Class action launched against truck pricing fraud

London’s leading class action law firm Edwin Coe LLP has filed a group action seeking damages for businesses being direct and indirect purchasers of trucks and who were victims of fraudulent price fixing by major truck manufacturers over a 14-year period.

Edwin Coe is calling on any business which purchased, leased or outsourced trucks weighing six tonnes or more between 1997 and 2012 to join the lawsuit, which will sit in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Well-known high street names, a supermarket retailer and a range of major regional brewers, are already amongst the claimants joining the litigation. They are seeking damages (plus interest) for medium or heavy goods vehicles purchased during the so-called infringement period of 14 years.

Edwin Coe is now encouraging additional businesses in the retail, construction, farming, waste-management and outsourcing sectors to sign up, as it is likely they also overpaid for their vehicles.

The claim stems from a European Commission ruling in 2016 against five truck manufacturers – MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler/Mercedes, Iveco and DAF – which found they operated a price fixing cartel stretching back to 1997. There has since been a similar finding against a sixth manufacturer, Scania. Together these manufacturers hold over 80% of the market.

It is estimated that some ten million trucks were sold across the EU during the 1997-2011 period and that each one may have been overpriced by up to £10,000 as a result of the cartel.

Claims may also be brought by those who purchased trucks from other manufacturers because their prices are also likely to have been affected by the cartel pricing.

Zahira Hussain of Edwin Coe LLP, solicitor to the Claimants, comments: “This cartel was an EU-wide scandal for many years and affected thousands of UK businesses from PLCs to smaller enterprises. Companies that believe they were a victim and want to claim their rightful compensation need to act fast. There is still a window to join our claim process on a cost and risk-free basis.”

The Road Haulage Association has a separate legal action underway for its members.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Class action launched against truck pricing fraud appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Veolia CHP reaches new heights

The Berkeley Group’s South Quay Plaza development in London’s Docklands, one of the tallest residential towers in the UK and the tallest tower in the Berkeley Group, is set to use Veolia’s latest combined heat and power (CHP) technology to provide low carbon energy.

Designed to deliver the energy needs of 888 new homes, spread across two new landmark residential buildings of 68- and 36-storeys, this latest CHP application will cut carbon emissions by 556 tonnes per year and help to meet London’s emission targets. In addition to providing the energy needs of residents, the CHP units will also supply energy to additional facilities including a swimming pool, spa, and gym.

The use of the latest generation of CHP technology supports key London programmes that aim to boost home energy efficiency, and decentralised energy, through effective capture and use of the heat generated as part of the electricity generation process. As CHP technology is more than twice as energy efficient as separate grid supplies this lowers the use of resources, and ensures that reliable electricity, heating and hot water are delivered locally and cost effectively for residents.

While delivering cost effective energy, it will help contribute to reducing London’s carbon emissions by 60% and take pressure off the stretched UK electricity grid. As a further measure to reduce London’s atmospheric emissions the new CHP units use three way ultra low NOx catalysts which further reduce NOx emissions to less than 50mg/nm3.

Commenting on this latest energy project in London, Damian Shevloff, Managing Director, Veolia CHP UK said: “Veolia is now delivering the essential low carbon power to support new communities and boosting the energy efficiency of buildings, both of which are key to establishing the sustainable cities of the future. By using our latest energy efficiency services and integrating the leading  technologies we can not only power modern living but also make a real contribution towards meeting London’s environmental targets. As one of the biggest cities in the world it is important for London to set an example and this shows what can be achieved.”

If you are interested in finding out more about key infrastructure trends today, you may wish to attend the flagship infrastructure exhibition at the NEC in April 2019 : UKIS 2019

Click here for more information on how to register or exhibit at the UK Infrastructure Show 2019.  

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Veolia CHP reaches new heights appeared first on UK Construction Online.

UK SMEs call for mental health helpline

New research has revealed that the stigma of mental health remains, as UK SMEs call for a dedicated mental health helpline akin to NHS 111.

Conducted by Close Brothers Asset Finance, the quarterly survey polled 900 SMEs, with 84% supporting the creation of a dedicated mental health helpline.

