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Brightstar Resources has signed a strategic agreement with Aquirian Limited to provide drilling and energetics services for its Goldfields Hub gold project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields. The deal brings in Aquirian’s integrated drill and blast capability, including explosives supply and blast design, across Brightstar’s planned open pits around the Menzies and Laverton areas. For mine planners and geotechs, the partnership signals early standardisation of blast parameters and powder factors across multiple deposits, which should simplify slope performance monitoring and downstream fragmentation control.

The Get It Right Initiative’s two-year pilot with Kier, BAM Nuttall, VolkerStevin and Taylor Woodrow trained 4,575 staff across 25 projects to reduce design and construction errors, including clash detection failures. Backed by £361,306 of CITB funding, the ‘train the trainer’ model created in-house GIRI-approved providers, delivering group sessions of 12 at an average cost of £79 per person. Trainees identified £92.6m in potential error costs, giving a calculated return of £256.48 saved for every £1 spent on training.

Removal of disused chimney stacks at Sellafield’s Fellside combined heat and power plant has been completed using a tandem lift by Ainscough Crane Hire as part of the site’s decommissioning and hazard reduction programme. A 300‑tonne Liebherr LTM1300‑6.3 acted as the main crane with a 130‑tonne LTM1130‑5.1 used first to install lifting gear, then to tail, rotate to horizontal and set down the stacks. Detailed lift planning and load calculations were required to avoid impact on adjacent nuclear containment structures in the highly regulated environment.

Digital material management platform MukAway has signed a nationwide partnership with major groundworks contractor MV Kelly, which operates across hundreds of live residential sites, to expand its UK network for reusable construction materials. The deal increases the platform’s density of active users and real-time transactions between contractors, housebuilders, civil engineers, recycle yards and wash plants, improving options for on-site reuse and off-site redistribution of aggregates and spoil. MukAway will shortly add a “merchant facility” so MV Kelly and others can source primary and recycled aggregates and manage hazardous, non-reusable materials within the same procurement platform.

Scott's Hire has placed a 100-machine order with Gunn JCB, comprising 80 Loadall telehandlers with 6–8 m lift heights and 20 X Series excavators including the 131X, 145XR and 245XR models. The deal expands a fleet that has taken 500 JCB units over 20 years, signalling continued demand from contractors for modern, high-spec plant with strong residual values. Operations manager Marc Jackson cites reliability, site safety performance and local manufacture in Staffordshire as key factors in the procurement decision.

Vinci Energies has acquired UK-based wireless infrastructure specialist Novo Technologies, adding 71 staff and end-to-end mobile network delivery capability for carriers and enterprise clients across the UK. The deal is positioned as a three-year strategic move to expand Vinci’s wireless infrastructure delivery for digitally enabled sites and field operations, alongside its existing perimeter and energy services. Novo’s managing director Matt Wynne says access to Vinci’s scale will support larger, more complex telecoms projects aligned with the UK’s national wireless connectivity ambitions.

Graham has secured six lots on Sovereign Network Group’s 12-lot new-build framework, which underpins delivery of 25,000 homes across the South of England. The contractor will deliver schemes in London & East on Lots 2 (£15m–£45m) and 3 (above £45m), and in the South on Lots 6 (£15m–£45m) and 7 (above £45m), plus West region Lots 10 (£15m–£45m) and 11 (above £45m). For consultants and contractors, this signals a substantial pipeline of residential-led regeneration work with strong emphasis on sustainability and complex estate redevelopment.

BS 7671 has been updated with a new chapter on stationary secondary batteries, setting design and installation requirements for power conversion equipment, bidirectional and hybrid inverters, and protective devices capable of handling two‑way energy flow for vehicle‑to‑home and vehicle‑to‑grid use. The amendment also tightens rules on battery siting, ventilation and fire‑risk mitigation, and introduces new sections on Power over Ethernet for LED lighting and small appliances, and earthing for ICT equipment, alongside revised guidance for medical locations. The ECA has issued parallel guidance and events to help contractors interpret Amendment 4 and maintain compliant low‑carbon and EV‑ready installations.

Ling Developments Limited has been fined £15,858 plus £3,858 costs after an HSE inspection at The Crest site in Telford found toilets without hot or warm water and rest areas that did not meet Construction (Design and Management) Regulations welfare standards. Inspectors issued two improvement notices and noted this was the fourth recorded breach of the same legislation by the Wombourne-based contractor. The case signals HSE’s continued readiness to prosecute where basic welfare provisions—hot and cold or warm water, adequate tables and seating, and facilities for preparing and eating meals—are repeatedly ignored.

Geotechnical Engineering has replaced its previous 7t light commercials with four 13.5t Isuzu F-Series trucks, supplied via Aquila Truck Centres and fitted with bespoke Truck Hydraulics beavertail bodies. Each vehicle uses a three‑metre ramp to keep load angles below 20°, allowing safer loading of heavier, more sophisticated plant and drilling rigs while increasing payload capacity per trip. The move standardises on Isuzu drivelines already used in much of the firm’s plant, aiming to cut transport cycles and maintenance complexity on ground investigation projects.

NOCN Group has launched a digital skills passport linked to its skills hub, giving CPCS and other card holders a secure, real‑time record of certifications, CPD, compliance and skills that employers can verify and share digitally. The integrated platform architecture is designed to sit alongside existing contractor and training systems, providing digital logbooks and API connectivity first tested in the 2021 DigiKey pilot linking skills passports to machine controls on HS2. The passport was trialled in India with Nettur Technical Training Foundation and TCS iON, signalling potential for large‑scale, cross‑project workforce competence tracking.

