News

Scottish housebuilder Springfield Group and construction industry charity Lighthouse Club, have announced a 12-month partnership. Springfield staff, subcontractors and their families will have free access to trained professionals who can support them on subjects ranging from financial to mental health and wellbeing.

RIBA is working with NBS to undertake a Contracts and Law Survey. The UK construction industry is often adversarial, and successful projects rely on clear, timely and proportionate contracting arrangements. As we all face on-going Covid challenges, this is as true now as ever before.

The Royal Academy of Engineering has produced a low-regrets framework to support urgent climate change.

In the 2021 autumn budget, the government announced that £2bn will be used to unlock 1,500 hectares of brownfield land across England to clear derelict land and make way for 160,000 new homes. This includes £300m to unlock smaller brownfield sites, which will provide more opportunities for SME developers.

The Domestic smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: proposals to extend regulations consultation, which launched alongside the social housing white paper in England in November 2020, proposes to extend requirements for alarms in social and privately rented homes through building regulations. All of the proposals were supported by a majority of respondents and are now subject to parliamentary approval.

Data from staff members of 88 UK construction companies found that one in five employees have suffered from bullying in the last year. It also found that bullying was worse for those starting out in the industry, with half of 21- to 24-year-olds being bullied. Non-UK citizens are almost twice as likely to be bullied at work, with 31% of non-UK passport holders falling victim against 18% of UK citizens.

The 2021 consultation set out proposals for comprehensive reform of legislation that contributes to building safety in Wales.

This week (7-13 February) marks the 15th Annual National Apprenticeship Week. CABE is committed to apprenticeships and wants to take the time to celebrate its own apprentices. Building Engineer takes a closer look at what inspired them in the first place.

The Government’s Building Safety Bill proposes significant reforms to the building control profession in England. The Bill will introduce a new framework for the registration and regulatory oversight of the profession, setting new requirements and standards that will apply across both the public and private sector, levelling the playing field for the first time.

The Construction Leadership Council has released guidance for sites operating during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Circulars for Parts L and F and introducing new Parts O and S and updated or new Approved Documents are available.

Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) Kew and the Museum of Architecture (MoA) have launched an international design competition to create three treehouses across RBG Kew’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of a larger Treehouses at Kew exhibition that will run from April to October 2023.

I feel my year in office is flying by; I’m now getting ready to chair the Association’s AGM later this month, where we will discover who will be joining the board in June and who will be the next Vice-president.

UCEM, in collaboration with the Climate Framework, has released a free Energy and Carbon in the Built Environment course. It explores how net-zero carbon can be achieved through optimised building design, sustainable material selections, and efficient construction.

The annual drinking water quality report, published by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), shows drinking water in England and Wales is safe, reliable and meeting the DWI’s stringent high standards. However, it also shows many properties can still be affected by lead pipes, mostly found in older homes, and lead solder, which some plumbers are using illegally.

A group of 12 young professionals from the built environment and construction sector have formed an alliance to make sure the voices of the next generation are heard in creating an inclusive industry that is fit for the future.

As part of a national Compliance Plan for Scotland, this consultation seeks to obtain the views on the development of a new Compliance Plan Manager role within the building standards system which will apply to specific high-risk building (HRB) types, the definition of these HRBs and the level of fines where work is not carried out in accordance with the regulations.

The CIC has urged young construction Industry professionals to share what they would like the industry to look like in 2050. Will Arnold, CIC 2050 Group Chair, says; “The 2050 Group acts as a conduit between current and future leaders of the profession, and we intend to use the survey results to set a vision for our work over the next two years.”

HMRC has announced changes to the aggregates levy. Legislation will be amended to ensure all borrow pit aggregate dug for use in construction will be taxed under the levy. The HMRC will explore the scope to replace specific exemptions from the levy with a general one for aggregate extracted unavoidably as part of a construction project.

NBS’ annual Digital Construction Survey (formally BIM Survey) has revealed that 80% of respondents think adoption of digital technologies is delivering a better-built environment, with 75% agreeing that it offers sustainability benefits.