Hot or not

Going up

Hub takes off
Norman Foster’s Thames Estuary masterplan, which proposes an island airport to act as a hub for UK travel, has won over chancellor George Osborne, according to sources who told the FT he had changed from a sceptic to a supporter.

On the rise
Former Mace founder Bob White, who left in 2008, and senior director Ian Eggers, who left in July, have joined with architect Gareth Stapleton to launch a new project and construction management firm called Rise.

Under offer
More than 27 major housebuilders have signed up to the government’s mortgage guarantee scheme, pledging to sign deals with banks to provide 95% mortgages on sales of new homes.

Going down

Priced out
The number of affordable homes that started on site between April and September this year fell to 454 in England, a 97% drop from the same period in 2010, according to statistics from the HCA.

Sparks flying
Trade union Unite has condemned a reported move by Balfour Beatty Engineering Services to cut up 1,300 jobs for skilled electricians and bring in semi-skilled agency labour.

Power failure
The government’s strategy for delivering nuclear energy lacks credibility, says the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee examining UK readiness to build and manage new nuclear power stations.

Quoted

‘The reason that this building will be loved is because it will be accessible, because it is transparent, understandable and not mysterious. It is a public building’
Renzo Piano talks to the Daily Telegraph about the Shard.