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www.nce.co.uk1 31.03-08.04.10 NEWCIVILENGINEER3
CONTENTS 31.03.10-08.04.10
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RECRUITMENT1RuthBristow (020) 7728 5521
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5
NEWS
Consultantscut11,000 jobs
ConsultantsFile revealsthat employeenumbers are in rapid decline.
14
CONSULTANTSAWARDS Winners profiled
Amey and Mott MacDonald on what next after NCE/ACE award win.
19
REGIONAL FOCUS London
Looking at the raft of new projects by engineers reshaping the capital's culturallandscape.
Aiseinthis issue
06 News
Viridor seeks 6%of energy from waste by 2015
07 News
General Electric and Siemens invest in UK wind
11 News
Heath~ow third runway setback
12 Letters
Structures, energy, geotechnical
23 ICELondon Awards Awarding the best in the capital's design
27 ICE
News
Organisations corne together to tackle poverty
Comment
AntonyOliver
"What is really lackingis politiciansas the championswith the convidion and passionto make vital projeds happen"
Whenit comesto success, perceptioniseverything
The cost of "putting infrastructure on the ground" can, according to Infrastructure UK chief exeeutive James Stewart, be up to double the priee raid in the rest of Europe.
Similar comments were made in chancel- lor Alistair Darling's Budget pack last week about the high cost ofUK construction, and we should be in no doubt about the outside world's perception of our performance.
Is it true? Possibly. Does it marrer that the perception exists? Absolutely. We need to do aIl we cali right now to not only boost our efficiency - "deliver more for less" - but also shift the perception toward being highly effective at doing what we do. Given that we are facing some very serious calls from govemment to lop billions off budgets and stall any projects that can't immediately demonstrate value for public spend, percep- tion is everything.
Fortunately there are very few in the in- dustry not aeutely aware of this fact.
~
And clients also now accept that driving this new lower cost, lower carbon agenda will require them to show true leadership. They must help their delivery teams by embracing new techniques, processes and technologies required to make a step change.
Yet while Darling and Stewart are right to fret about the cost ofUK infrastructure, they could do worse than look beyond the activi- ries on the front line of "putting infrastruc- ture on the ground". Speciflcally they should take a long hard look at the amount of rime, money and opportunity being wasted by the UK's dysfunctional planning system.
It is a system that, in short, is holding up investment in low carbon energy tech- nologies, investment in energy from waste technologies, new transport links, new water infrastructure and in port capacity. Potential chancellors were aIl this week arguing over who will eut the most from spending plans.
Yet across the political spectrum they also
all now accept that investment in critical power, waste and transport infrastructure underpins recovery.
So it is ludicrous to hear a client like private waste management giant Viridor talk this week about being prevented from spend- ing flbn - of ils own money - on new energy from waste infrastructure by the planning system and lack of govemment support.
You can argue all you like about the merits of the Infrastructure Planning Commission versus the Conservatives' open sourced plan- ning and local engagement. As so maTIr frus- trated clients will testify, what is really lack- ing is politicians as the champions with the conviction and passion to make vital projects happen. Because, without underplaying the need for big change and new ideas across the supply chain, when it cornes to major public projects, political engagement and commit- ment will be key to efficient delivery.
