Opinion

Jane Wood, chief executive at Homes for Scotland, argues that today's Programme for Government is a crucial opportunity for the Scottish Government to address the housing emergency instead of waiting for the establishment of More Home Scotland.

After CITB's Workforce Mobility report found that increasingly localised construction labour markets support the UK government's agenda to provide work experience and connections with local employers, strategic director, Scotland, Ian Hughes, looks at the implications for the Scottish construction w

Professor Bill Minnis, recently Dean of the Business School at Stockton University in New Jersey, and a speaker at the upcoming Scottish Construction Summit, shares his thoughts on the value of longer term strategic planning. Longer term planning is relatively common in some cultures. These plans ar

After leading a roundtable event on strategic leadership for Scottish Construction Now last week, Professor Bill Minnis, recently Dean of the Business School at Stockton University in New Jersey, shares why strategic planning should be a part of your organisation’s regular practice and, more i

Robert Ogg, managing director of Akela Construction and board member at CECA Scotland, shares what he believes needs to happen in Scotland to help close the skills gap in the construction sector. Across the border, political debate has been ignited by proposals to introduce dedicated, technical and

While the construction industry has spent the last decade improving its ability to specify sustainable buildings, Ewan MacGregor, managing director at Helica, believes it has been slower to reckon with a harder question: how much of what is specified gets built? Net zero targets, embodied carbon bud

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) annual work-related injury report has revealed the number of workers killed in work-related incidents has declined year on year, but by a smaller rate than in previous terms, writes Kevin Bridges. The construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing secto

Cundall's head of defence, Keith Richardson, argues that infrastructure will ultimately define the success of the UK government’s latest Defence Investment Plan. The UK Government’s Defence Investment Plan (DIP) represents one of the most significant defence commitments in a generation.

Commercial director Raymond Carr responds to the new acquisition that brings the Scottish Home Awards and the Scottish Property Awards into the same group as Scottish Construction Now. Yesterday our parent group, Hero Media & Entertainment, announced the acquisition of KD Media, the Edinbur

Sarah Lewis, co-director at the Passivhaus Trust, highlights key lessons from Passivhaus projects from Scotland and across the UK for embedding construction quality in large & complex projects. Now that the dust has settled on the recent Scottish Government elections, we eagerly await the announ

With housing completions in Scotland remaining slow, Catherine Wood, development director at Lovell Strategic Land, argues that there’s a need to line up more consented land across the country to enable the delivery of homes for the next decade and beyond. After months of poll-watching, specul

Steven Hendry, senior director at CBRE, shares why Clyde Gateway Innovation is emerging as one of Scotland’s most credible investment propositions. Across the UK, there is no shortage of regeneration strategies, masterplans or ambition. Cities are rich in vision. What is often harder to find i

Liam McKay, an associate in Anderson Strathern’s contentious construction team, dissects the recent Court of Session decision in Ogilvie Construction Ltd v MR Re Glasgow Ltd and its implications for the construction industry. Like the titular children’s novel There and Back Again, the la

By backing a 544-bed hostel and then denying its support, the heritage body has let down the very communities it exists to protect, writes Philip Flockhart. Plans to convert A-listed Georgian townhouses on Atholl Crescent into a 544-bed capsule-style hostel have prompted dismay and disbelief across

Public misconceptions around data centres are among the growing set of challenges faced by potential developers, argues Alex Orr, managing director of Orbit Communications. Demand for data centres is increasing as artificial intelligence (AI) adoption accelerates. With abundant renewable energy, a s