Capital funding for universities and higher education institutions will be linked to how well they fare against government carbon reduction targets from 2011.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) said bodies will need to prepare their own carbon management plans and their performance against these will then be used to assess capital allocations.
Within the [...]

A £30 million plan to transform the outdated Cardiff Royal Infirmary into a modern healthcare complex over four years has begun, health minister Edwina Hart has announced.
Welsh Assembly Government funding has been earmarked to replace the city centre hospital site, with the local NHS now developing detailed site plans for the minister’s approval.
A report prepared [...]

The cost of fire damage to schools increased to £65 million in 2008 with three in four of those affected claiming over arson attacks, figures have revealed.
Schools in London and the South East put in the highest number of claims in the past year, with 34% coming from those areas at a cost of £22.1 [...]

MPs have said an agency’s “reckless behaviour” has left the future of a government scheme to rebuild England’s colleges hanging in the balance.
Criticism was levelled at The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) for its “serious failures” in managing the programme and for raising expectations it could not meet.
The LSC had to freeze building projects affecting [...]

Jumping plant lice could be unleashed by the Government to tackle the aggressive Japanese Knotweed, which costs millions of pounds in restoration projects because of the damage it does to buildings, roads and railways.
Plans to introduce the sap-sucking insect will be considered in relation to green issues as well because knotweed also invades habitats, prevents [...]

One of the biggest mosques in London - 62,000 square feet, five stories and boasting a 130-foot minaret - has been approved by council planners.
The Harrow Central Mosque on Station Road will open next year and includes a gym, creche and cafe. Permission was granted in 2000, but was suspended pending conditions and revisions.
They include [...]

An NHS clinic designed around an internal ’street’ and a cancer support centre have been shortlisted for a top architecture prize.
Kentish Town Health Centre and Maggie’s Centre, both in London, are among the nominees for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize.
Six buildings are in line for the accolade, which has previously been [...]

Work has started on what will be Leeds’ most environmentally friendly primary school.
Bankside Primary School in Harehills will be demolished and a replaced by a new £9.1 million building.
The school will use renewable energy sources such as a ground source heat pump, which draws heat from the ground to help heat the building. It will [...]

Construction work on the copper-clad handball arena for the 2012 Olympic Games has begun two months ahead of schedule.
The arena in Hackney is due to host the handball qualifiers, the modern pentathlon fencing and the Paralympic goalball tournaments.
Olympic Delivery Authority chairman John Armitt said: “The vibrant handball arena will provide a great experience for competitors [...]

Funding for 11,200 new homes will help create 20,000 building-industry jobs, housing minister John Healey has announced.
A cash boost of £1.7 billion was pledged by Mr Healey to 10 local authorities in six regions under the housing private finance initiative (PFI).
The PFI will see the creation of 4,500 new or refurbised council homes and new [...]