal
09/08/2010
A proposal that includes selling off an existing loss-making leisure centre on Coleraine's Railway Road may be key to raising funds for new state-of-the-art sporting facilities. Coleraine Borough Council appointed consultants in August to explore the possibility of building an out-of-town sports st
09/08/2010
The full Navan rail line will be built and open for business by 2016, despite a massive cutback in the Irish Government's spending. The Daíl Transport Minister has insisted that the line will be constructed on schedule, even though the commuter line was not listed as a key priority in the Governmen
09/08/2010
After losing the latest round in a long battle for planning permission for a new store on the outskirts of Banbridge, top UK food retailer, Tesco has bowed to pressure and is expanding on its existing in-town site - but hasn't given up on the second option. It was granted planning permission in Oct
09/08/2010
A Co Antrim nursing home is being expanded with six additional bedrooms and a dayroom extension added to existing facilities in Lisburn. The £200,000 project got underway in August once the main contractor, J and K Campbell was appointed for the construction work on the Nicholson Nursing Home at th
09/08/2010
Full details of the 12 km A1 Beech Hill to Cloghogue dual carriageway contract have been revealed by Stormont Transport Minister Conor Murphy. After it was officially opened by the Irish Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, Stormont Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Stormont Junior Minister Robin Newt
06/08/2010
An Bord Pleanála has been given go-ahead for a new €160 million women's and children's hospital in south Dublin. Landmark Developments and the Beacon Medical Group will build the 120-bed facility adjacent to the UPMC Beacon Hospital in Sandyford. 550 people are expected to be employed during the c
06/08/2010
A school building project in Co Fermanagh has cleared another hurdle with news that the NI Environment Minister Edwin Poots confirmed that a part of the Model School near Enniskillen would not be architecturally listed. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) carried out a detailed considera
06/08/2010
A fast-growing NI estate agent has hit out at the Stormont administration for its failure to fully protect the public from unlicensed Estate Agents/Property Managers. Sonia Millar, of CSM Estate Agents in south Belfast said: "I am disappointed that the Government has not legislated for all property
06/08/2010
A major residential development is poised to get underway in Dublin - and while it is currently on hold, once underway, it will be a substantial €40m project. It is to be built on a site adjacent to the existing DART line at the end of Railway Avenue, Sutton, Dublin 13. The promoter, A and T Flood
06/08/2010
An extra £23 million is to be spent building 14 new schools and carrying out maintenance work on others, which is a major boost to the construction industry. Stormont Education Minister Caitríona Ruane confirmed £13 million had been received and a further £10 million was given to tackle the mainten
06/08/2010
A planned new academy for the dramatic arts, to train actors, directors and designers in Dublin has moved a stage closer. After plans were approved in April, the work has now gone to the tendering stage with a list of contractors bidding for the project at Dublin's Trinity College. In collaboratio
05/08/2010
There was good news on two fronts today with both the educational and the construction sectors being boosted. Numerous school building projects that had originally been delayed due to a lack of funding have now been given the green light, while - in a separate development - the final obstacle to ad
05/08/2010
Around 50 jobs in Lisburn have been saved after Canadian distributor Finning International bought the assets of NI dealer McCormick MacNaughton from the administrators. Finning has taken over as the Caterpillar dealer for Northern Ireland in a deal worth approximately £3.1 million. Mike Waites, Pr
05/08/2010
Applications are now invited for the 2011 Civic Trust Awards. As well as direct entries from architects and developers, members of the public can also nominate successful local schemes for entry to the 2011 Awards. Whether it is a building, public space or public art project, please email
05/08/2010
A Co Tyrone company set up last year to develop an innovative waste recovery unit, Waste Systems Ltd, is investing over £750,000 to grow its management, production and marketing capability. Both the cost of researching and developing the new unit and the current investment, which will create nine j
05/08/2010
Construction work is expected to commence on a €2.5m Animal Bioscience Centre in Meath. The two-storey building, approximate Area 2,400 square metres, will comprise of laboratories, offices and a link corridor to connect the new building into an existing building. The main contractor will begin wo
05/08/2010
Paediatric care is in for a major boost with news that a long-awaited planning application for a new national children's hospital for Dublin are about to be submitted. The proposal is for the facility to be built on the existing Mater Hospital site in central Dublin with plans due to be lodged in m
04/08/2010
