Image showing someone holding up a photo frame in front of a trainline and buildings in the background

The UK government has announced bold reforms to streamline housing development, focusing on unlocking untapped land near commuter train stations. The initiative, spearheaded by Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, aims to boost economic growth while addressing the ongoing housing crisis.

This strategy is part of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, set to launch this spring, and is designed to reduce bureaucratic hurdles, create jobs and provide affordable homes in central locations. Keep reading to find out more about the proposals and their potential impact.

A new report shows that local authorities across England and Wales have, in their bank accounts, an estimated £2.8 billion of unused contributions from home builders.

This is money that builders contribute through what’s known as ‘Section 106’ contributions to local authorities as part of the planning agreement, the purpose of which is to fund local services and infrastructure upgrades. Find out more about how these important funds are going unspent in this week’s blog.

Earlier this month, more than 100 UK businesses joined forces with the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) in calling upon the Government to urgently reform the planning system to tackle climate change alongside the UK’s deepening housing crisis.

In their letter to government, the coalition is asking for reforms to the planning system that would bring it in line with the Climate Change and Environment Acts and says the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (currently going through Parliament) could also be a crucial opportunity to align planning decisions with the nation’s net zero emissions target. Find out more in today’s blog.

With all the political news focusing on the UK budget last week, you might have missed some amendments being made to the government’s Levelling Up Bill which will have implications for the construction industry.

Alongside measures that are supposed to help regenerate communities, speed up the delivery of new homes, improve wastewater facilities and give local people a greater say in how their neighbourhood looks, the government have presented what they’re calling BIDEN principles which should be applied to all new developments.

Intrigued as to what this means, we thought we’d find out more and use this week’s blog to explain.

On 6th September, Liz Truss formerly became the UK’s 80th Prime Minister, moving into number 10 Downing Street and no doubt inheriting an in-tray as high as some of London’s skyscrapers!

In her debut speech as PM, Truss talked about her vision for an “aspiration nation” characterised by tax cuts and business-led growth, and talked about three priorities – tackling the energy crisis, supporting the NHS and boosting the economy. Claiming her mission was to “get the UK working, building and growing’, the new Prime Minister gave little detail of how that might come about and interestingly made no references to net zero, nature or climate change.

With the construction industry facing economic challenges around rising costs plus labour and materials shortages alongside environmental challenges around emissions, energy efficiency and waste, industry leaders have been quick to react to the new PM’s appointment. In this week’s blog, we’re sharing what some had to say.

Across the world, people from all continents are witnessing the destructive effects of climate change – droughts, floods, wildfires, extended heatwaves. storms and crop failures.

When you consider this, alongside the rocketing increases in energy prices that’s causing many households and businesses to struggle with their bills, it’s clear that reducing the amount of energy we all use is now urgent – for both our planet and our purses.

One solution that we’re hearing mentioned more frequently within the construction world is the ‘Fabric First’ approach – changes that can be made when considering the design, construction and ‘fabric’ of a building to ensure it becomes energy efficient. In this week’s blog, we’ll tell you more.

If you’re thinking of getting into property development, making significant structural alterations to your home or embarking on a ‘build your own home’ project, you’ll need to obtain planning permission before setting a single brick in place.

Whilst some projects may sail through to that sought-after ‘planning approved’ status, others will face a long, drawn-out and complicated process. This can be especially true with large-scale projects like new residential or commercial unit developments but even an extension to your house can sometimes take longer than you may think.

In this week’ blog, we’ve got a short guide to the steps involved in gaining planning permission and a few tips to follow along the way.

For any construction project, the position of Site Manager (sometimes referred to as Project Manager) is one of the most important. Whoever takes on this role must oversee the day-to-day management of on-site operations from start to finish (including pre-planning) and ensure all tasks are carried out with a focus on three key things – meeting timescales, keeping within budget and performing to the expected quality standards.

There’s no doubting that being a Site Manager is challenging but, as with many job roles, when some thought and time is given to being more effective, things can become easier and more enjoyable. If you’re wondering how to do this, read our blog for our top five tips.

Mistakes can be made at any phase of a construction project. Some may be minor but others can have serious consequences, affecting costs, schedules and, of course, the health and safety of workers. When the stakes are this high, it’s important that any mistakes lead to lessons being learnt, but it’s even more important that they are avoided in the first place. With that in mind, here’s our short guide to avoiding some of the common pitfalls in construction; in other words what NOT to do!

“The most radical reforms to our planning system since the Second World War, making it easier to build better homes where people want to live.” This is what the UK government claimed when, earlier this month, it announced details of its proposed changes to Britain’s seven-decades old planning system. The changes, which are due to…

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