OPTIMISM WITH CHALLENGES FOR CONSTRUCTION

More action needs to be taken to create certainty and boost confidence for construction firms, according to one of the region’s leading business advisors to the sector.

The call comes as new construction sector data shows fresh optimism among construction firms, but with challenges around cashflow and financial performance remaining due to issues such as high interest rates and ongoing delays in getting projects on site.

Joe Sullivan, partner and construction and real estate lead at MHA Moore and Smalley, said:

“The rise in the recent construction PMI data is positive news and a sign that confidence is rising among construction companies.

“However, the PMI data remains below 50.0 as the industry continues to battle with challenges on multiple fronts. Although the drop in inflation is helping with input costs, interest rates remain stubbornly high, and the further announced increase in minimum wage in April, coupled with the ongoing shortage of labour in some regions will continue to bite in the short-term.”

Joe believes next month’s spring budget provides an ideal opportunity for the government to announce a medium to long-term commitment for the sector on both investment and planning, but expects any announcements to be short-term focussed.

He added:

“Some quick wins would be to supplement existing support making entry-level housing more accessible, building on changes to permitted developments, and making it cheaper to repurpose non-residential buildings. All would help to give the sector some confidence.

“For the last few months, our commercial clients have been telling us that pipelines are very healthy, but work keeps getting deferred, presenting significant problems for cash flow and the overall financial health of those who are impacted throughout the supply chain. However, all could be set to change as customer demand returns.

“This encouraging news highlights that the construction industry is on the way up following a number of months in the doldrums. An improvement in the background economic conditions will engender confidence and the situation could improve further towards the middle of the year.”

Source: Lancashire Business Post

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CBI Warns Government, Look to Private Investment or Miss Out

The UK will “miss out” on economic growth unless it finally comes up with an industrial strategy to green the economy, the leading business group has warned.

As the UK economy has stagnated in recent years, the value of green industries like renewables, eco-friendly heating and energy storage is growing and will help unlock further cash for the UK, according to economists at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

They found that while Britain’s GDP growth was stuck at around 0.1% last year, its net zero economy grew by 9%, and attracted billions of pounds in private investment.

It argues private investment is key to unlocking growth.

The UK has committed to reaching net zero by 2050, but the report comes after Labour rowed back on its £28bn green investment pledge, and the Conservatives waged a rhetorical attack on climate policies.

Net zero means almost eliminating greenhouse gas emissions and requires changes to almost every sector, from food to housing, transport to construction.

The businesses implementing these changes – including solar panel installers and green finance advisers – added £74bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2022-23, which is larger than the economy of Wales (£66 billion), according to the CBI Economics report.

But analysts at CBI Economics and thinktank ECIU, which commissioned the report, warned “the strength of future growth is in jeopardy”.

Unless the UK draws up a “Net Zero Investment Plan”, it will lose out to places with larger economies with clear plans, like the US And EU, it said.

Louise Hellem, CBI chief economist, said:

“Green growth prizes could deliver a boost of up to £57bn to GDP by 2030, but global competition is heating up.

She added: “If we can’t outspend our international competitors, we need to outsmart them. And the way to do that is really through ambitious policy frameworks that can direct capital into the UK’s green industries.”

Ms Hellem said the UK economy is “well-placed to be a world leader in this space”, given its “unique blend of advanced manufacturing capacity, world leading services industry and energy technical skills”.”That means that investors do really see opportunities in the UK market.”

‘Real danger’ UK will miss out

Getting to net zero is likely to cost about £10bn a year until 2050, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, which is roughly equivalent to the annual defence budget, though the majority of the cost is likely to be recouped in savings.

Many technologies that scientists believe are essential to the net zero transition remain extremely expensive, such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.

Adam Berman, deputy director of advocacy at industry group Energy UK, said public investment can “de-risk” these technologies and “crowd in” private sector cash, that can then bring down the price.

Jess Ralston from energy thinktank ECIU, said:

“The UK is in real danger of missing out on more investment from negative rhetoric and U-turns around net zero, when the EU and US are offering clear plans and are willing to invest themselves.

