Building News is an information portal for all professional building specifiers. Here you can find all of the latest construction news from around the UK and the rest of the world.

Developer fined after failing to safely carry out demolition work

The owner of block of flats was prosecuted after a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection identified serious safety breaches while it was being demolished.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that a member of the public raised concerns about the conditions at the site at 60 Pitcairn Road, Mitcham. Selliah Sivaneswaran was the owner of the property, but had failed to make appropriate appointments for the development project. The site had been inspected by HSE in October 2016 and the work halted due to the workers being exposed to a range of risks including exposure to asbestos, falling from height, and fire.

HSE revisited the site on 4 January 2017 and found the work had restarted while the site was still unsafe, despite enforcement notices being served and advice being provided. The demolition continued to be carried out by hand with workers climbing onto the unguarded roof and throwing the debris down. Workers were at risk of falling up to four metres through holes in the floors and partly demolished staircase. No welfare facilities had been provided and there was a significant risk of fire with the workers not being able to escape. The Court heard that two days before the sentencing hearing, HSE had to return to the site and take further action.

The project involved the demolition of the old flats and the construction of four one-bedroom flats and two two-bedroom flats on a site bought for £115,000 in 2001. The Court heard that despite the foreseeably large financial return from the project, Mr. Sivaneswaran put profit before safety and paid cash in hand to untrained workers, did not engage a site manager, and provided none of the legally-required site documentation.

Selliah Sivguru Sivaneswaran of Harlyn Drive, Pinner pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 13(1) and 4(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) and was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £1,421.20 in costs.

HSE inspector Andrew Verrall-Withers commented after the hearing: “Mr. Sivaneswaran was a commercial client as he was carrying out work as part of a business. When he failed to appoint a principal contractor, their duties fell on him.

“Thanks to a member of the public reporting the dangerous conditions HSE was able to take action. It was just good fortune that no one had been killed at the site”.

“Instead of taking the support and advice provided by HSE, Mr. Sivaneswaran continued to let the workers operate in appalling conditions where they were at risk of being killed. He did not even provide them with a WC or washing facilities”.

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Taxpayers forced to subsidise planning application costs by £1bn

Local taxpayers will be forced to spend £1 billion covering the cost of planning applications by 2022, the Local Government Association warns today.

Planning fees are set nationally, which means councils are prevented from recovering the full cost of processing the 486,500 planning applications they receive on average each year.

Since 2012 – the last time the national fees were increased – communities have footed the bill for as much as a third of all planning applications. This represents desperately-needed resources being diverted away from other vital local services.

Analysis by the LGA reveals the bill for local taxpayers to cover the cost of planning applications is growing at a rate of around £200 million a year and will reach £1 billion by 2022. This is the equivalent of:

  • Repairing 4.35 million potholes – potholes cost £46 to repair, on average.
  • Providing grant funding to help councils and housing associations provide 8,507 new affordable homes. The Homes and Communities Agency, on the last round of funding allocation through the Affordable Homes Programme, issued an average grant per home of £23,510.
  • Creating more than 828 miles of public pavements, almost 4 times the length of the M6 – footways are estimated to cost around £150 per meter.

The LGA is warning this ongoing fees shortfall is hampering planning departments’ ability to stimulate housing growth in communities.

With councils facing an overall £5.8 billion funding gap by 2020, the LGA is calling on government to urgently bring forward its Housing White Paper commitment, to allow councils to increase planning fees, and also commit to testing a fair and transparent scheme of local fee setting, to allow councils to recover actual costs.

Cllr Martin Tett, LGA Housing spokesman, said “It is wrong for communities to keep being forced to spend hundreds of millions each year to cover the cost of all planning applications.
“Councils are working flat-out to approve almost nine in ten planning applications, with the majority processed quickly.

“But the shortfall in the amount of fees councils can charge and the cost of processing applications is heaping further pressure on the stretched planning departments which are so crucial to building the homes and roads that local communities need.

“Councils need to be able to recover the actual cost of applications and end such a needless waste of taxpayers’ money.

“Locally-set fees would also allow councils to prevent increased costs being passed on to residents, while developers could contribute more to maintain high-quality planning decisions, and improve the ability of councils to speed up the planning process.”

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UK building product sales show resilience

The latest data released by the Builders Merchants Building Index (BMBI) confirms a continuing positive trend for UK builders’ merchants with Q2 sales increasing by 5.3% (when adjusted for two fewer trading days in period) compared to Q2 2016. Unadjusted Q2 year on year sales figure is still positive at +1.9%. Year to date sales figures to June are 3.8% higher than for 2016, the same number of trading days.

