Building safety

Rydon Group Holdings has failed in a High Court challenge to a decision to designate it as unfit to undertake cladding work on three London tower blocks. The firm applied to the court for permission to judicially review a decision by the secretary of state in February 2024 to bar…

More than 95 per cent of housing projects expected to start in London last year failed to do so amid regulatory turmoil, the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) has said.  Lorna Stimpson, chief executive of LABC, said “there is no doubt” that delays with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) approving…

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) runs the risk of “losing the complete confidence” of the building sector if it fails to significantly cut the building safety backlog this year, according to its chair. Andy Roe, appointed to the role in June, told MPs that it was “absolutely achievable” for the…

Project delays caused by the Building Safety Act are easing, helping lift tendering activity in the UK construction sector, during the second quarter of 2025, according to a new report. Tender workloads increased by 2 per cent between the first and second quarters of this year, and by 3.2 per…

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has launched an investigation into a student block in Staffordshire over a suspected breach of building regulations. Deakin’s Yard – a 273-room high-rise student accommodation owned by developer Integritas Property Group – was due to open in time for September’s intake. But the BSR has…

More than 150 internal doors are being replaced at England’s first, newly opened secure school after the discovery of design issues. The £26m Oasis Restore, a state-of-the-art children’s facility in Rochester, Kent, has been hailed by the organisation itself as “the biggest move forward in youth justice in living memory”.…

A review of building control risks straying from the remit outlined in the Grenfell Inquiry’s recommendations, an expert has warned. Geoff Wilkinson, managing director of Wilkinson Construction Consultants, raised his concerns about questions included in a call for evidence issued by the Building Control Independent Panel last month. The panel…

Bellway has launched a legal action against Ardmore, as it chases a £4.7m payment that it was awarded at an adjudication. The FTSE 250 housebuilder entered into an adjudication process with main contractor Ardmore following the discovery of alleged fire-safety defects, including combustible insulation, non-compliant cladding and insufficient cavity barriers,…

A housebuilder owned by a US investment firm is set to defer its payments to a government remediation fund amid heavy annual losses and a restructuring of its debt. Avant Homes, which is backed by Elliott Advisors, an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management, and is led by former Persimmon boss…

The government hopes to legislate to shift the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) away from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) by the end of the year, but the move will only be the start of a process that could take years, it has been claimed. HSE chief executive Sarah Albon…