Simon White
@simoncomms.bsky.social
Built environment and construction industry expert. PR and data communications. United Kingdom.
Big story in retrofit today - Insulation scandal: Damp and mouldy homes excluded from help - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Insulation scandal: Damp and mouldy homes excluded from help
Help to fix unsuitable insulation under government schemes only applies to work done since 2022.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 14, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Big story in retrofit today - Insulation scandal: Damp and mouldy homes excluded from help - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC analysis shows the number of new homes in England continued to fall during the first six months Labour was in power www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
No excuses to not build 1.5m new homes, Rayner says
The deputy PM says she's
www.bbc.co.uk
February 9, 2025 at 8:09 PM
BBC analysis shows the number of new homes in England continued to fall during the first six months Labour was in power www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK house prices have hit another record high with the average property price reaching £299,138 - www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
House prices at new high ahead of stamp duty change, says Halifax
The UK's biggest mortgage lender says there remains
www.bbc.co.uk
February 7, 2025 at 4:57 PM
UK house prices have hit another record high with the average property price reaching £299,138 - www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Residential construction activity slumped for the fourth month in a row in January, according to the S&P Global UK construction purchasing managers index (PMI). www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202....
Housebuilding plunges to lowest in a year in setback for Angela Rayner
Promise to deliver 1.5m new homes at risk after slump in construction activity
www.telegraph.co.uk
February 7, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Residential construction activity slumped for the fourth month in a row in January, according to the S&P Global UK construction purchasing managers index (PMI). www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202....
Reposted by Simon White
10 Year Infrastructure Strategy
The Treasury has published a working paper setting out the Government’s plan for its 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
The Treasury has published a working paper setting out the Government’s plan for its 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
10 Year Infrastructure Strategy Working Paper (accessible)
www.gov.uk
January 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
10 Year Infrastructure Strategy
The Treasury has published a working paper setting out the Government’s plan for its 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
The Treasury has published a working paper setting out the Government’s plan for its 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
The construction industry wants a special visa to be created to import enough workers it says are critical to solving the housing crisis:
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Migrant labour needed to solve UK housing crisis, construction industry warns
The National Federation of Builders say Labour’s goals are unachievable because there is a shortage of more than 200,000 construction workers in UK
www.independent.co.uk
January 30, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The construction industry wants a special visa to be created to import enough workers it says are critical to solving the housing crisis:
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
BBC News - Heathrow's third runway can be built in 10 years, Reeves says - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Heathrow's third runway can be built in 10 years, Reeves says
The chancellor says she wants to see planes start using the new runway in the next decade.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 30, 2025 at 12:31 PM
BBC News - Heathrow's third runway can be built in 10 years, Reeves says - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Just 1452 days until the next president replaces Trump www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Trump administration faces lawsuit over pause on federal grants and loans
Memo says social security and Medicare are excluded but congressional Democrats express ‘extreme alarm’
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Just 1452 days until the next president replaces Trump www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Simon White
DeepSeek has released a new set of multimodal AI models that it claims can outperform OpenAI’s DALL-E 3.
The models are part of a new model family that DeepSeek is calling Janus-Pro. They range in size from 1 billion to 7 billion parameters.
Read more here: tcrn.ch/40Bc5Qm
The models are part of a new model family that DeepSeek is calling Janus-Pro. They range in size from 1 billion to 7 billion parameters.
Read more here: tcrn.ch/40Bc5Qm
January 27, 2025 at 9:38 PM
DeepSeek has released a new set of multimodal AI models that it claims can outperform OpenAI’s DALL-E 3.
The models are part of a new model family that DeepSeek is calling Janus-Pro. They range in size from 1 billion to 7 billion parameters.
Read more here: tcrn.ch/40Bc5Qm
The models are part of a new model family that DeepSeek is calling Janus-Pro. They range in size from 1 billion to 7 billion parameters.
Read more here: tcrn.ch/40Bc5Qm
China turned the entire U.S. stock market into a bloodbath with DeepSeek AI. Crazy time to keep up with tech.