“Investors want certainty and that comes from long term stable policy – whoever forms the next government will have to remember that, if it wants to see the net zero economy continue to grow.”

Net zero means almost eliminating greenhouse gas emissions and requires changes to almost every sector, from food to housing, transport to construction.

The businesses implementing these changes – including solar panel installers and green finance advisers – added £74bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2022-23, which is larger than the economy of Wales (£66 billion), according to the CBI Economics report.

 

Source: Sky News

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From Rice Husks to Concrete

A concrete component made of recycled aggregates and rice husk ash, with rice straw insulation (Credit: Fraunhofer WKI)

 

High-performance building materials made of building rubble and plant waste could make the construction industry more sustainable, their creators have said.

Also offering a way to speed up reconstruction in war-hit countries such as Ukraine, the materials were developed as part of the ReMatBuilt project at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research in Braunschweig, Germany.

The building sector is one of the world’s largest consumers of natural resources, but also produces huge amounts of waste that needs to be recycled. This was the starting point for Professor Libo Yan and his team, which created the materials from demolition waste and plant production residue with partners in Germany and China.

The team used concrete and masonry waste, as well as agricultural waste, to produce recycled concrete. Components were reinforced with plant-based natural fibres such as flax and supplemented with wood chips from forestry waste.

Ash from burnt rice husks was used as a “more than adequate” cement substitute, said Professor Yan, offering a way to avoid high carbon dioxide emissions from conventional materials.

“The idea of recycling construction materials and experimenting with alternative materials from nature is not new. What makes our project unique is its holistic approach,” Professor Yan said.

“We combine our knowledge of the methods and properties of the different materials in order to understand their chemical, physical and mechanical performance from the micro- to the macro-scale. This allows us to achieve a very high technology readiness level, which is an important aspect for practical application.”

The team is also developing insulating materials made of plant-based waste products such as sawdust, rice and wheat straws, instead of crude oil-based plastic, mineral and glass wool, or wood fibres. The new sustainable insulation boards can connect to the finished concrete components to form insulated walls.

The researchers also designed composite systems that allow recycled concrete, combined with laminated veneer and cross-laminated lumber, to be used as timber-concrete composite floor slabs. The hybrid construction elements reportedly have “impressive” mechanical and heat protection characteristics.

By using waste materials in a sustainable new way, the products could have “immense potential” in warzones, the Fraunhofer announcement said.

“Our work has the potential to make a significant contribution to the reconstruction of Ukraine,” said Professor Yan. “The country is also rich in natural resources and one of the world’s largest exporters of agricultural raw materials, such as grains – wheat, corn and rice.”

He added: “We are currently working hard on putting our results into application. With local industrial partners, we can significantly help the people in Ukraine to reconstruct their country quickly, economically and sustainably. We can do this with recycled concrete components and corresponding insulation made of natural materials that are all abundantly available on location.”

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the National Bioeconomy Strategy.

Source: Institute of Mechanical Engineers

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Government withdraws from ‘Energy Charter Treaty’

The UK is pulling out of a treaty that lets fossil fuel giants sue governments over their climate policies.

The Government said the UK was withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty after efforts to modernise it ended in stalemate.

The controversial treaty was established in the 1990s when the world energy system was heavily dominated by fossil fuels and enables foreign companies to challenge energy policies that threaten their investments, using secretive arbitration courts.

It was originally designed to encourage international energy investment but a number of countries have faced costly legal challenges over reducing their reliance on fossil fuels and boosting renewables.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said efforts to modernise the treaty to better support cleaner technologies had led to stalemate among European countries.

The UK has joined France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands in withdrawing from the agreement.

Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Graham Stuart said:

 ”The Energy Charter Treaty is outdated and in urgent need of reform but talks have stalled and sensible renewal looks increasingly unlikely.

“Remaining a member would not support our transition to cleaner, cheaper energy, and could even penalise us for our world-leading efforts to deliver net zero.

