A West Midlands construction company has won the 2009 Building Exchange (BEX) Innovation Competition for its work developing new flooring products and cutting CO2 emissions.
Screedrail Solutions`s innovation was recognised at the BEX event in Hamburg, Germany and other finalists Photon Star LED, Primace Associates, Fire Fly Safety and Nu-Phalt were also given the opportunity to [...]

The highest cafe in the UK has reopened - at the top of Mount Snowdon.
The cafe offers stunning views from the 3,560 foot mountain peak, and is the centrepiece of an £8m visitor centre.
Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan is set to officially open the building, known as Hafod Eryri.
Designed by architect Ray Hole, it offers [...]

An environmentally friendly and sustainable building training facility has opened at Pembrokeshire College in Haverfordwest.
The Construction Technology Centre, which has been officially opened by the Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson, is a result of £3million investment, with £2.5 million coming from the Welsh Assembly Government.
The centre is the first further education development in the UK [...]

A cross-party group of MPs has blasted plans to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in England, calling them “over-optimistic” and “poorly planned”.
A report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee said the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) created expectations about the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme in schools and local authorities [...]

Planning authorities in Wales have been pledged £1.75 million to help improve services and aid the economy.
The promise from environment minister Jane Davidson came as a review of the planning application process was announced.
Ms Davidson said even though 85 to 90% of applications were approved, she wanted to see a more ’streamlined’ system in order [...]

Average house prices remained the same in May, the first time in 20 months that they did not show month-on-month falls, according to housing intelligence group Hometrack.
It reports that in England and Wales, only 13% of postcodes reported declines compared with 58% in January and 70% last autumn.
It cites greater sales volumes, growing buyer interest [...]

There have been further indications that the economy is over the worst of the downturn after figures showed the slowest pace of decline in construction activity for more than 12 months.
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) said the struggling sector saw a marked easing in the rate of contraction in the housing market [...]