SBF Outlines Recovery Plan for Scottish Construction
The Scottish Building Federation
has today unveiled a seven-point recovery plan for the Scottish construction industry, describing the measures proposed as “vital” to prevent a further loss of skills and capacity from the sector in the course of 2010. Giving a keynote speech to the
2010 Scottish Construction Conference, hosted by Construction News at the SAS Radisson Hotel in Glasgow, SBF Chief Executive Michael Levack described the major damage inflicted on Scotland’s building industry by the economic downturn witnessed in 2009 as “unprecedented”. Mr. Levack noted that Scottish construction output had fallen by 12 % over the year to September 2009, wiping £1.4 billion off the industry’s total annual value to the Scottish economy. Questioning predictions this week from ConstructionSkills that the Scottish industry would grow in 2010, he described the outlook for 2010 as “difficult” predicting that a further £300 million could potentially be wiped off the Scottish industry’s annual output by the end of the year. He then outlined a seven-point recovery plan to set the Scottish
construction industry on course for long-term sustainable growth. Mr. Levack first reiterated
industry calls for further resources to be channelled towards funding major capital projects over the coming year. Acknowledging that budgetary pressures might mean no additional accelerated capital expenditure would be available in the 2010 – 2011 Scottish budget, he called on the Scottish Futures Trust to act now to mobilise additional funding for new schools, hospitals, public sector housing and infrastructure from the private sector. Mr. Levack called for concerted
action to streamline planning and public procurement, setting out a series of practical measures to accelerate planning decisions and cut down on unnecessary red tape currently burdening construction firms bidding for public sector contracts. Highlighting that almost 50 % of modern apprentices in training in Scotland work in the building industry and associated trades, Michael Levack called for targeted government support to help retain apprenticeship places specifically in the construction sector. Mr. Levack contrasted the estimated £1.6 billion-per-year
price tag for cutting carbon emissions from Scotland’s 2.3 million homes to meet the legal requirements of the 2009 Climate Change (Scotland) Act with the current budget of £15 million allocated to the Scottish Government’s flagship Home Insulation Programme. He argued that Scottish Ministers could not possibly hope to meet the target without a much larger financial commitment. He also pointed out the major knock-on benefits a more ambitious energy efficiency programme offered for the Scottish building industry in terms of supporting jobs and skills. Michael Levack highlighted the
industry’s ongoing campaign to cut VAT on home improvement and repair works to 5 %. He recalled to the conference the multiple benefits this policy could bring, supporting construction jobs and skills, driving cowboy builders out of the industry, improving home energy efficiency and actually increasing tax revenues to the Treasury. Finally, despite the ravages of
the recession, Mr. Levack stressed that the construction sector is responsible for around 10 % of Scottish GDP and employs 8% of the country’s working population.
He concluded by arguing that, for an industry of such critical importance to the Scottish economy, the creation of a dedicated Scottish minister to champion its interests is long overdue.
Commenting immediately after making his speech, Michael Levack said, “2009 was a very tough year for our industry. And we face further challenges in 2010. How quickly construction pulls out of the current recession will be largely determined by our politicians. “It’s high time the huge contribution the building industry makes to the Scottish economy, to providing jobs and to supporting Scotland’s skills agenda was properly recognised. “That same industry has an even
greater contribution to make towards achieving long-term sustainable economic growth for Scotland. But only if we get the support we so desperately need. Today, I’m calling on our politicians to take up the industry’s seven-point recovery plan and start working with us to make it happen.”
Housing Industry Could be Revolutionised with the ‘Breathing’ Building
Two Scottish companies believe
they could revolutionise the housebuilding industry after devising a new, greener way to build and insulate homes. Lomond Timber Frame has struck an alliance with Energyflo Construction Technologies to develop the ‘Dynamic Breathing
Building’ concept – compared to conventional building practices, it could significantly save energy, cut carbon emissions, improve air quality, and result in long-term cost savings for homeowners. Energyflo created the cutting-edge insulation system known as the ‘Energyflo Cell’, and joined forces with timber frame experts at Lomond to devise a way of incorporating it into 'open panel' timber frame – most new homes in Scotland and a significant and growing number in the rest of the UK are built using this type of frame. Both companies believe this
innovative system will make a real difference to the housebuilding industry and the future living conditions of residents.
Stuart Rennie, managing
director of Lomond Timber Frame, said, “Through the exciting work we are carrying out with Energyflo Technologies, incorporating their system into timber frame buildings, we are well on the way towards not only minimising energy costs for the home owner, but also to making a meaningful reduction in carbon emissions. “Our company constantly strives
to be more sustainable, and the opportunity to help develop this exciting new technology for housebuilding fits perfectly with these ambitions. We look forward to discovering its full potential.” The Dynamic Breathing Building
system is air-permeable providing fantastic benefits. In winter it can warm ventilation air using heat
from the home which would otherwise be lost, and in summer months the versatile system allows cool air to circulate. At the same time, the air is also filtered providing further benefits to house occupiers in the form of improved indoor air quality. Dr Andrew Peacock, Energyflo's
product development director, said, “Developing the technology for use in open panel timber frames is a great step forward. We believe this system could mean significant reductions in energy consumption compared with conventional thermal insulation. We look forward to further developing the product in partnership with Lomond and rolling the system out across the housebuilding industry.”
9
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250