“With £30 billion invested in the energy sector just since September, we continue to lead the world in cutting emissions, attracting international investment and providing the strongest legal protections for those who invest here.”

Shaun Spiers, executive director of environmental think tank Green Alliance, said:

“Civil society organisations and parliamentarians from all political parties have been clear that the Energy Charter Treaty is an out-of-date agreement and undermines our efforts to tackle climate change.

“We welcome the UK’s decision to leave, which will strengthen global efforts to roll out cheap, clean renewable energy.”

Shadow climate minister Kerry McCarthy said:

“We are in an urgent global fight against the climate emergency.

“We cannot allow fossil fuel companies to stop democratically elected governments from taking strong climate action.

“Labour has long argued that the Energy Charter Treaty is clearly outdated and not fit for purpose – it is good that the Government have finally taken the step to leave it.”

Source: The Border Telegraph

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The Advance of AI in Construction

By Mark Schwartz is the Senior Vice President of Construction Enterprise Solutions at Trimble.

 

More than a year after the launch of ChatGPT, artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere, and its use is being explored across industries—including within typically technologically averse sectors like construction.

Far from being nervous about its applications, many contractors are embracing AI innovations, particularly given their potential to transform end-to-end workflows. From design and construction to operations and maintenance, AI is unlocking efficiencies and helping solve the labor shortage by automating repetitive tasks. It’s optimizing projects and enabling them to be built more sustainably, and it’s streamlining the supply chain—facilitating better relationships between contractors and project owners through enhanced predictability.

While AI used to only be within the domain of large companies due to high upfront costs, the democratization of technology mixed with the sheer number of companies working on developing new AI initiatives has made the costs dramatically decrease. Now, small and medium contractors can more easily afford to experiment with AI, making it much more accessible and impactful.

As we look ahead in 2024, below are a few ways that AI has already begun to make inroads in construction along with projections of how it will continue to positively impact the industry in the years to come.

Helping Solve The Labor Shortage

For the past decade or more, the labor shortage has been particularly acute in the construction industry, leading contractors to look for new solutions. This is one area in which AI has proved particularly helpful, as it can automate repetitive tasks while also reducing the human errors that naturally occur with things like data entry.

Now, instead of a human manually inputting information, data can be quickly scanned and exported into a format that’s usable for multiple stakeholders. This is helpful for repetitive tasks associated with invoicing, order tracking, credit collections or reconciliations—freeing accounts receivable and accounts payable personnel to focus on more important, strategic initiatives.

AI is also helping to solve the labor shortage when it comes to design, as it’s being used to harness and leverage data more efficiently—enabling designers to iterate faster and facilitate better decision-making. For example, architects can now leverage AI to quickly generate conceptual images and photorealistic visualizations of 3D models. This helps inspire the creative process, communicate their vision and build alignment faster.

When it comes to the actual constructibility of designs, AI is also working to automate repetitive actions for things like rebar detailing, which is less generative and more predictive. For example, AI can now suggest specific rebar layouts based on what a detailer has done previously, streamlining the design process. While this doesn’t mean AI is building the actual building, it’s being incorporated into various processes to simplify workflows and reduce overall decision-making and workload.

By augmenting the human experience, AI enables work to be done more efficiently and accurately, with manual checkpoints woven in to ensure the data is accurate. Because the data going out is only as good as the data being used to train the machine learning models that power AI, clean data and manual checkpoints overseen by a real person are imperative to the industry’s trust in AI systems and their success overall.

Enhancing Sustainability

Construction is a major emitter of embodied carbon, causing many contractors and asset owners to look for new ways to mitigate their impact on the environment. This includes a concerted effort to reduce the carbon emissions associated with materials and construction processes throughout the lifecycle of a building. AI can enable contractors to become efficient and productive, which naturally translates to greater environmental benefits.

One example involves the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which was looking to improve wall insulation across a large number of residential buildings. Instead of creating customized cladding panels for every vent, door and window, the walls were scanned using 3D laser scanning. AI was then used to extract the facade components from the data, and the dimensions were sent to panel manufacturers who produced them off-site. Without AI, the cost of delivering this project at scale wouldn’t have been feasible.