The BMBI tracks builders’ merchants’ sales to builders and contractors using GfK’s Builders’ Merchant Point of Sale Tracking Data. The BMBI includes actual sales over 80% of the value of the builders’ merchants’ market.

The Q2 results appear to tell a different story to the trend reported by the Office of National Statistics earlier this month, in which they report actual sales representing overall construction output fell by -1.3% in the three months to June compared with Q1, and rose by just +0.4% on the same period last year. This may reflect the predominance of housebuilding and domestic repair, maintenance and improvement work carried out by builders’ merchants’ customer base.

Commenting on the results, John Newcomb CEO of the BMF said “The majority of trade indicators are finding that order books are being sustained by private housing and Repair Maintenance and Improvement (RMI) work while commercial sectors are falling behind. Even the ONS reported a year on year increase in house building of +9.4% for the quarter.

“The merchant sector is showing resilience at the moment, but it would be foolish not to consider the possibility of tougher trading conditions as we move into 2018.”

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Housebuilding soars to highest levels in almost a decade

The number of new build homes that have started to be built has surged to the highest level since 2008, as shown by government figures.

The latest housebuilding data shows that 164,960 new homes were started in the year to June 2017, up 13% on the previous year, and have increased by more than three-quarters since the low in 2009.

More than 153,000 new homes have been completed during the same period, showing an increase of 11% compared with the year before.

Housing and Planning Minister Alok Sharma said “Building more homes is an absolute priority for this government. Today’s figures are proof that we are getting Britain building again, with new housing starts reaching record levels since 2009.

“It’s vital we maintain this momentum to deliver more quality homes in the places that people want to live. Our housing white paper set out an ambitious package of long-term reforms to do just that.”

The figures demonstrate strong growth in housebuilding right across the country, with Gloucestershire, South Derbyshire and South Norfolk amongst the strongest areas in delivering high levels of starts.

The government’s housing white paper sets out bold new plans to fix the broken housing market and build more homes across England.

At Autumn Statement, an additional £1.4 billion investment was announced for the government’s affordable housing programme, increasing the total budget to £7.1 billion. Since 2010, almost 333,000 affordable homes have been delivered, including 240,000 affordable homes for rent.

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The true cost of building fires

Building fires occur at an alarmingly high frequency and have an impact that goes way beyond that of the owners and its immediate occupiers. The fire safety guidance of the Building Regulations (provided by Approved Document B – ADB) is based on a consideration of life safety impacts. However, the true impact of a fire is much more than life safety as a fire has economic, social and environmental implications. So why is property protection not given greater consideration?

In the last month or so we have seen fires at Weybridge Community Hospital, Smoby Toys in Bradford and Camden Market and none more devastating that Grenfell Tower. The buildings are a mix of 70’s high rise residential, industrial warehousing, modern health and a historic market. Whilst they appear to have little in common they do share a number of similarities in that none of them had sprinkler systems and all of them have implications that will affect many, many people.

Grenfell Tower has rightly occupied the headlines due to tragic loss of life and its repercussions continue to make headlines. Whilst there is general consensus that regulations need to be urgently reviewed there are a number of other issues that need to be addressed. The issue of rehousing the survivors of Grenfell Tower highlighted the issue of continuity. Trying to find homes for the families has been an extremely difficult task. It is similar for the retailers at Camden Market, North Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group and Smoby Toys. They all have businesses to run that have now been left with no premises.

This loss of premises is not just a construction issue it is also an economic issue. To put it into perspective, Home Office figures have shown that in the last three years, there have been 22,800 fires in industrial and commercial premises. If you take into account research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), which states fires in warehouses (which account for 15% of industrial and commercial building stock) result in a direct financial loss to business of £230 million per year a bigger picture starts to emerge.

These warehouse fires create a loss of £190 million per year in GDP through lost productivity and supply chain impacts. They also lose the treasury £32 million in tax receipts and are the responsible for 1,000 job losses. And remember this is just warehouse fires. Imagine what the figure is when we consider fires in industrial buildings, health, leisure and workplaces.

One solution to address the issue of property protection is the incorporation of automatic sprinkler systems. Having sprinklers fitted protects businesses in the long run. They safeguard against potentially disastrous losses and also aid with life safety. By preventing large fires, sprinklers also protect the environment by avoiding CO2 emissions, reducing excess water use by the fire brigade and eliminating water supply contamination. Above all, they maintain business continuity. In the event of a fire, many businesses with sprinkler systems find they are back up and running in a matter of hours.

We are still feeling the knock on effects of the recent spate of fires in the UK. Hopefully with a review of ADB and an extension of the locus to include more of a focus on property protection and due consideration towards sprinklers, we can start to reduce this and provide businesses with the protection they need and deserve.

