Blog
Carbon monoxide poisoning has left one woman dead and a man fighting for his life in a block of flats in London. The female, aged 26, was discovered by the fire fighters called to the scene and was pronounced dead at the scene. The man, aged 32, was unconscious when ambulance crews found him. He was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition.
Velux, a manufacturer of roof windows and building materials, has launched a campaign to urge the government to make it mandatory to use of solar thermal technology in all new build projects.
The Bathroom Manufacturers’ Association (BMA) has confirmed that the next Bathroom Conference will take place on October 14th 2008 at the Forest of Arden Hotel, Meriden, Warwickshire. The Bathroom Manufacturers’ Association, which organises the event has chosen sustainability as this year’s focus for the conference.
Lehman Brothers, the world’s fourth largest investment bank has gone bust, Bradford and Bingley was effectively nationalised (not to mention Northern Rock which started it all), Fortis Bank of Belgium was nationalised and the list is far from finished. When the City is in trouble the rest of the economy is likely to follow. It is worrying and we feel the anxiety in every part of our lives.
Corgi has recently marked the 1,000th member for its student membership scheme, reaching the milestone just nine months into the programme.
Ben Wright from Bradford Collage was presented with a prize to celebrate the milestone. It was presented to him by Sam Browne of Corgi and Paul Bickerdale of Parts Center (part of the Wolseley Group, which also owns Plumb Center).
Recent survey of 1,300 plumbers, heating engineers and installers has confirmed that the overall majority of them are happy with the general format of the Approved Certification Scheme (ACS).
By 2009 it is estimated that around 5.7 million households in Britain will be in fuel poverty status. Almost a quarter of the population, most of them on low income will be affected by the increasing cost of heating and energy.
Landlords in the UK are being reminded by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) that it is their responsibility to ensure the property has gas installations that are safe and that have been checked by a competent Corgi registered plumber or heating engineer.
A fault with the council house boiler meant that a family had a Christmas to forget. The boiler broke down on the 23rd of December and the family of five (including a three week old baby) had to spend a cold Christmas without a boiler, without hot water and without a cooker and with a very sour atmosphere.
Centrica, owner of British Gas, estimates that the average cost of heating and electricity will top £1,000 within the next 3-4 years. Ever increasing cost of oil will push the average cost of energy from around £600 per annum to above £1,000.
In addition to the credit crunch and rapidly increasing cost of heating and electricity, the cost of water is likely to rise above inflation, according to draft proposals submitted by the largest UK water companies to the water regulator OFWAT.
The campaign to cut the VAT from 17.5% to 5% has just added a powerful new member. The Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors (APHC) has recently joined the cross-industry ‘Cut the VAT Coalition’.