Making The Supply Chain More Efficient And Effective

Amid market volatility and economic uncertainty, companies are also turning to AI to more accurately connect and orchestrate their supply chains. Doing so can improve efficiency and productivity while also creating a better customer experience.

Twenty years ago, many supply chain decisions for retail were based on “tribal knowledge.” The sales manager guessed which goods people were going to buy, the logistics manager guessed the capacity needed to deliver goods to the customer, and the supplier guessed what demand would be in the coming months and tried to prepare accordingly. Careers were built off this methodology, which came with both successes and failures.

Today’s supply chains are much more accurate because they’re digitally interconnected, helping to take the guesswork out. From a construction perspective, this comes into play because contractors are often either storing supplies or waiting for supplies, which can lead to delays and cost overruns.

AI optimizes the supply chain by connecting the entire ecosystem and extrapolating data from it, helping more accurately predict when materials will be available. This can help keep projects on track, improving productivity and strengthening the contractor-to-project owner relationship by providing a sense of predictability.

As we’ve been hearing across the media landscape, AI is here to stay. While most people are aware of the digital-first uses of AI for things like ChatGPT and NFL analytics, AI has and will continue to transform traditional industries like construction as well.

However, the stakes are much higher, and the impact could be even greater as AI is used to change the nature of the physical world. This includes helping everyone from architects and designers to contractors and project owners more efficiently build and maintain our most important assets—from the homes we live in to the buildings we work and play in every day.

 

Source: Forbes

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New Offsite Construction Week Unveiled

 

Offering unrivalled access to leading industry pioneers, demonstrators, dynamic factory tours, thought provoking roundtable discussions and CPD accredited masterclasses – a collective of industry bodies are collaborating to deliver Offsite Construction Week. Taking place from 16-20 September 2024, Offsite Construction Week will revolve around three major industry events – Offsite Expo, the Offsite Summit and Offsite Awards, with a wide range of parallel activities taking place in the UK and overseas via a coordinated programme of offsite activity.

 

Unilateral Support

Offsite Construction Week is the brainchild of industry associations operating across the sector. Presenting a unique proposition, trade bodies, industry alliances and material groups including BUILDOFFSITE, Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), Light Steel Frame Association (LSFA), Modular and Portable Building Association (MPBA), Steel Construction Institute (SCI), Structural Timber Association (STA), Offsite Alliance, Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) and others have come together to curate the most comprehensive series of offsite events the UK has ever seen.

 

Offsite Expo – The Main Event

Offsite Expo 2024 will be taking centre stage during Offsite Construction Week. Bringing together the sector’s big hitters in one easy to reach central UK location, the event will take place at the Coventry Building Society Arena on 17 and 18 September. As the first and foremost event of its kind, Offsite Expo is now established as the most technically advanced exhibition in the construction calendar. With a new international focus, it will be two days packed full of the latest technical innovations, ground-breaking manufacturing technology and digital ingenuity.

 

Offsite Summit

Bringing an international focus to Offsite Expo and being held in association with BUILDOFFSITE – the Offsite Summit sees the coming together of those making waves in offsite technology from across the globe. Delegates will have the opportunity to gain insight from those achieving worldwide recognition as the Offsite Summit showcases international innovation and best practice from across Europe and beyond including the USA and Australia.

 

Offsite Awards

In 2024 the Offsite Awards celebrate the 10th anniversary by awarding a special accolade for the Offsite Project of the Decade. Taking place alongside Offsite Expo on the evening of 17 September 2024, the Offsite Awards celebrate projects with technical innovation and project performance that is world-beating. Rewarding excellence in precision building design and delivery, by recognising outstanding examples of prefabrication, factory-based methods and advanced delivery techniques, these awards offer a promotional platform to those who are leading the way in developing a safer and more sustainable built environment.

