It marks the third consecutive month where weekly earnings have remained above £600, with average weekly earnings standing at £601 in February, £602 in January, and £603 in December last year. The last three months have been among the highest levels of weekly earnings on record, and are only marginally below the record high of £605 per week recorded in July 2015. Despite these near-record earnings, more than two-thirds of the public would never consider a career in construction, according to a new survey. The YouGov survey found that more than half of the public view construction work as ‘strenuous’ or ‘dirty’, with just 11 per cent saying it was ‘exciting’. Source link

The programme is part of a bid to regenerate the town centre in the face of rapid population growth, with new suburbs planned at Stanton Cross and Glenvale Park expected to add 15,295 to the town’s population, bring this to 84,000 by 2030. A report by head of local planning Julie Thomas, due to go to the council’s development committee on Monday, said the 23 sites were owned by the council, though those judged to have the best potential for redevelopment are at this stage confidential. Thomas’s report said: “The council does not have all of the in-house expertise or resources to deliver all of these sites, nor would a single method of delivery be appropriate in all cases. “It would be prudent to consider the identification of a development partner from the private sector.” If councillors give the go-ahead, planners will draw up a schedule of sites to be redeveloped over 10 years. The report said regeneration was also needed because Wellingborough’s town centre was “not considered to be a ‘destination shop’, unlike Milton Keynes” and that parts looked “tired and dated”, having seen no major development since the 1970s. Source link

Statnett, Norway’s state owned power system operator, has energised 68 km of Nexans’ coloured conductors on its new overhead transmission line connecting central Norway to western Norway.   The line will secure the supply of power in the region. Nexans’ coloured conductors have been used on 8.5 km of the line that run through a protected nature reserve, allowing the cables to blend in with the environment. Nexans has used a unique surface treatment to manufacture the green coloured aluminium wires. This helped the conductors blend in with the environment, making it more acceptable to local residents. The patented treatment process is able to produce different types of conductors in almost all colours, and in contrast to traditional coatings methods it has no adverse effect on the aluminium wire substrate, the conductors remain easy to connect and the colour will not deteriorate over time due to UV exposure. The coloured conductors have undergone electrical and mechanical tests, and a complete system was assembled with implosive fittings to ensure the conductors will behave as expected. The 420 kV line was constructed to reduce the 8 TWh energy deficit in central Norway by increasing the grid capacity between a region with energy surplus to central Norway. The deficit is equivalent to the annual power consumption of 400,000 single family homes. Statnett’s 297 km line will also facilitate around 100 small hydropower schemes to the grid between Ørskog and Fardal. Steinar Beurling, electromechanical engineer at Statnett said, “We were looking for a solution that would allow us to reduce the energy deficit in central Norway, while maintaining the natural beauty in our country. Nexans provided a solution through its coloured conductors.” Cyprien Federspiel, VP sales & marketing for land high voltage at Nexans added, “Nexans is committed to increasing access to energy. As the only manufacturer with this offering, we are pleased to help Statnett reinforce Norway’s grid.” Source link