Construction sector administrations fell for a second consecutive month in August, but the monthly total remained elevated compared with the same month in 2023. The article highlights ongoing financial stress among contractors, including insolvencies at Ethical Power Renewables and Avtar Construction, despite some easing in cost pressures.
Reform UK has set out proposals to significantly deregulate the planning system, including scrapping biodiversity net gain requirements, landfill tax, Section 106 payments and most building standards for brownfield housing schemes. The plans would materially reduce planning and development obligations if adopted.
Siderise has launched a new inspection app to verify the installation of its passive fire protection and acoustic products, with the aim of creating evidence that can feed into a building’s golden thread of information. The system supports installer feedback, corrective actions and data capture for compliance, and is positioned to align with gateway requirements for high-risk buildings and emerging construction product reforms.
Blackpool Council has approved its £4m Revoe Community Sports Village, while rejecting Cygnet Healthcare’s proposal to expand a mental health facility near the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. The council also deferred a decision on coastal defence works involving 17 rock groynes, pending further work with the RNLI on safety matters.
The Environment Agency says BDW Trading, part of Barratt Redrow, polluted watercourses in Yate after silt from a housing development entered the Ladden Brook and Tanhouse stream during drainage cleaning works. The company has since funded remediation, training and improved surface-water management, and agreed an enforcement undertaking that directs money to environmental projects.
The Building Safety Regulator has approved Gateway 2 for the first phase of the £286m Cambridge Halls student accommodation redevelopment in Manchester. The scheme, led by Unite Students and Manchester Metropolitan University, will deliver 2,300 bedspaces in two phases, with construction now moving ahead following demolition and groundworks.
The Regulator of Social Housing has published its Q1 2026 quarterly survey of private registered providers, showing continued sector investment and strong spending on repairs, maintenance and development. The report also notes slower-than-forecast recovery in margins and interest cover, with RSH continuing to monitor liquidity, covenant risk and exposure through non-registered entities.
The HSE has issued Morris & Spottiswood with an immediate prohibition notice after it said the contractor failed to carry out suitable and sufficient asbestos surveys before intrusive works at a Northampton site. The company later stated that further intrusive checks found no asbestos present and that it had provided additional assurance to the regulator.
Enabling works are due to begin soon on a proposed 1,715-place Category C prison near Leyland, following the appointment of a contractor reported to be Laing O’Rourke. The scheme has had a lengthy and contested planning history, including refusals by Chorley Council and the Planning Inspectorate before government approval in December 2024.