Redrow South East has broken ground on its Heritage Fields scheme in Sittingbourne, a 88-home development comprising 82 private and six affordable units as part of a wider growth masterplan. Barratt Redrow has committed over £10m through section 106 obligations to fund local infrastructure, education, healthcare and youth services, signalling substantial off-site works alongside the housing. Homes combine Arts and Crafts-inspired architecture with air source heat pumps and underfloor heating, indicating a fabric-and-systems approach to low‑carbon residential design.

BJD Crushers has appointed former RAF and Ibstock Concrete engineer Steven Kilner as technical sales engineer to support its crusher and materials-handling product lines. Kilner brings experience supervising ground equipment maintenance at RAF Leeming and RAF Coningsby and managing machinery maintenance, site upgrades and capex projects at Ibstock Concrete. His role will centre on reviewing technical data and documentation, interpreting mechanical and materials process requirements, preparing quotations, and working with suppliers and customers to scope equipment solutions and identify growth opportunities.

Willmott Dixon has secured a £61m Department for Education contract to rebuild Mosslands School in Wallasey on a 19-acre site, delivering a three-storey main block for up to 1,500 pupils plus two sports halls, a replacement all‑weather pitch, a multi‑use games area, new car park and cycle parking. The scheme will create a net zero carbon in operation campus using extensive photovoltaic panels, air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps. Completion is scheduled for 2028 and includes full demolition of the existing school buildings, with associated site clearance and services reconfiguration.

Robertson Construction North East will deliver a five-screen cinema and leisure complex in Ashington as part of a £36m town centre regeneration, with construction due to start shortly following planning approval last year. The design-and-build scheme, procured via the Procure Partnerships Framework, also includes two restaurant units and a family-focused “competitive socialising” venue combining food, drink and indoor games. Funding comes from the UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Northumberland County Council and development partner Advance Northumberland, targeting higher evening and weekend footfall.

Murphy has poured low carbon concrete for permanent works at Shipley Depot on the Transpennine Route Upgrade, using limestone filler and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to cut clinker content and embodied CO₂. The mix replaces a portion of CEM I with SCMs such as fly ash or GGBS and fine limestone, targeting comparable strength and durability to conventional depot slabs while reducing Portland cement usage. For geotechnical and civils teams, this signals growing client acceptance of SCM‑rich mixes in rail infrastructure foundations and depot pavements.

Re:Construction podcast’s 200th and final episode sees hosts Bishop and Taylor sign off after more than six years covering UK construction. Their last discussion touches on leadership changes at housebuilder Vistry Group and recent developments at Austrian contractor Strabag, both significant Tier 1 players on major UK and European infrastructure schemes. For practitioners, the episode closes a long-running source of commentary on contractor performance, corporate strategy and market conditions across civils and building.

Volvo has launched new FH Aero Electric trucks for deliveries with a claimed range of up to 700 km between charges, targeting long-haul and regional logistics. The next-generation FH, FM and FMX Electric models use a redesigned electric driveline delivering higher torque, aimed at heavy on-road works and construction support fleets. For civil and infrastructure contractors, the longer range and higher tractive effort make battery-electric options more viable for materials haulage and support vehicles on dispersed project sites.

Cold bitumen emulsion-based asphalt has been deployed by Roadways as a low-carbon, like-for-like replacement for conventional hot asphalt on a National Highways scheme, with no departures from existing specification. The emulsion mix is produced and laid at significantly lower temperatures than traditional 160–180°C hot-mix, cutting burner fuel use and associated CO₂ emissions while maintaining standard binder and aggregate grading requirements. For pavement designers and contractors, this signals growing scope to decarbonise surfacing works without redesigning layer thicknesses or seeking new approvals.

Orica has launched a next-generation GroundProbe geotechnical monitoring solution from Melbourne, integrating radar, LiDAR and AI-based data processing to deliver faster, higher-resolution slope stability measurements for open-pit mines and tailings storage facilities. The system combines real-time deformation monitoring with automated alarms and cloud-based visualisation, enabling earlier detection of wall movement and remote decision-making from control centres. For geotechnical teams, the key shift is from periodic survey checks to continuous, sensor-fused monitoring that can be scaled across multiple pits and TSFs.

Wear liners at belt conveyor transfer points act as sacrificial protection for skirtboards, preventing dents and holes that lead to spillage and dust escape, explains Daniel Marshall, Process Engineer at Martin Engineering. Marshall notes that conventional liner removal and replacement can be gruelling, often needing several workers and taking multiple days per transfer point. The discussion points to design and maintenance changes that cut change-out time and manual handling, with direct implications for confined-space work, lockout durations and dust control performance.

The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association has set Thursday 2 July 2026 for the seventh Global Lifting Awareness Day, built around the theme “Not all lifting equipment is created equal.” LEEA plans to use the campaign, run with member companies and sector partners, to push better specification and inspection of cranes, hoists and below-the-hook devices in mining and other heavy industries. The initiative will culminate in a new guidance document aimed at reducing failures linked to substandard or misapplied lifting gear.

East West Rail has set out updated design proposals for the Oxford–Cambridge line and published a revised construction timetable for the new Bedford station ahead of its final Development Consent Order consultation. The changes cover alignment refinements and station layout adjustments intended to integrate the new Bedford station with existing Midland Main Line services and local road networks. For civil and rail engineers, the timetable update clarifies phasing of major works, possessions and interface risks around live-track construction in Bedford’s constrained urban corridor.

Port of Dover has achieved carbon net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions in April 2026, meeting its 2025 target early and 25 years ahead of the UK Government’s 2050 maritime decarbonisation goal. The port reports eliminating or offsetting all direct fuel use and purchased electricity emissions from operations such as harbour tugs, terminal plant and shore-side facilities. For civil and port engineers, Dover now becomes a live reference case for low‑carbon power supply, equipment electrification and emissions accounting in large, high‑throughput ferry and RoRo infrastructure.