Opinion

Morton Fraser’s Jonathan Seddon determines the pros and cons of a modular approach to delivering homes compared to traditional building. The use of the pre-fab (or modular) building is by no means a new concept in the UK. Historically, it came to the forefront of construction following the Sec

Dentons UK and Middle East LLP partner Kirsti Olson outlines the details of the case of Dickie & Moore Limited v The Lauren McLeish Discretionary Trust, the use of pupils and the crystallisation of a dispute. The Scottish courts have always taken the view that an adjudicator's decision should be

Shona Glenn, head of policy and research at the Scottish Land Commission, shares her vision for tackling Scotland’s legacy of vacant and derelict land to reduce the negative impact that these sites are having on our urban populations. It’s well known that life expectancy in Scotland is l

Construction Scotland’s Emma Dickson on the importance of building and retaining a diverse skilled workforce.  My desire to work in the construction industry started at an early age. In school, I had an aptitude for maths and enjoyed science, and it was because of this, a teacher suggeste

Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) lawyers Michelle Essen and Lisa Dromgoole outline what the election manifestos have in store for the VAT Reverse Charge, the Apprenticeship Levy and Skills Shortage, and Modern Methods of Construction.  The political parties have published their manifestos

Charlie Drysdale, project development manager, heat and distributed energy at SSE Enterprise, discusses the issue of heat networks, which is a subject central to the Scottish decarbonisation agenda. Scotland has legislated to become a net-zero carbon society by 2045, with an interim target of 7

Gary Logan, chair of the Building Contractor Training Group (BCTG), explains how the training group is addressing the skills shortage, thanks to CITB funding. It’s well understood that the construction industry faces a shortage of skilled workers. To get round this, all industry stakeholders n

Courts can, in appropriate cases, devise a remedy to protect the good faith purchaser in a gratuitous alienation, the Supreme Court has concluded in a case that turned on the meaning of “adequate consideration” in the Insolvency Act 1986 and which has been remitted to the Inner House of

Roddy Cormack, construction law specialist and legal director at Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP, examines P-DfMA (Platform for Design for Manufacture and Assembly) and the general increase in off-site construction, and wonders whether SBCC is keeping up with the curve. P-DfMA is a relatively n

SELECT’s Alan Wilson details how the electrical industry is tackling demographic changes in the Scottish population. Electricity and electrotechnology underpin every aspect of modern Scottish society and the recently highlighted prospect of an erosion of highly technical skills as a result of

Highbridge Properties’ Guy Marsden looks at the Glasgow commercial property market and the increased levels of demand in the market, thanks to the growing pool of talent in the city. As a commercial property developer, my natural instinct whenever I go into a city is to look up – you rea

Kathie Pollard, policy officer at the Scottish Land Commission, explores how a new framework can help decision-makers assess the impact of vacant and derelict land (VDL) sites on their local communities. "This land can have a profound effect on the wellbeing of locals:” Darren McGarvey –

Halliday Fraser Munro design director Yunming Thomson discusses how community involvement in the early stages has transformed how we as architects approach the design of education projects.

With the Scottish Land Commission being asked to advise the Scottish Government on the establishment of regional land use partnerships, chief executive Hamish Trench looks at what the body will need to consider. The Scottish Land Commission is shaping a coherent programme of land reform spanning urb

BDP architect Lindsey Mitchell on the importance of designing education spaces which inspire and provide a year-round community asset. Like many who grew up in the 1980s, school for me was the building where I attended each weekday, was moved along corridors by prefects and herded by teachers into c