Chris Ames
Council blocks scrutiny over bizarre £7m contract roll-over
Greenwich LBC has refused to disclose why it has handed out a £7m contract without a competitive tender and has blocked scrutiny of the move.
Liverpool reform programme ‘at risk’
Levelling up secretary Michael Gove has agreed to let commissioners at Liverpool City Council delay their latest report amid their warnings that plans to turn the council around are in the balance.
Council prosecutes firm over jams
Thames Water has been prosecuted by a London borough after creating what the council said were unnecessary traffic jams three times in less than a fortnight.
Councils can issue traffic fines from December
Powers to enforce moving traffic offences will not be extended to local authorities in England outside London until the end of the year, a Department for Transport (DfT) minister has said.
London repairs backlog hits 'staggering' £1bn
The cost of the road maintenance backlog on London’s roads has now passed £1bn, according to the fourth annual ‘State of the City’ report from the London Technical Advisers Group (LoTAG).
Infrastructure services unit sale completes
M Group Services has completed the acquisition of Skanska UK’s infrastructure services operation.
£10bn bill to repair local roads
The estimated one-time cost to get local roads in England and Wales back into a ‘reasonable, steady state’ is £10.24bn, according to a new survey.
BUDGET 2021: Leeds named as site of new infrastructure bank
The new national infrastructure bank will be based in Leeds, chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed alongside other announcements badged under the Government’s levelling up agenda.
BUDGET 2021: New freeport sites confirmed
Chancellor Rishi Sunak closed his Budget speech today with a commitment to eight new freeport sites - international gateways that will enjoy a raft of tax breaks from later this year.
Bristol chooses Arcardis as new strategic partner
Bristol City Council has named Arcadis as its new strategic partner to help the delivery of new infrastructure, homes and regeneration.
Local leaders to race ahead on cutting carbon
Local leaders representing around a third of England and Scotland’s population have vowed to go ‘further and faster’ than government to reduce carbon emissions.
Job losses at council-owned airports group
Council-owned Manchester Airports Group blamed the end of the Government’s furlough scheme as it announced plans for nearly 900 job losses.
Winners of £900m for shovel-ready schemes announced
Ministers have announced the 300 schemes that will receive a share of the £900m Getting Building Fund and confirmed £360m for mayoral combined authorities to fund homes on brownfield land.
Budget 2020: £27bn for national roads and £2.5bn for potholes
Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged an extra £2.5bn for local road maintenance in the Budget.
Fisher moves on up at Amey as Milner departs
Amey has appointed Amanda Fisher as acting CEO after showing the door to incumbent Andy Milner.
Amey environment and utilities businesses to 'go on sale'
Amey is putting its environment and waste and utilities businesses up for sale, according to reports.
Councils help Doncaster after sandbags plea
Councils clubbed together after desperate Doncaster MBC put out an urgent request for 20,000 sandbags amid warnings that communities could become cut off by flooding.
Birmingham seeks £85m interim highways contractor
Birmingham City Council’s highways PFI vehicle has launched a search for a subcontractor to operate and maintain the city’s roads for a 15-month period in a deal worth up to £85m.
Cities slam Government over clean air hold-up
England’s two largest councils have blamed the government for ‘significant’ delays to their plans to introduce charging Clean Air Zones (CAZs) to tackle air pollution.
Councils lose legal bid to halt Heathrow expansion
The High Court has dismissed arguments against Heathrow expansion and found that the Government is free to ignore the Paris agreement on climate action until it forms part of UK law.