Antrim-based Mivan has secured a commercial and residential construction project worth over £90m in Egypt. They will be working for Al Futtaim Real Estate Development at the Cairo Festival City project. Mivan recently completed a construction management contract for the same client on the construc
04/08/2010
Irish Rail has announced that four major international consortia have entered the pre-qualification phase in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) procurement process for DART Underground. The consortia are: BBI Consortium (Balfour Beatty Capital Ltd, BAM PPP Investments Ireland bv, Iridium Concesio
04/08/2010
The main contractor has been appointed for substantial works involved in the construction of the Industrial Development Authority's (IDA) facility at Mullingar. Preparation work commenced on site during late June and the contract period is estimated at eight months with the cost of the scheme being
04/08/2010
Construction is expected to begin next month on an imaginative 'urban village' development in east Belfast. The £20m scheme was initially unveiled as part of an urban regeneration project in May when tenders were being assessed for the proposed construction of the mixed-use community development on
04/08/2010
People in a Co Londonderry seaside resort are struggling to come to terms with a double tragedy overnight after two teenagers were found dead in a holiday flat. Carbon monoxide was suspected after the teenagers were found and Ambulance crews called to the holiday apartment in Castlerock on Tuesday
04/08/2010
Thanks to a detailed prescription of colours and finishes from paint manufacturer Johnstone's and a stunning interior restoration programme, Belfast City Hall has been given a new lease of life. Joining forces with family-run painting and decorating contractors, Corlin Painting & Decorating, Johns
03/08/2010
An ongoing battle between conservationists and property developers has entered a new stage with news that the developers have renewed their bid to demolish an historic Victorian building in downtown Belfast. They want to demolish the historic Queen Street building in Belfast city centre and replace
03/08/2010
A £350m development is set to transform rural Omagh and create many new jobs in the process. The 'Opportunity Omagh' scheme - which includes a hotel, retail space, a road link, offices, plus health and leisure facilities - is set to create up to 1,000 construction jobs over a period of three years.
03/08/2010
A start date for an already long-delayed training college for the emergency services in NI is now in doubt. Builders are being further frustrated and the Ulster Unionist Mid-Ulster MLA Billy Armstrong has demanded action on the Public Services Training College for the police, fire and rescue and pr
03/08/2010
Detailed plans have been submitted to Meath County Council by Oristown National School for the construction of an extension to their existing facility at Oristown, Kells, Co Meath. The plans detail the removal of the existing prefabricated classroom and the subsequent construction of a new classroo
03/08/2010
The newly completed cross-border dual carriageway at Newry is already paying dividends in the Irish Republic. A motor park to cater for the large number of commercial vehicles travelling along the M1 motorway from Dublin to Belfast has now been earmarked for an area north of Dundalk. Evolve Invest
03/08/2010
A refurbishment project has just been successfully completed with the Social development Minister Alex Attwood officially opening the new-look Orchard Café, a social enterprise and community business, on the Malone Road, Belfast. The Café, operated by the Orchardville Society, provides adults with
02/08/2010
A Co Antrim construction sector firm, Conveyortex, of Ballinderry, Lisburn, has been celebrated their first year in business by announcing plans to invest in a new conveyor design testing facility. Philip Trimble of ConveyorTek Ltd explaining that this new testing service, being launched within a f
02/08/2010
A major €1m canal wall repair and widening scheme has been given clear passage this month with news that the planned installation of much-needed new moorings and fresh construction work at the Killaloe Canal, Co. Clare has been confirmed. The contract was awarded in August after Waterways Ireland h
02/08/2010
People around the Suffolk area of Co Antrim will be really 'taking home the bacon' soon with news that a former pork processing facility is to be the location for a new, purpose built cross-community resource centre. The planned multi-million pound centre near west Belfast was announced at the end
02/08/2010
There's a huge boost for the construction sector set to wing its way into Ireland's south-east region with news that the area could soon see a second airport being built. Plans for the development of the international airport in County Wexford are to be brought before Wexford's councillors and TDs
02/08/2010
Long-awaited proposals for the construction of a EU-funded Peace Building and Conflict Resolution facility at the former Maze Prison is to go ahead. Billed as creating thousands of jobs during construction and later when it opens, Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson and the Deputy First Minister
02/08/2010
Building contractors are being urged to be more alert to thieves after two tractors worth a total of £115,000 were stolen from a dealership in Co Antrim. It happened in Ballymena when they were taken from premises on the town's Larne Road some time between 5.30pm on Friday and 3pm on Saturday. The