“Statistically, mental health affects one in four people,” said Neil Davies, CEO of Close Brothers Asset Finance. “It’s clear that it impacts both individuals and businesses in a multitude of ways, including economically. For example, mental health problems in the UK workforce cost employers almost £35 billion last year, according to the Centre for Mental Health.

“Anything that can be done to get people the correct help, quickly, can only benefit both those affected and the people around them, and while there are multiple helplines available, our research is telling us is that – in the first instance – businesses of all sizes and across all sectors would find it more helpful to refer employees to a single resource.”

Unfortunately, over half (54%) of all respondents said that those with mental health issues were still stigmatised in the workplace, with Greater London (63%) and Wales (65%) tracking well above the national average.

“According to the Mental Health foundation, the social stigma attached to mental ill health and the discrimination people experience can make their difficulties worse and make it harder to recover,” continued Neil. “However, what they also say is that most people who experience mental health problems recover fully, or are able to live with and manage them, especially if they get help early on, which is one of the reasons why UK SMEs are calling for a helpline.”

Nationally, nearly two thirds (64%) of UK firms have policies in place to support employees with mental ill health. However, this falls to just 42% for SMEs.

“Many businesses with lower turnover and smaller staff numbers don’t have the capacity or resources to support colleagues with mental ill health and consequently rely on government support,” concluded Neil. “However, only 19% of firms employing ten or fewer people feel that there are sufficient government services – including advice services – for SMEs to help support employees with mental ill health, compared to the national average of 39%.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post UK SMEs call for mental health helpline appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Midlands connected: improvement plan for A46

Midlands Connect has revealed the first ever improvement plan for the entire A46 corridor, with a 20-year vision to future-proof the route and boost the national economy.

Taking a “corridor approach” to improving the whole A46 through the Midlands could boost the economy by £7.1Bn, says Sub-national Transport Body Midlands Connect. The pan-Midlands transport agency is calling for urgent, co-ordinated action to improve traffic flows on one of the country’s most important trade routes.

The 20-year vision will help future-proof the route and boost the national economy. The A46 corridor stretches for 155 miles from Gloucestershire to Lincolnshire, is home to 5.5M people and 2.9M jobs, with an economic output of £115Bn a year, equivalent to nine per cent of the English economy.

The Office of National Statistics forecasts an increase of 600,000 new residents and 250,000 new homes within the corridor by 2041. With 150,000 new jobs on the line too, Midlands Connect says only a comprehensive, holistic solution to improving the A46 can support this growth.

Stage One of the A46 Corridor Study recommends the acceleration of coordinated investment at key congestion hotspots – including Evesham, Stratford-upon-Avon, Coventry, Leicester, Newark and Lincoln – where rush hour average speeds regularly fall below 20mph.

Midlands Connect’s improvement plan builds on the work already being done by Highways England and local authorities to improve pinch points along the A46, and on the success of the A46 Partnership – a coalition of LEPs and councils between Gloucestershire and Leicestershire – in promoting the route as one of local, regional, national and international significance.

Maria Machancoses, Director, Midlands Connect, said: “Using today’s approach to funding, it could be 40 years before the A46 receives the investment it needs to match the growth in jobs and housing expected along the corridor. We must do things differently and accelerate a long-term investment plan to make sure economic growth isn’t held back. Delivering our vision will not only make our businesses more prosperous, it will improve the quality of life of millions of people living and working along the corridor. Doing nothing will hold back this progress.”

Network planning director for Highways England, Jeremy Bloom, said: “We recognise the importance of the A46 corridor to the Strategic Road Network and the contribution it makes to the Midlands economy and beyond. We also support a more strategic approach to long-term investment and will continue to work closely with Midlands Connect to develop potential solutions for the route and to make the case for investment within the context of our national remit.”

The second stage of Midlands Connect’s A46 corridor study will further develop the proposed improvements and their respective business cases, and is due for release in 2019.

If you are interested in finding out more about key infrastructure trends today, you may wish to attend the flagship infrastructure exhibition at the NEC in April 2019 : UKIS 2019

Click here for more information on how to register or exhibit at the UK Infrastructure Show 2019.  

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Midlands connected: improvement plan for A46 appeared first on UK Construction Online.

