News

A major housebuilding company has been fined £800,000 following a serious incident in which a 17-year-old apprentice was injured after falling through a collapsed temporary stairwell on a construction site in Weston-super-Mare.

The Terms of Reference for a new Building Control Independent Panel (BCIP) — formally established last week to strengthen oversight, transparency, and public confidence in the building control system across the country — have been published.

Building Engineer reports regularly on industry news at buildingengineer.org.uk. Here’s a round-up of recent articles.

The Association for Specialist Fire Protection has announced it is introducing a new membership category.

The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) is looking for additional End Point Assessors to support the development of apprentice BEMS Controls Engineers.

Almost 1,000 young people aged 11 to 18 from across the UK have entered The Big Bang Competition.

Approximately 6.4 million people are employed in engineering and technology roles across the UK, constituting about 19.3% of the national workforce, a new report has revealed. Yet despite this substantial figure, the sector continues to grapple with significant diversity challenges.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has launched a public consultation on a suite of documents that will directly shape how building engineers assess and report Life-Cycle Global Warming Potential (LC GWP) in construction projects.

The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has been appointed by the UK government to spearhead the development of the next iteration of the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP), the official methodology for assessing the energy performance of homes.

The Structural Timber Association (STA) has released the latest update to the STA Volume 1 Pattern Book: Structural Timber Buildings Fire Safety in Use, which provides information on the performance of different structural timber elements.

The Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) has committed to updating its Code of Considerate Practice to include skin protection as a key assessment criterion.

The 2025 Davidson Prize presents 16 exciting concepts to help solve the UK’s housing crisis.

The Building Centre and the National Retrofit Hub’s exhibition explores the barriers and solutions to retrofitting the built environment.

Aggreko has won the Net Zero Heroes award alongside the other Scottish Business Climate Collaboration (SBCC) members at the CeeD 2025 Awards for contribution to the coalition’s Climate Action Hub.

Northern Ireland’s Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has hosted a roundtable event in Belfast entitled ‘Plan to Improve: Pathway to Progress’. This event brought together organisations from across business, education, public sector, environment, councils and legal professions to encourage open and collaborative dialogue on the planning system.

The National House Building Council (NHBC) has backed the government’s £600m Construction Skills Package. It is also committing £100m to training programmes and encouraging people from all backgrounds to now consider a career in housebuilding.

Trade body the Property Care Association (PCA) has published a consumer guide to help householders with concerns over spray foam insulation installed in their properties.

The condition of Northern Ireland’s listed buildings has significantly deteriorated over the past two decades, according to a recent Department for Communities survey.

Diversitas, the Black Professionals Engagement Group, has launched a new website to champion Black professionals in the construction industry.

The Building a Safer Future author welcomes the launch of the Engineering Council’s competency register for professionally qualified structural and civil engineers this month, which has been developed in response to her report recommendations.