Insight

With Scot­land and the rest of the UK con­tin­u­ally miss­ing house­build­ing tar­gets, Fraser Mitchell, part­ner in Shep­herd and Wed­der­burn's Prop­erty and In­fra­struc­ture team, asks: what are the road­blocks to build­ing?

A pause for reflection may be no bad thing if we are to see a return to a more normal residential property market in Scotland, argues DM Hall's John McHugh. While reports about a slump in house sales and dropping prices quite naturally attract the attention of a headline-hungry press, the reali

Brewster Brothers managing director Scott Brewster calls for help from the finance sector to make construction's sustainability aspirations a reality. Over the past few years, the construction industry has taken great strides to embrace sustainable practices. But faced with rising fuel costs, inflat

Edison Group CEO Calum Melville is the next participant in SCN's Just a Minute feature. How did you get started in the industry? I believe there is room in the market to roll up SMEs in the construction and property sector into a £100 million plus revenue construction and property group.

Callum Chomczuk, national director, CIH Scotland, illustrates the challenges that may make meeting the ambitious target of 110,000 affordable homes over 10 years unattainable, as set out in Scotland's National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4). That sound you didn’t hear was Parliament agreeing on t

Smith Scott Mullan Associates has shared images of its recently completed Whitburn Partnership Centre, a £4 million community project in the heart of Whitburn on behalf of West Lothian Council.

The case of Muir Construction Limited v Kapital Residential Limited [2017] CSOH 132 served as a timely reminder of the importance for parties to a construction contract to understand the role of pay less notices. As economic uncertainty continues, maintaining cashflows and ensuring the correct amoun

Housebuilding veteran John Muir shares his focus on the sector’s long-term resilience. This year is the 50th anniversary of Muir Homes building quality homes across Scotland. This landmark comes amidst rising energy prices and an industry bouncing back from the covid pandemic.

Policy and practice lead David Stewart looks at the Scottish Land Commission's work on land and housing, and land reuse proposals, that could support the necessary shift from greenfield to brownfield development.  NPF4 is highly significant. It sets a framework for land use and development in S

Alastair McCoan, building consultancy partner at Knight Frank Scotland, on the pitfalls that can come with moving offices from dilapidations.  After nearly three years interrupted by Covid-19 and macro-economic disruption, 2023 could be the year many businesses start making big decisions.

Sandra Cassels discusses the recent changes to the law of prescription and their impact on latent defects in construction projects. The expiry of claims for damages in Scotland is regulated by the Prescription & Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. Section 6 of the 1973 Act provides that claims

Jessica Tresham, James Ignotus and Michelle Essen from the construction team at Womble Bond Dickinson share why arbitration is such a popular way of resolving cross-border disputes. Most people in the construction and engineering industry are familiar with the term "international arbitration". They

CRD Property Ltd director, Ryan Davies, takes part in our Just A Minute feature. How did you get started in the industry? I followed in my father’s footsteps. He is a plasterer to trade and on leaving school, I started a plastering apprenticeship.

Paul Raby, Balfour Beatty group HR director and executive committee member, explores Right to Respect and what it means to Balfour Beatty and the wider construction and infrastructure industry. Ours is an industry plagued by historical misconceptions; long heralded as typically male dominated, steep

Danny McArthur speaks to Margaret Taylor for SCN's Construction Leaders feature about exciting growth plans underway at Hardies Property & Construction Consultants, which has undergone a major restructure over the last year incorporating a series of strategic acquisitions, with further expa