UK’s first sustainable modular school extension

The UK’s first modular school extension to be built with innovative energy technology has been unveiled in Brightlingsea, Essex

With a budget £70,000 cheaper than a traditional school build of the same size, and completed in just six weeks, the modular extension is proving a great success.

Modular smart homes and schools provider, Project Etopia, has led the project, including cost saving energy technology within the extension for Brightlingsea Primary School in Colchester, Essex.

The building of modular schools comes at a crucial time with population rises putting an ever greater strain on schools, with studies revealing one in five primary schools are over capacity.

The Brightlingsea project was completed from groundwork through to the installation of its pioneering technology in just six weeks, with the exterior shell put together in just eight hours.

The nursery extension includes one classroom, a dining room, staff room, store room, toilet facilities, atrium and kitchen able to accommodate 30 students and two teachers — allowing Brightlingsea Primary School and Nursery to increase its yearly intake of pupils. The extension is in line with the learning space guidelines outlined by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

The site includes all of Project Etopia’s state-of-the-art intelligent building controls and the ability to generate its own electricity, including Daikin heating and ventilation, energy storage and energy generation, daylight mimicry lighting and intelligent building controls into the extension. This level of technology ensures that the extension will remain up-to-date even as modern technology evolves.

Peter Robertson, Head of Projects Mitie Essex County Council, commented: “The speed and accuracy of erection of the shell was totally amazing, the end product has provided the nursery with an ultra high level of top quality accommodation and the comfort of the staff who never need to adjust the heating/cooling controls as the ambient temperature is near perfectly constant to body temperature, so the room can be enjoyed in all weathers.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post UK’s first sustainable modular school extension appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Highview Power’s world first grid-scale liquid air energy storage plant

A new clean energy system, enabled by long-duration storage technology.

Pressure is mounting to decarbonise global energy systems as countries step up efforts to meet their obligations to the Paris Agreement, a legally binding commitment to limit global temperature rises to two degrees Celsius. To achieve this, cleaner technologies are required that can help curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Cleaner energy generation technologies are already completely transforming the world’s energy landscape. In the UK in 2017, renewable energy comprising wind, solar, hydro and biomass accounted for just over 29% of electricity generation, up from a quarter the year before, with a further 21 per cent coming from nuclear power.

As more renewable electricity is generated, grid operators and utilities are looking for ways to balance the grid and increase reliability. Storage technologies enable surplus electricity to be stored ready to meet peak demand. For urban areas the size of small towns to large cities, energy demand at this scale is best met by long-duration energy storage, where energy can be deployed for several hours daily (four or more), over weeks or even months.

One form of long-duration energy storage is a technology called liquid air energy storage (LAES). This is a clean and locatable process made of easily recyclable mature components and therefore an attractive option as more governments look to reduce reliance on carbon intensive fossil energy.

Manchester home to energy world first

Highview Power, industry leaders in LAES technology, is commercialising the technology at just the right time. The company’s second operational LAES plant went live in June this year and is the world’s first grid-connected LAES plant. Demand response aggregator KiWi Power is drawing energy from the 5MW plant, which is capable of powering the equivalent of about 5,000 average-sized homes for several hours.

The Highview Power LAES plant is located in a corner of Manchester at the Pilsworth facility in Bury, owned by recycling and renewable energy company, and project partner, Viridor.

Gareth Brett, CEO at Highview Power, comments: “Support from Government, our partners and our supply chain, has enabled Highview Power to successfully design and build the world’s first grid-scale LAES plant here in the UK. The plant is the only large scale, true long-duration, locatable energy storage technology available today, at acceptable cost.”

The plant was built with over £8M in funding from the UK government. It builds on the success of a pilot plant which operated for four years at an SSE site in Slough, UK.

Liquid air energy storage – pulling energy from thin air

LAES technology makes use of a freely available resource – the air – which turns to liquid when cooled down to -196°C (-320˚F). This is then stored very efficiently in insulated, low pressure vessels. Exposure to ambient temperatures causes rapid re-gasification and a 700-fold expansion in volume, which is then used to drive a turbine and create electricity without combustion.

Unlike chemical-based technologies, a Highview Power plant operates using a thermodynamic cycle that can interface with co-located thermal processes such as LNG regasification plants, peaking plants and industrial applications to recycle waste heat or cold within the LAES process.