For more information about the Business Sprinkler Alliance visit www.business-sprinkler-alliance.org

By Iain Cox, Chairman of the BSA

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Construction company fined following life changing injuries for untrained worker

A construction company has been fined after a worker suffered life changing injuries after falling from scaffolding.

Bristol Magistrates’ Court heard how an employee of R J Scaffolding (Bristol) Limited was in an induced coma for two weeks after falling more than six metres from the scaffolding. The worker suffered several serious injuries including losing the sight in his right eye and five fractures to the skull.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 2 June 2016 found the employee was untrained, the supervisor was unfamiliar with the current expected safety techniques and the appropriate equipment had not been provided to the worker to conduct this work safely.

R J Scaffolding (Bristol) Limited of Central Business Park, Hengrove, Bristol pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company has been fined £26,000.00 and ordered to pay costs of £1657.76.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Ian Whittles said “We want all workers to go home healthy and safe. Those in control of work have a responsibility to ensure safe methods of working are used and to inform, instruct and train their workers in their use.

“If industry recognised safe systems of erecting scaffold had been in place prior to the incident, the life changing injuries sustained by the employee could have been prevented.”

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Latest large-scale government fire safety test result published

The latest in the government’s series of fire safety tests of cladding and insulation combinations has been completed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE).

These large scale tests will allow experts to better understand how different types of cladding panels behave with different types of insulation in a fire. The results of the first 5 tests have already been published.

This additional test was of a wall cladding system consisting of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding with a fire retardant polyethylene filler (category 2 in screening tests) with phenolic foam insulation.

The government’s expert panel advises that the results show that the combination of materials used in the test does not meet current Building Regulations guidance.

Initial screening tests have identified 22 buildings over 18 metres tall in England known to have a combination of ACM with a fire retardant polyethylene filler with phenolic foam insulation. Cladding samples from each of these buildings had already failed earlier combustibility tests conducted by BRE and their owners were sent government advice detailing the immediate interim safety measures that needed to be completed. Appropriate measures have been put in place for all 22 of these buildings.

Government has also provided these building owners with additional detailed advice setting out the actions they need to take to ensure the safety of residents going forward. Government is working closely with these building owners to ensure this advice is being followed.

The series of large-scale tests initially included 6 combinations of cladding systems. On 8 August 2017, the government announced that on the advice of the expert panel it would undertake a further large-scale test of ACM with fire retardant polyethylene filler (category 2 in screening tests) with phenolic foam insulation. This is to further build the evidence available for experts and building owners so they can make informed safety decisions.

Results of the final large-scale test (ACM with a limited combustibility filler with mineral wool insulation) – and consolidated advice to landlords based on all the 7 tests – will be published shortly.

The government announced an independent review of building regulations and fire safety on 28 July 2017. This forward looking review will examine the regulatory system around the design, construction and on-going management of buildings in relation to fire safety as well as related compliance and enforcement issues.

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£3bn to be invested in green energy projects over next 3 years

The Climate Change and Industry Minister, Claire Perry, confirmed today that the sale of the Green Investment Bank (GIB) to Macquarie Group Limited has now been completed.

New owner Macquarie has committed to the GIB’s target of leading £3 billion of investment in green energy projects over next 3 years.

The £2.3 billion deal ensures that all the taxpayer funding invested in GIB since its creation, including set-up costs, has been returned with a gain of approximately £186 million.

As well as fully meeting the government’s objectives, the deal secures the future of the GIB with an ambitious new owner committed to growing the business. The Edinburgh office will be home to a new revenue-generating business as well as providing services to the green energy portfolios of both Macquarie and GIB in the UK.

The government decided that moving it into the private sector now would free it from the constraints of public sector ownership allowing it to increase investment in our green infrastructure as we transition to a green economy. GIB’s independent Board supported the government’s decision to sell the business to Macquarie.

In order to build on the company’s success within the private sector, Macquarie and GIB have announced today that the company will now be known as the Green Investment Group (GIG) so that it will be able to make overseas investments.

Climate Change and Industry Minister Claire Perry said “We led the world in setting up the Green Investment Bank and it is now being copied by others. Now that it’s in the private sector, it will be able to operate on an international level to tackle the global challenge of climate change. It is also perfectly placed to help us finance green initiatives for our Clean Growth Plan and realise the commitments set out in the Paris Agreement.

The green ‘special share’ held by the Green Purposes Company Limited also comes into force now. Five independent trustees have the power to approve or reject any proposed changes to GIG’s green purposes in the future.

The government will continue to hold an interest in a portfolio of a small number of GIB’s existing green infrastructure investments. These assets will continue to be managed by GIB until they can be sold on in a way which returns best value for taxpayers’ money.

