Construction

Planning permission website Planning Portal – through which 97% of planning applications in England are submitted – has announced an update to its online platform to take account of forthcoming increases to planning fees (to take effect from April 2025).

We all know where good intentions can lead, but what happens when energy-efficient retrofit solutions are undone by human behaviour, asks Matt Lamy?

Heat pumps are playing an increasingly important role in both new build and retrofit sectors – Charlotte Lee, Chief Executive of the Heat Pump Association (HPA), demystifies a few things.

Few projects are likely to face as much scrutiny as the retrofit of a national retrofit centre, and Gavin Johnston of BE-ST is counting on it.

Collaborative reporting for safer structures. Report 1344: Collapse of concrete canopy over house entrance

Empty and underperforming buildings throughout the UK are untapped economic and social assets, and Don’t Waste Buildings has decided it is time to get serious about their reuse.

Leeds Beckett University, the University of Salford and Loughborough University have been leading research into retrofitting best practice on tricky old housing stock.

Jake Dowling, Head of Decarbonisation at Seddon Property Services, considers the cost of doing nothing about retrofit skills

A National Audit Office (NAO) report has estimated that the government’s maintenance backlog is at least £49bn.

In January, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced her plans to speed up the planning process and unlock “untapped” land near commuter train stations in a bid to build more homes for “working people”.

Denise Chevin explores the children’s hospital that is revisiting what we consider to be a healing environment.

We speak to Phil Eves, Social Value Manager at BAM, about how businesses can help young people fill the construction industry’s skills gap. 

The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has opened entries for this year’s CPA Stars of the Future Awards for the most promising apprentices and trainees in the construction plant industry who, in the eyes of their employers and colleagues, are likely to become tomorrow’s leaders of the sector.

Amey’s Craig McGilvray says ESG can create better outcomes for the industry and the communities it serves.

Why has Shanghai created hills in the city as part of a mega-project for locals, asks Matt Lamy?

Open Doors 2025, from Build UK in partnership with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and CSCS, is returning on 17-22 March.

Much has been made of the building safety changes in England – notably the establishing of the BSR and the BSA and the regulation of building control – but what about the devolved nations, asks Peter Crush?

The Construction Products Regulation (CPR 2024) updates the existing EU rules in this area, providing an opportunity to adapt standardisation to new technical developments.

The London Borough of Haringey is bucking the trend by building more than 700 new council homes, with aims for 3,000 homes by 2031 and more than 2,000 already underway or completed.

A partnership finds solutions for a complex excavation at a new housing development in North Yorkshire.