News
BESA calls for Clean Air Act to support ‘safe havens’
A
ccording to the Building Engineering Services As- sociation (BESA), propos- als for a new Clean Air Act should include measures supporting the role of buildings as ‘safe havens’ from pollution.
A coalition of environmental campaigners, health bodies and industry groups has launched a campaign to force the government to take urgent action on air pollution by creating new legislation 60 years after the original Act was created to tackle urban smog.
The group, which includes Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, the Royal College of Physicians, the British Lung Foundation and environmental lawyers ClientEarth, wants the UK to accelerate the take up of electric vehicles and give the UK the most ambitious air quality legislation in Europe.
British Lung Foundation chief executive Dr Penny Woods said air pollution is a “public health crisis” contributing up to 40,000 early deaths a year in the UK. However, while tackling emissions from transport is vital, BESA believes much could also be achieved in a shorter time frame by focusing on how building occupants can be protected from rising external pollution.
BESA chief executive Paul McLaughin said: “People spend more than 80% of their time in- doors and there is still a lot more we can do to improve indoor air quality (IAQ). A series of low cost, maintenance measures to ensure ventilation systems work properly and incoming air is filtered and cleaned would make a major difference to the health and well-being of building occupants.”
Rising cost pressures could hamper industry growth
T
he Construction Products Association (CPA) has re- vealed the results of its
Construction Trade Survey for the final quarter of 2016. The findings are results of surveys by Build UK, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, Construction Products Association, Federation of Master Builders and National Federation of Builders.
Companies across the construc- tion industry are preparing them- selves for further cost pressures after reporting a rise in raw mate- rial prices despite growth across the industry during 2016 Q4. An increase in sales, output and workloads were all reported during the three-month period but forward-looking indicators suggest the outlook for building activity during 2017 has worsened. The CPA’s Construction Trade Survey Q4 showed that overall costs in- creased for 88% of civil engineer-
ing contractors, whilst 75% of main contractors, 78% of heavy side manufacturers and 88% of light side manufacturers reported a rise in raw materials costs.
In addition, these latest statis- tics highlighted a skills shortage affecting key on-site trades, with main contractors reporting short- ages of carpenters and plasterers at their highest in nine years. Senior economist at the CPA, Rebecca Larkin, said: “The con- struction industry closed 2016 on a strong note, with activity improving for firms throughout the supply chain. However, order books and enquiries were lower for contrac- tors and signal a weaker outlook for 2017.
She continued: “Cost pressures continued to rise, particularly for imported raw materials, and com- pound the risks that activity will be unable to grow at current rates over the next 12 months.
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