Opinion

Scottish Futures Trust chief executive, Peter Reekie, shares his thoughts on infrastructure trends for 2022 and beyond. It is not rocket science to predict that 2022 will be a year of ongoing COVID recovery, with the world trying to find and adjust to whatever the new normal is for social interactio

With the building services industry having the highest incidence of mental health problems and suicide, United Capital director Ryan Russell said awareness is critical and understanding vital. As a former specialist mental health lawyer for over a decade, talking openly about the mental health crisi

Donald Yellowley, a partner in DM Hall’s country department based in Bridge of Allan, highlights the possible rewards for farmers looking to sell land. While demand for all manner of land in Scotland has rarely been more urgent, the farm sales market remains stubbornly quiet, and shortage of s

Iain Drummond, a partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn, considers a recent case that provides lessons for the construction sector concerning the enforcement of adjudicators’ decisions by companies in liquidation. The recent case of John Doyle Construction (JDC) v Erith Contractors Limited provide

The ongoing reverberations of the pandemic have made 2021 a unique year for the construction sector and residential property market. In this article, Queensberry Properties’ director, Steven Simpson, looks back on another challenging twelve months. As another pandemic-blighted year draws to a

Burness Paull partner Chris Mackay reveals whether courts can be used to recover documents relating to adjudication. Can you use the courts to recover documents from another party for the purposes of adjudication in Scotland?

Stephen Good, CEO of the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, looks ahead to some of the key themes expected to play a big role in the construction industry in 2022, with sustainability at the core. The Covid-19 pandemic aside, the theme that best characterised 2021 could arguably be sustainabil

Clyde Gateway executive director, Martin McKay, reveals why Glasgow's newest sculpture, built using locally sourced materials, is the perfect symbol of hope. Glasgow has no shortage of public art and the people who live in Scotland’s largest city are certainly not shy in sharing their opinions

Phil McDowell, the regional director of Kier Construction in Scotland, explains how the business has a strong pipeline of work which is focused on delivering vitally important projects for communities across Scotland, from schools and hospitals as well as its longstanding expertise in transforming h

Steven Simpson, managing director at Cruden Homes East, highlights new developments that he believes put the focus on communities and thriving neighbourhoods. After the shut-downs, materials shortages and lack of skilled workers that have challenged the housebuilding industry over the last 18 months

Lisa Deane, head of programme performance at Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC), says digital and low carbon skills are going to be key in addressing the construction sector's skills gap. The construction sector has shown remarkable resilience over the last couple of years, with a recent

Indeglås MD Jeanette MacIntrye outlines the importance of innovation when approaching projects such as the new atrium at the University of Glasgow’s new Advanced Research Centre. The UK Government’s ‘Build Back Better’ plan emphasises the need for companies, suppliers,

In the final article in SCN's exclusive four-part Construction Delay Series, Sandra Cassels, partner in the commercial litigation team at Morton Fraser who specialises in construction and engineering disputes, explores whether a contractor is entitled to some additional time in a case wher

Balfour Beatty BBGE HS2 Undergraduate Placement Student, and Net Zero Challenge Team Lead, Yutong (Abby) Li, discusses bringing together the brightest young minds to tackle arguably the biggest societal challenge we have ever faced – the climate change emergency. Ten of our young apprentices a

Sarah Peterson, director at Harley Haddow, discusses the potential repercussions of COP26 for the engineering and construction industry. As the dust settles on COP26 and the many pledges and announcements made, the impact on the engineering and construction industry is substantial.