1 trillion USD lost
1 trillion USD lost
January 27, 2025 at 8:39 PM
China turned the entire U.S. stock market into a bloodbath with DeepSeek AI. Crazy time to keep up with tech.
1 trillion USD lost
1 trillion USD lost
The UK construction industry saw a 15% increase in contract awards in 2024, reaching £79.5 billion. The biggest regional gain was seen in the East of England at 52%. But housing spend remains flat at 1% growth with new housing applications continuing to fall. bdcmagazine.com/2025/01/uk-c...
UK construction contract awards were up 15% in 2024 – but all is not as it seems
“Infrastructure has been carrying the rest of the industry on its’ back in 2024” – with big money contracts throughout the year
But housing spend rem
bdcmagazine.com
January 24, 2025 at 12:05 PM
The UK construction industry saw a 15% increase in contract awards in 2024, reaching £79.5 billion. The biggest regional gain was seen in the East of England at 52%. But housing spend remains flat at 1% growth with new housing applications continuing to fall. bdcmagazine.com/2025/01/uk-c...
London's social housing crisis is growing. In 2024, over 336,000 households are on waiting lists, the highest in 10+ years! That's a 32% rise since 2014. With all 32 boroughs facing the strain, what's the solution? #LondonHousing #SocialHousing #Crisis
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
London's social housing waiting lists at 10-year high
Data shows 336,366 households were on social housing waiting lists in 2024 across London's 32 boroughs.
www.bbc.com
January 23, 2025 at 11:33 AM
London's social housing crisis is growing. In 2024, over 336,000 households are on waiting lists, the highest in 10+ years! That's a 32% rise since 2014. With all 32 boroughs facing the strain, what's the solution? #LondonHousing #SocialHousing #Crisis
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
The revised New Hospital Programme has been unveiled, with some projects delayed to the 2040s. Health Secretary Wes Streeting promised an "honest, deliverable" plan to build or refurbish 46 hospitals in five-year waves, contrasting Boris Johnson's "unrealistic" pledge of 40 by 2030. #NHS #Healthcare
January 22, 2025 at 5:15 PM
The revised New Hospital Programme has been unveiled, with some projects delayed to the 2040s. Health Secretary Wes Streeting promised an "honest, deliverable" plan to build or refurbish 46 hospitals in five-year waves, contrasting Boris Johnson's "unrealistic" pledge of 40 by 2030. #NHS #Healthcare
Construction saw 4,103 business insolvencies in 2024, the highest of any sector in the UK. constructionwave.co.uk/2025/01/21/c...
Construction insolvencies: Subbies still the biggest casualties
The construction industry experienced the highest number of insolvencies last year, with specialist firms still overrepresented.
constructionwave.co.uk
January 22, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Construction saw 4,103 business insolvencies in 2024, the highest of any sector in the UK. constructionwave.co.uk/2025/01/21/c...
Let’s face it, Data Centres are going to wipe out any green energy gains over the next few years to power AI. They were already hitting 2% of world energy use in 2022 and places like Ireland are expecting data centres to use 32% of their energy by 2026. We need to find another way.
January 17, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Let’s face it, Data Centres are going to wipe out any green energy gains over the next few years to power AI. They were already hitting 2% of world energy use in 2022 and places like Ireland are expecting data centres to use 32% of their energy by 2026. We need to find another way.
A lot is going to have to change for house building in 2025 if we have any chance of hitting the 1.5 million target.
Private house building output in November 2024 was 3.1% lower than in October as house building completions continued to remain subdued & were only 1.2% higher than at the nadir of housing demand a year ago according to the Office for National Statistics.
#ukhousing #housing
#ukhousing #housing
January 17, 2025 at 8:34 AM
A lot is going to have to change for house building in 2025 if we have any chance of hitting the 1.5 million target.