 

CPD Accredited Seminars

One of the reasons Offsite Expo has experienced incremental growth year-on-year is the quality of the speaker programme. Helping fulfil CPD obligations, the Offsite Masterclasses and Spotlight on Offsite Sessions support the development of new skills and specialisms. Curated by leading offsite experts, the free to access programmes provide a comprehensive and balanced perspective on this rapidly emerging sector from a host of renowned architects, engineers and offsite manufacturing pioneers.

 

If you would like to host an event of your own during Offsite Construction Week, then get in touch with the organisers: info@offsiteconstructionweek.co.uk and become a partner. Events can be product launches, factory or site study tours, roundtables, webinars, podcasts or drinks reception activities – just as long as you are talking about offsite technology!

 

To keep up to date with developments visit: www.offsiteconstructionweek.co.uk

 

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Construction Underway on Vienna Airport’s €420m terminal expansion

Vienna Airport in Austria has broken ground on its €420m (US$450m) Southern Terminal Expansion project, with the expanded terminal scheduled to commence operations in 2027.

The ARGE Porr/Elin/Ortner consortium will carry out the construction work. Vienna Airport’s 70,000m² Southern Terminal Expansion will enlarge its shopping and retail space by 50% to 30,000m². This area will feature 30 more retail and food and beverage outlets with Austrian and international premium brands and leisure areas.

For the shopping and restaurant area, tenant acquisition efforts have started and are being implemented with digital support. In a virtual 3D tour, interested parties can explore the building’s interior areas and possible commercial space, take a closer look at passenger flows and leisure areas, and get a realistic impression of the entire terminal environment.

Alongside the enlarged retail and restaurant area, the project will create 6,000m² of new and exclusive lounges including a 4,000m² Austrian Airlines lounge and a 2,000m² Vienna Airport lounge, the latter designed in the style of the “Vienna Lounge” and characterized by elements, colors and textures of the Viennese Art Nouveau and Austrian and Viennese culture. According to the airport, passengers will not be confronted with a “sterile terminal building but a modern, high-quality and exclusive terminal environment with charm and a local flavor linking passengers to the destination of Vienna”.

Additionally, 18 bus gates will enable transfer connections between the F, G, C and D gates – 10 for Schengen departures and eight for non-Schengen departures. A security checkpoint will also be added.

Sustainable technology solutions will be integrated alongside thermal insulation and an insulating façade. The intelligent building control system will include ventilation facilities with free cooling and the terminal’s electricity supply will be partly derived from the airport’s photovoltaic facilities, which will provide about 50,000,000kWh of electricity annually starting in 2024.

Construction of the terminal building will be based on the use of digital technologies. The entire building has been fully digitally recorded and virtually mapped out in the Building Information Modelling (BIM) system to reflect construction plans. The building’s digital twin shows the walls, stairways, elevator shafts, as well as all the wiring and connections required in the future for the energy supply, building services and IT in the building.

Preparation work for the construction project has been underway since July 2023. The construction site was cleared, the outer facade of Terminal 3 in the connection area was demolished, cable trays were laid and shaft structures were built. Next, the intensive construction phase will begin. As of February 2024, civil engineering work is in full swing, using more than 900 bored piles, and the foundation is being built. Following this, construction of the six-story building will start, followed by the interior fittings and installation of the building technology system.

Julian Jäger, joint member of the management board of Flughafen Wien, said,

“Our airport is growing, passenger volume is increasing, and we are continuously among the best globally in terms of our service quality. Now we are also upgrading our terminal infrastructure to be top-notch internationally. Thanks to the new Southern Expansion project, we are laying the groundwork for Vienna Airport to join the ranks of the top airports and achieve 5-star status.

“In the future, our passengers will experience a substantial improvement in the quality of their stay in a new terminal environment thanks to a considerable enlargement of the shopping and restaurant offerings featuring renowned Austrian and international premium brands. There will be new and exclusive lounges, large and comfortable leisure areas, new centralized and state-of-the-art security controls, and better transfer connections for transfer passengers between all terminal areas.

“All of this will take place in an exclusive and high-quality terminal environment making Austrian and Viennese elegance perceptible and palpable in a charming way. The Southern Expansion enables us to set new benchmarks in quality and ensure a comfortable stay. This project is yet another airport development milestone following the record results achieved in 2019 and the second highest passenger volume in the airport’s history in 2023.”