Long-duration storage – when batteries don’t cut it

This year, National Grid amended the duration requirements for the minimum derating of storage in the capacity market from 4 hours to 4.5 hours. This indicates that long-duration energy storage is crucial to ensuring security of supply, unlike shorter-duration options like batteries.

Long-duration technology can also overcome long gaps in energy output that occur, particularly with renewable energy generation: for example, the gap in solar generation at night can be covered by previously stored energy. This time-shifting capability also helps overcome the intermittency of renewables by providing a source of power to smooth out the varying output.

Highview Power’s LAES plants provide services at all levels of the electricity system: supporting power generation, providing stabilisation services to transmission grids and distribution networks, and acting as a source of backup power to large scale end users.

At scale, a Highview Power LAES plant would be capable of powering a town of more than 100,000 average-sized homes, and for many hours, rather than the couple of hours afforded by battery storage. A small town to large city requires plants with a power output from 10MW to 200MW+ and with a storage capacity of 40MWh to more than 2000MWh+. These LAES plants could feed straight into national transmission power networks, rather than through an aggregator.

The benefits

Highview Power’s LAES technology is scalable and modular; once the plant is designed, the components are procured from OEMs and the plant is built by construction companies. Customers have peace of mind because all the components are mature and supplied by established, reputable manufacturers.

A bright future ahead for long-duration energy storage

With LAES technology now being proven at scale, the Highview Power plant at Pilsworth paves the way for the wider adoption of LAES technology globally. The deployment of smart, flexible long-duration technologies such as LAES are now being realised, supported by new and exciting collaborations along the supply chain. This level of innovation and cooperation bodes well for the development of a modern low-carbon energy system, supplying power to help people and economies thrive, without destroying the planet.

If you are interested in finding out more about key infrastructure trends today, you may wish to attend the flagship infrastructure exhibition at the NEC in April 2019 : UKIS 2019

Click here for more information on how to register or exhibit at the UK Infrastructure Show 2019.  

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Highview Power’s world first grid-scale liquid air energy storage plant appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Hull+ scheme gets underway

Work to regenerate Hull’s historic riverside dock has got underway, which will see flood defnces replaced as well as environmental enhancements for the area.

The Hull+ scheme comprises an investment of up to £5M, in a partnership between Hull City Council and the Environment Agency, and will provided better flood defences for some 2,000 properties, providing greater economic and job security in the area.

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Environment Agency, it is envisaged that investment in to the Dock Office Row area will generate additional investor confidence in the area.

The works complement the £27.4M Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City project being delivered by Hull City Council. A grant of £15M from the Heritage Lottery Fund helped enable the project.

The Dock Street area is identified as having potential to be used as a tourist destination in the local plan and includes improved footpaths to the waterfront.

Hull+ project manager Paul Ahdal, of the Environment Agency, said: “As well as improving flood defences in the area we hope the scheme will help provide a springboard for development and help continue to attract tourists to the city following the success of Hull 2017 City of Culture.”

Councillor Daren Hale, Hull City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economic Investment and Regeneration, said: “It is great to see work starting in this area. It marks the beginning of an exciting journey ahead as we embark on an ambitious project to reconnect this part of the city centre with the waterfront, offering a new visitor centre and dry-berth for the Arctic Corsair telling the maritime story and important role this area played.”

Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth Minister, Jake Berry MP, said: “I am really pleased to see this vital scheme coming together, delivering jobs and flood improvements for local businesses. It’s a great example of the Government working in partnership with the Council to stimulate growth through infrastructure and heritage investment in the Northern Powerhouse.”

The first phase of work will see the removal of silt from the dry dock area off Dock Office Row, allowing the Arctic Corsair to be relocated to the area after being renovated by contractors for Hull City Council.

The silt removed will be sent for recycling and used in the manufacture of building blocks. The Hull+ scheme compliments a number of other projects in the area which include the River Hull Defences, delivered by the Environment Agency, and the Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City project, delivered by Hull City Council.

If you are interested in finding out more about key infrastructure trends today, you may wish to attend the flagship infrastructure exhibition at the NEC in April 2019 : UKIS 2019

Click here for more information on how to register or exhibit at the UK Infrastructure Show 2019.  

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Hull+ scheme gets underway appeared first on UK Construction Online.