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Improved access to material markets needed now to aid building

In a quarter characterised by political uncertainty, the Construction Products Association’s Construction Trade Survey shows that despite a strong Q2 the industry’s supply chain are more pessimistic for the year ahead.

The survey of main contractors, SME builders, civil engineering firms, product manufacturers and specialist contractors found that all reported increases in sales, output and workloads in the quarter driven by increased demand. Notably however, order books were sustained by private housing and R&M work, but fell in sectors such as commercial and industrial. This was echoed throughout the supply chain, with net balances weakening for enquiries, orders and expected sales among SMEs, civil engineering contractors and product manufacturers compared to Q1.

After Sterling’s depreciation since the EU Referendum, the strongest cost pressures for the construction industry have been rising prices for imported materials. On balance, 88% of main contractors, 87% of heavy side manufacturers and all light side manufacturers reported raw materials costs rose in Q2. In spite of this, almost half of main contractors and specialist contractors opted to keep tender prices unchanged, leading to a fall in margins.

Commenting on the survey, Rebecca Larkin, Senior Economist at the CPA, said “This was the 17th consecutive quarter of growth for the construction industry, but a cautious stance over future expectations is not surprising. Another quarter of slow GDP growth, rising costs and a near-term outlook clouded by Brexit uncertainty have led to a fall in orders in privately-financed sectors such as commercial and industrial, and this pessimism has also spilled over into infrastructure.

“Perhaps more conspicuous in the survey data is the squeeze on margins for main contractors and specialist contractors. Strained margins had already been acute for some time given skills shortages pushing up construction wages. Now there’s the added pressure of contractors trying to avoid or delay passing on the full cost of higher raw materials prices to clients when tendering for upcoming construction projects.”

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said “Despite rising material prices and a period of political uncertainty, it is encouraging to see the SME construction sector continuing to grow. The industry is demonstrating significant resilience, especially when we consider difficulties in recruiting key trades such as bricklayers and carpenters, and shortages in other trades, such as plumbers and plasterers. Furthermore, there are real challenges ahead for the sector. The possibility of Brexit exacerbating already severe skills shortages and the continuing upward pressure on wages and salaries this brings, means construction SMEs will be cautious in their optimism”.

Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders said “Although SMEs have found more work, project viability seems to be increasingly stifled by spiralling material costs. Construction SMEs are reporting a tightening of profit margins, which may impact productivity in the coming twelve months. The NFB’s house building members appear more confident about their immediate future, despite not having an assured work pipeline. The Government must enable constructors – particularity SMEs – to establish a pipeline of work either through more streamlined procurement or by reforming the planning process. However, the weakening pound shows that, in the long term, constructors either need improved access to material markets or short-term financing for project completions. The Government must deal with the impact of a weaker exchange rate and Brexit more urgently. It must work with industry to understand and navigate more unpredictable and potentially difficult times.”

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Construction bounces back after a recent stall in growth

After a torrid month in May for construction, figures began to move in the right direction across June, with contract awards increasing by twelve per-cent, as a number of high profile projects were given the green light.

The latest edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review from industry analysts Barbour ABI, highlights the levels of construction contract values awarded in June across all regions of Great Britain, which totalled £5.5 billion based on a three-month rolling average, an increase on the £4.9bn from May.

London led all regions with 26 per cent of the total construction contract value for June. This was greatly helped by the North Quay Poplar development contract award, worth £800 million, the
largest project across all of construction on the month.

Across the various construction sectors, it was Residential building that produced the highest value on the month, reaching £2.5 billion, bouncing back admirably after a dip in May when it decreased to £1.7 billion. Furthermore, four of the top ten biggest projects in June came from the Residential sector. There were also monthly increases in Industrial, Commercial & Retail and Medical & Healthcare. The largest decrease came from Infrastructure, which lacked a high value project on the month to help increase its figures.

Looking at construction in June across the UK regions outside of London, the dominance continued across southern England with the South East in second place for construction contract value with £713 million awarded, followed by the South West in joint third place with the North West, each tied at £627 million.

Commenting on the figures, Lead Economist at Barbour ABI Michael Dall said “The construction sector bounced back after an election-focused month in May, as the residential sector once again performed strongly, continuing the trend of it holding the construction sector steady. However with declines in value from Hotel, Leisure & Sport and in particular Infrastructure, there is continuous pressure on Residential to achieve high values every month.”

“With the Governments increasing focus on raising the levels of major infrastructure projects, it’s surprising to see a lack of development in this sector across June. The anticipation however, is that we will see larger public sector contracts come to the forefront, such as offshore wind farms, energy plants and motorway upgrades as we continue into 2017.”

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