Building safety

Two fire brigade professionals have been appointed to the two main roles at the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), with responsibilities stripped from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Charlie Pugsley comes in as chief executive at the BSR from his current role as assistant commissioner of fire safety at the…

The head of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is considering bringing its multidisicplinary teams (MDTs) of tall-building safety specialists in-house in an attempt to speed up decisions. The move follows growing criticism over backlogs, and this week an investigation by cost consultancy Cast revealed just 10.8 per cent of new…

Head of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) Philip White is to step down from the role in September, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced. White took control of the BSR in December 2023 – just two months after the watchdog took on the responsibility of regulating higher-risk buildings,…

A House of Lords committee has launched an inquiry into the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) amid growing concerns that its approval processes are slowing down the construction of new homes. The Industry and Regulators Committee is seeking evidence on whether the BSR, set up in response to the Grenfell Tower…

A row has erupted between the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and a council over delays to a £120m town centre regeneration scheme. The Stage development in Luton, which will include three residential blocks, has been hit by a failure to get its stage two application approved. It adds to a…

A specialist contractor is expected to begin work as early as September to “carefully” demolish Grenfell Tower, the government has said. In a community update before Saturday’s eighth anniversary of the blaze that killed 72 people, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said it recognised that the…

Housebuilder Crest Nicholson has returned to profitability in the first half of its financial year, after provisions for fire safety remediation triggered a sizeable loss in 2024. In the six months to 30 April this year, the firm generated a pre-tax profit of £9.4m from revenue of £249.5m. This compared…

Ministers have pledged to release details this year of what a single construction regulator could look like. The government said it would publish a prospectus in 2025 to “set out proposals for the design of the single regulator”. The Grenfell Inquiry phase two report called for the creation of a…

A troubled development in Durham that contributed to the collapse of Tolent is still facing delays amid ongoing safety concerns. The £120m Milburngate development was due to open in Durham in 2022 but has suffered repeated delays – including issues with the fire retardant paint used at the site. Problems…

Fixing dangerous cladding on high-rise buildings in Scotland could cost more than £3bn, according to official research. The Scottish Government estimated that more than 1,250 residential towers at least 11 metres tall required work to ‘alleviate external-wall system life-safety fire risk’. Its research said the number of buildings in this…