Building safety

An insulation firm has launched a judicial review of the decision by Grenfell Tower’s council to ban it from future projects. Siderise Insulation Ltd, which manufactured some of the cavity barriers used on Grenfell Tower’s refurbishment in 2015-16, was banned from future work in the Royal Borough of Kensington and…

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will lead on fire safety issues in a post-Grenfell overhaul,  Sir Keir Starmer has said.  The prime minister confirmed yesterday (13 February) that “responsibility for fire” from 1 April will be given to housing secretary Angela Rayner within the MHCLG, which…

A housing association is planning to demolish a housing block, after ISG’s collapse into administration stymied an attempted £4m claim over alleged defects. At the time of ISG’s demise, Elim Housing Association had been pursuing ISG Pearce in the claim relating to Bouverie Court, a 21-home site in Bristol. But…

The government is set to ramp up its post-Grenfell cladding replacement drive by creating a dedicated watchdog and enforcement unit. Building safety minister Alex Norris revealed that officials were keen to create a Remediation Enforcement Unit. Answering a written question in Parliament last Friday (7 February), he said this team…

The government is seeking a construction chief to lead delivery of a memorial on the site of the fire-damaged Grenfell Tower. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has advertised a project manager role for the sensitive West London scheme. Plans to take down the tower were confirmed…

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has acknowledged there are “teething troubles” with its regulation of building work, but added that “a very large proportion of cases” fail to comply at first.  When the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) took over building control of higher-risk building projects in April 2024, it…

Families of the 72 people who died in the Grenfell Tower fire have hit back at plans to demolish the building, accusing the government of ignoring their views. The 24-storey tower in west London has remained standing since June 2017, when it was the site of the deadliest residential fire…

Housing associations have been forced to slash their new-build plans because of gaps in Building Safety Fund (BSF) coverage. A leading housing sector executive warned a House of Commons committee yesterday that “explicitly excluding” social tenants from the BSF has had a “catastrophic” impact on social housing targets in London…

A hospital in Yorkshire needs investment of close to half a billion pounds to make it fit for the future, MPs have heard. Doncaster Royal Infirmary has a litany of “critical infrastructure risks and safety concerns” and its bill for improvement has now reached £478m, one of the city’s MPs…

Charis Beverton is a partner at law firm Winckworth Sherwood Since last summer’s general election, development conversations have centred around Labour’s target of building 1.5 million homes over the next five years. In December, we heard the prime minister again double down on that pledge as part of the government’s…