Building safety

Seven fire appliances were scrambled to tackle a fire at a Cruden construction site in Glasgow earlier this week. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to the Grange Road project before 3pm on 1 December, and crews left the following day. Edinburgh-based Cruden is delivering a…

Asif Patel is a partner at law firm Devonshires  There is undoubtedly an unassailable moral principle behind the gateway two planning checkpoint, introduced following the 2022 Building Safety Act for buildings classed as ‘higher risk’. But to quote Andy Roe, chair of the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) that oversees these…

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has said a record number of gateway two decisions were reached across all types of applications in October. In its November monthly update, the BSR noted that 272 decisions had been made, bringing the total made since the end of August to 578, with 76…

Councillors are set to vote on a proposal to demolish the oldest residential tower in Edinburgh after its condition deteriorated, putting a £20m price tag on remediating it. A report to the city council’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee has recommended taking down the 1952-built Westfield Court. The mixed-tenure…

JRL Group company Midgard is set to begin construction on a £145m high-rise scheme in central Birmingham, after the project obtained gateway two approval from the Building Safety Regulator. The contractor has been appointed to deliver the 581-home Edition Birmingham, a two-tower residential development next to Centenary Square in the…

Delays securing Building Safety Regulator (BSR) gateway two approval could have a “very significant” impact on the cost of an affordable housing development on the south coast, a report has warned. Brighton and Hove City Council’s cabinet last week approved a budget increase for the 306-home Sackville Road Trading Estate…

Equans has launched legal action against French materials manufacturer Arconic over a north London council block refurbishment job that used the same dangerous cladding later installed on Grenfell Tower. Equans has lodged a £2.73m claim in the High Court alleging the manufacturer knowingly supplied “extremely dangerous” and “inherently defective” cladding…

The Scottish Government has announced the introduction of its new cladding levy will be delayed by a year. The move to place a duty on new residential development was due to be rolled out in April 2027 and is expected to generate £30m a year. However, on Tuesday (18 November),…

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will formally separate from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and become a standalone public body in January 2026, under new legislation. In a statement to the House of Commons, minister for building safety Samantha Dixon said the “important” first steps had begun to eventually…

The council in charge of Grenfell Tower has lifted its contract ban on a construction firm involved in the refurbishment of the building carried out prior to the 2017 tragedy. London-based Artelia Projects UK Ltd was a consultant to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s (RBKC) tenant management authority…