Günther Ofner, joint member of the management board of Flughafen Wien, the board member responsible for overseeing construction, said,

“The Southern Expansion is a key project within the context of our quality and investment drive over the coming years. After extensive preparation work, the intensive construction phase for the €420m [US$450m] project will now begin. It will be fully financed from our future cash flows, without the need for any loans.

“Our construction management was completely reorganized in 2012. Since then, it has successfully demonstrated its construction competence within the context of numerous large projects, all of which were finished on time and on budget. When it comes to planning and project management, we rely on our high level of competence in leveraging digitalization and Building Information Modelling (BIM). In this way, we can not only monitor the construction process on a daily basis, but also ensure adherence to costs and the planned timetable. Completion is scheduled for 2027.”

Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Governor of Lower Austria, commented,

“Vienna International Airport is on a growth path. With this project, it is taking important steps to ensure the future development of the airport hub and the entire region. The airport is not only a crucial transport hub for Austria but also the largest employer in the Eastern Region and an essential flagship company for the entire federal state of Lower Austria. Thanks to investments in its terminal infrastructure, Vienna International Airport in Schwechat is strengthening its role as the gateway to the world for the Lower Austrian business, tourism and cultural landscape.”

Source: Passenger Terminology Today

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Big Three Calls for Stamp Duty Cuts

Three of Britain’s biggest housebuilders, including Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and The Berkley Group, have each called upon Jeremy Hunt to reform stamp duty ahead of the Spring Budget on March 6th. Pressures ranging from the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, record interest rates and crippling deposit requirements have continued to weaken the UK’s housing market, dissuading would-be first-time buyers from making that big purchase amidst what many are calling a crisis of affordability. A cut to the rate of stamp duty for lower-priced properties and a reduced levy for sellers over the age of 60 looking to downsize would purportedly encourage market activity and rejuvenate a market that’s long been at a standstill. According to David Hannah, Group Chairman of Cornerstone Tax, the UK’s leading property tax consultancy, the chancellor should use the Spring Budget as an opportunity to overhaul the current SDLT regime and reform the current ‘outdated’ thresholds in a bid to reinvigorate the market from the bottom-up.  

Ahead of the Spring Budget, MPs have urged the chancellor to prioritise SDLT reform as a means to generate new incentives within the market. One such proposal includes a prospective stamp duty cut for energy efficient homes, whilst others echo a report sponsored by Lords Mandelson and Heseltine which asserts that elderly homeowners should be exempt from stamp duty outright in a bid to encourage top-down movement via downsizing. All the whole, SDLT revenue has taken a significant hit in recent months as transaction numbers continue to fall year-on-year.

According to David Hannah, one easy fix for policymakers would be to reassess the current thresholds for stamp duty payment, homes that are valued at £250,000 or less are currently exempt, with a 5% levy charged on any valuation between £250,000 and £675,000. However, with the current price of a UK home standing at almost £290,000, it’s clear that SDLT payment bands are long overdue an overhaul. This problem is exacerbated in the capital, particularly amongst first-time buyers as the increased £450,000 threshold continues to decouple from the rising cost of starter homes, with prices leaping by over a fifth in just five years across certain boroughs, according to the Land Registry’s data. Index-linking payment thresholds to house-price inflation would, according to David Hannah, have the knock-on effect of encouraging those looking to move-up the housing ladder to sell their lower-end properties, stimulating demand amongst an overcrowded demographic and generating momentum within Britain’s frozen housing market.

David Hannah, Group Chairman of Cornerstone Tax, comments:

“SDLT payment bands have long been due for an overhaul as they have never been index-linked to house price inflation. An increase to these thresholds would stimulate market activity as the lower end of the property market and allow first-time buyers to reduce the amount they need to borrow, thus improving their affordability calculations.

“As we all know, a rising tide lifts all boats, those looking to purchase properties on the mid-to-high end of the market will now have a chance to sell their low end properties as a result of the increased demand from perspective buyers, contributing to further momentum within the housing market.”