Reposted by Simon White
A 100% tax on Brits buying homes in Spain sounds satisfying – but it won’t solve our housing crisis | María Ramírez
A 100% tax on Brits buying homes in Spain sounds satisfying – but it won’t solve our housing crisis | María Ramírez
Making visitors pay more may bolster Treasury revenues, but it’s no match for building more houses
Last October, tens of thousands of people marched through Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and other big Spanish cities demanding affordable housing. Protesters…
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2025 at 7:24 AM
A 100% tax on Brits buying homes in Spain sounds satisfying – but it won’t solve our housing crisis | María Ramírez
Noteworthy attempt by Chloë McCulloch over at Building to provide some positives in the outlook for UK construction this year. It can be difficult to see through the doom and gloom to see opportunities. What should we be looking out for? Few ideas from me below ⬇️ www.building.co.uk/comment/how-...
How to look for and find confidence in UK construction
A few weeks into 2025 and already it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the relentless bad news cycle. Here are some bright spots on the horizon
www.building.co.uk
January 15, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Noteworthy attempt by Chloë McCulloch over at Building to provide some positives in the outlook for UK construction this year. It can be difficult to see through the doom and gloom to see opportunities. What should we be looking out for? Few ideas from me below ⬇️ www.building.co.uk/comment/how-...
Reposted by Simon White
sometimes a picture (or magazine cover) is all you need
January 13, 2025 at 10:16 PM
sometimes a picture (or magazine cover) is all you need
The first ever winner of the Stirling Prize is set to be demolished. Interesting debate about when modern buildings should be protected. www.dezeen.com/2025/01/13/s...
Winner of first-ever Stirling Prize set to be demolished in Salford
Salford City Council has approved the demolition of the University of Salford's Centenary Building, which won the inaugural RIBA Stirling Prize in 1996.
www.dezeen.com
January 15, 2025 at 10:44 AM
The first ever winner of the Stirling Prize is set to be demolished. Interesting debate about when modern buildings should be protected. www.dezeen.com/2025/01/13/s...
Part of Starmer's plan to "unleash" AI is building data centres, but no one is asking how we are going to power these energy guzzlers when the power network is already strained and undergoing a transition to net-zero.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Artificial Intelligence: Plan to 'unleash AI' across UK revealed
Leading tech firms are said to have committed £14bn towards the project, which could create more than 13,000 jobs.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 13, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Part of Starmer's plan to "unleash" AI is building data centres, but no one is asking how we are going to power these energy guzzlers when the power network is already strained and undergoing a transition to net-zero.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Simon White
‘Bringing back the wonder’: inside the £10bn Earls Court redevelopment seeking planning consent
‘Bringing back the wonder’: inside the £10bn Earls Court redevelopment seeking planning consent
Site of the former west London exhibition centre to include nearly 4,000 homes, cultural venues, a park, offices, shops and restaurants
On a damp winter’s day, there are few signs of activity on the huge, empty triangle of land in west London that was…
www.theguardian.com
January 11, 2025 at 10:07 AM
‘Bringing back the wonder’: inside the £10bn Earls Court redevelopment seeking planning consent
"Growth in UK construction sector slows to six-month low as housebuilding drags" - Will this finally be the year when we see a turnaround in the construction industry? www.independent.co.uk/business/gro...
Growth in UK construction sector slows to six-month low as housebuilding drags
The latest S&P Global construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) scored 53.3 in December, down from 55.2 in November.
www.independent.co.uk
January 10, 2025 at 1:55 PM
"Growth in UK construction sector slows to six-month low as housebuilding drags" - Will this finally be the year when we see a turnaround in the construction industry? www.independent.co.uk/business/gro...
Europe is being forced to deindustrialise due to reduced Gas supplies. Really interesting insights from the data team at Sky. news.sky.com/story/energy...
January 7, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Europe is being forced to deindustrialise due to reduced Gas supplies. Really interesting insights from the data team at Sky. news.sky.com/story/energy...
Client Barbour ABI on the front page of The Times after a bit of analysis from me and a colleague on EV charger planning data. Amazing how much is being invested into infrastructure across various local authorities.
January 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Client Barbour ABI on the front page of The Times after a bit of analysis from me and a colleague on EV charger planning data. Amazing how much is being invested into infrastructure across various local authorities.