Building safety

More than half of submitted applications for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) lack the “basic information” showing they meet requirements, according to regulator chiefs. From tomorrow (6 April), the new building safety regime means that all new residential schemes above 18 metres in height must pass the Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR’s) “gateway…

Less than two-thirds of the expected number of building inspectors had applied for new competence certification when the government extended the deadline in March. Last July, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said that 4,500 building-control professionals would need to be certified by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) by 6…

Introducing second staircases to new high-rise housing towers will cost the industry £2.7bn over the next decade, official analysis has shown. The government last week published official guidance encouraging inclusion of a second means of escape from blocks of flats taller than 18 metres. Documents released alongside this verdict revealed…

A 59-year-old man has been jailed for eight months after overseeing the illegal removal of 10 tonnes of asbestos-containing material from a building during a student accommodation project in Hampshire. Cavendish Winchester director Stephen Davies was handed the prison sentence at Southampton Crown Court following an investigation by the Health…

The government has published its official guidance encouraging the inclusion of second staircases in blocks of flats taller than 18 metres – plus advice on adding evacuation lifts. Some contractors paused work on high-rise schemes when the government announced its intention to consult on how to improve fire safety by…

Half of construction-industry professionals are unclear on the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) gateway system, with only one in 10 having a plan for storing building information, according to a new survey. Half of around 500 respondents to a survey carried out by specification information provider NBS said they were “not…

The government has announced funding for more than 850 projects to keep school buildings safe. The Department for Education published details of £424m awarded through the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF). More than 2,000 schools applied for grants through the scheme, with just over a third successful. Data tables showed that…

Thousands of homes in London have stalled construction amid uncertainty over the technical requirements of forthcoming second-staircase regulations, London mayor Sadiq Khan has claimed. Khan told the London Assembly he was aware that around 38,000 homes had been delayed as developers grapple with the new fire-safety regulation, although he believes…

Construction work on some high-rise residential schemes could grind to a halt because last week’s extension to the building-control registration deadline does not apply to private company certification, Construction News has discovered. Despite the deadline extension for individual inspectors to register with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), the original 6 April…

Crest Nicholson has announced it will spend about £15m to resolve defects on new-build sites. In a trading update published yesterday (19 March), the housebuilder said that since last November it has become aware of the need to remediate faults on four sites completed before 2019. The board appointed third-party…