Opinion

To mark the first day of the Learning Places Scotland conference, Michael Ross tells SCN how Scotland's hub partnership model is helping to address key issues in the sector. In an ever-changing world, one constant remains - the power of education. It is the foundation upon which the future of o

Mark O'Neill from Hardies Property & Construction Consultants tells SCN why the latest changes to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings are very significant for building owners and occupiers. Commercial buildings across the UK are more energy efficient. At least that is what the

There is little point in planting hundreds of thousands of trees on our roads network if we don’t look after them until they can serve their purpose, says Keith Gallacher. Everyone who drives a car or travels by bus will have seen the small forests of plastic tubes at the side of any new

Affordable, scalable retrofit can be achieved in a way that gives financial power to communities and transforms them for the better according to Rufus Grantham, co-founder at not-for-profit community interest corporation Living Places. Writing ahead of BE-ST Fest, a two-day industry summit taking pl

Rearo MD Graham Mercer considers the skills gap in the construction and manufacturing industries and suggests what needs to be done to ensure those sectors are properly resourced to fulfil future, large-scale infrastructure projects. The UK construction industry has long been a crucial driver o

John Forster, chair and founder of Forster Group, Scotland's largest integrated solar roofing business, discusses the affordability challenge of the emerging era of electrification. Eighty per cent of homes in 2045 will be the homes we live in today and therein lies a dilemma: How do we achieve net

Carla Ribeiro, head of offshore wind advisory UK & Ireland at Ramboll, highlights the importance of decarbonisation and green energy construction following Scotland's offshore wind commitment. Scotland's steadfast commitment to offshore wind reflects its dedication to mitigating climate change a

Scotland’s target of net zero emissions by 2045 requires change in many sectors – the commercial property market being one of them. A recent Scottish Government consultation cited improving the energy performance of buildings as a key part of its strategy, writes Matt Farrell. In England

Burns & McDonnell business development director Zoe Dempsey looks at the changes that the engineering sector will need to make if it is going to have any chance of achieving the UK and Scottish governments’ ambitions for a net zero energy system. Getting to clean energy targets will depend

Scottish Construction Now is pleased to publish in full a response to our readers' survey and planning series by Ian Aikman, chair of Heads of Planning Scotland. As chair of Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS), I felt compelled to write to you after reading your recent editorial in Scottish Constructi

A council planning officer who has been reading SCN's articles on Scotland’s Broken Planning System has blown the whistle on the technological barriers facing local authority planning departments.

Rearo MD Graham Mercer argues that the commissioning of some landmark commercial projects could provide a lifeline to developers and contractors affected by a recent decline in housebuilding activity. The construction industry has always been a reliable indicator of the performance of the wider econ

Ahead of a panel discussion event next week, Rachel Munro, examines why for housebuilders, planners and local authorities, heat networks promise to increasingly be a hot topic in the months and years to come. It need not be overstated that Scotland doesn’t have the best weather and despit

Continuing this week's focus on Scotland’s Broken Planning System, Allan Rae, land director at Kirkwood Homes, sums up what SCN has heard from many survey respondents by highlighting a lack of resources, the implementation of NPF4 and planning staff working from home. Local authority staf

Following the release of SCN's survey results on planning delays and the resulting impact on companies in Scotland's construction sector, an architecture practice has reached out to SCN in confidence to share its experience.