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Builidng Inspections: Moral at an ‘All Time Low’

Concerns that industry will not be able to cope in April and moral at “all time low”

New rules around how buildings are inspected following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in London seven years ago have been “poorly thought through”

Concerns have been raised that it may leave the industry unable to cope when they come into force on April 6.

Local authority building control officers are lobbying the government to defer new legislation which has been referred to as the biggest change in the profession in four decades but say so far it’s “fallen on deaf ears”.

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) which is part of the Health and Safety Executive came into force in 2022 to raise safety standards on all buildings and regulate high risk buildings, adding an extra layer of legislation.

Seventy two people died on June 14 2017 when a huge fire engulfed the Grenfell Tower in West London. It was the worst domestic fire in living memory. A public inquiry found that external cladding did not meet building regulations and contributed to the rapid spread of the fire which also destroyed 151 homes.

Under the new rules, all building control professionals, who inspect everything from WC installation to big stadium builds, will have to pass competency exams to register with the BSR or their contract will be terminated, and they will be subject to greater scrutiny.

The BSR will have the power to investigate and sanction building control teams, suspend them, put them into special measures and bring criminal charges against them.

Speaking to West Devon Borough Council’s overview and scrutiny committee, head of the Devon Building Control Partnership Nigel Hunt said the whole thing had been rushed and it was likely that the country would only have 20 per cent of local authority or private sector building inspectors licenced to carry out the role when the new regulations come in in April.

He said moral was at “an all time low” as surveyors with 30-40 years experience were having to prove their competency in a way that was “alien to them” with online exams that were “not written in a way that is helpful”.

He said some had failed the exam and were having to retake it but admitted that the Devon partnership, which carries out building control functions for Teignbridge, West Devon and South Hams councils, was further on in the process than many others in the South West or nationally.

“It’s not a good place to be at the moment,” he said, adding that recruiting staff was already difficult. “I think the possibility of surveyors being taken to court will also restrict people coming into the industry especially with the salaries we pay.”

Many people were retiring early because of the “complete turnaround in the profession”.

Mr Hunt said his team had always worked on the principle of soft enforcement: “The main reason why we do this job is to talk to people, offer advice and support them. If a small single storey extension doesn’t have sufficient insulation, for example, we tell them what to do  and come back when they have done it.

“All that is changing, we will just be issuing certificates when the work is done and applicants will have to go and find out how to do it themselves.”

He added that the new rules could also mean enforcement action being delayed by several years.

“It’s all been poorly thought through. I am hoping that the deadline will be put back, as a profession we need that.”

Cllr Chris West (Lib Dem, Burrator) said it was unsustainable:

“It’s like a lot of what is coming out from the government at the moment.

“If someone doesn’t put the electrics or a sewage pipe in properly and there is no one there to advise them, it could be a recipe for disaster.”

Soucre: RadioEx

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RECESSION: ‘KICKSTART’ ECONOMY WITH CONSTRUCTION

WITH the news that the UK is in recession, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) is calling for the Government to boost construction work to ‘kickstart’ the economic recovery.

FMB chief executive Brian Berry said the ‘worsening’ economic picture reflects what has been happening in the construction industry for many months.

 

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB said: “The worsening economic picture reflects what has been happening in the construction industry for many months. Quarterly construction output was down 1.3% in Q4 2023, compared with Q3, while monthly output for December decreased by 0.5%. If the Government is serious about growing the economy, as one of the Prime Minister’s key pledges for the country, we must get the UK building.”

Berry continued: “The continued decrease in new work, propped up by growth in Repair, Maintenance, and Improvement (RMI) sector, is a trend which we have seen throughout 2023, and must be rectified if the UK hopes to see long-term sustainable growth going forward. The country is facing a housing crisis, and we need to see vast numbers of new homes built if we are to tackle it. The Housing Secretary’s announcement this week on brownfield development could be promising, but the Government must be ambitious to ensure we deliver quality, diverse housing at pace.

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