Opinion

Scott Restrick, Link Group energy and sustainability officer, is next up in Scottish Construction Now's #COP26SCN showcase of the social housing sector's efforts to help tackle the climate crisis with his take on how the housing sector urgently needs access to a more sophisticated toolkit to respond

Thomas & Adamson partner John McGuire outlines the growing appetite for high quality city centre office accommodation. As the wider economy continues to settle from the fallout of the pandemic, staff are returning to the physical workplace on a more frequent basis and a growing number

Rebecca Barrass, senior associate in MacRoberts’ Construction team, considers a recent appeal hearing relating to Fraser Harbour Commissioners v McLaughlin Harvey Limited. Contracts allowing for Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms: Access to the courts remains a “basic principle&rd

Gerard Carson from engineering consultancy Will Rudd Davidson discusses the challenges faced by engineers to create useful, stunning and safe buildings that meet environmental standards. Choosing what to study at university was one of the biggest decisions I made in my youth. Faced with the dilemma

Richard Hepburn, MD, Millar & Bryce, takes a look at the latest residential property data. The property market has clearly ebbed and flowed throughout 2020 and 2021; there was a low when the property market was forced to temporarily close amid Covid lockdowns before the highs emerged following t

Scottish Construction Now is delighted to introduce a four-part series taking place this month that will take a look at legal issues surrounding construction delays. The series is compiled by Sandra Cassels, partner in the commercial litigation team at Morton Fraser, who specialises in construction

Scottish Housing News Podcast co-host Jimmy Black outlines the roundtable discussion from the first episode of the podcast, which has been launched to kick off our series on how Scotland’s social housing sector is meeting the net zero challenge. Some intriguing possibilities were thrown up in

Ahead of COP26, Mark Markey explores the steps that the Akela Group is already taking to bolster its sustainability and the need for the construction industry to embrace the drive towards sustainability. In less than three weeks’ time, the eyes of the world will be on Glasgow when Sc

Chris Mackay and Andrew Little from Burness Paull look at the Scottish Appeal Court decision in relation to the Aberdeen Harbour Expansion Project and what it means for NEC contracts going forward. A decision of the Scottish appeal court has confirmed that NEC contracts are not charters for contract

The Health and Safety Executive outlines its approach to preventing unnecessary deaths caused by exposure to dust on construction sites.

Highbridge Properties director Guy Marsden looks at the shifting requirements for workplaces of the future. The pandemic has triggered a massive shift in the way we work, resulting in many companies moving from an office-centric culture to considering more flexible ways of working. 

Ramboll's Stefanie O’Gorman, who sits on the Scottish Government's Climate Emergency Response Group (CERG), provides her analysis of the group’s 12 immediate actions for the new government to accelerate its response to the climate emergency. Working with the CERG group on our recent

Kevin Reid, chief executive of the Cruden Group, gives a commentary on the Housing and Climate Emergency theme of Scottish Housing Day. In the 2018-2019 financial year more new homes were built in Scotland than at any time since the crash of 2008. Covid put the brakes on activity levels and alt

Euan Pirie, partner in the specialist construction and engineering contracts advisory team at Harper Macleod LLP, looks at a solution to price uncertainty for construction materials when tendering big contracts. Prices for construction materials have gone haywire in a perfect storm of conditions whi

Eilidh Dobson and Iain Drummond comment on legal aspects of the ongoing materials shortage. It will be news to few that the construction industry is experiencing a serious shortage of key materials. The Construction Leadership Council first warned of shortages (in timber, steel, pitched roofing, pla