Planners respond to Government’s garden towns announcement

In response to the Government announcement today of a new garden communities programme to increase the number of in garden towns in England, Victoria Hills MRTPI, Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, says: “The Government’s garden towns programme is... View Article

Blog: insulate the installation for energy efficiency

As house builders are told by the UK government’s climate change adviser to be ‘ashamed’ of their efforts to tackle global warming, Andy Swift, national sales manager at ISO-CHEMIE, says that new foam sealant technology can improve the energy efficiency... View Article

Court case highlights spec change dangers

A recent Northern Ireland High Court case has highlighted challenges that can be faced when a specification is changed. The court heard how new-build apartments in Newtonards, Northern Ireland, had been specified with a BBA-approved full tanking solution with an... View Article

NFB: Social housing green paper does not go far enough

The National Federation of Builders (NFB) welcomes the papers approach to solving existing social housing problems but warns that proposed changes do not go far enough. The Government has published its social housing green paper, A new deal for social... View Article

BIM for offsite: what’s stopping you?

While the housebuilding industry is educating itself on the practicalities and application of offsite methods of construction, the real opportunity for housebuilders is in how offsite is utilising the latest software platforms. Robert Clark of fusion Building systems explains the... View Article

RIBA responds to the Government’s Social Housing Green Paper

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has tresponded to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government Social Housing Green Paper. RIBA President Ben Derbyshire says, “Whilst there are some welcome proposals in the Government’s Social Housing Green Paper, I’m... View Article

Johanna Konta has self-build application refused

British number one tennis star Johanna Konta has had a self-build planning application refused under conditions set out in the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Konta put in an application for a four-bedroom timber-framed house, designed by Scandia-Hus, to... View Article

BSRIA’S industry bible – BG 6/2018 launched

BSRIA is delighted to have launched the “major update” of the go-to design framework guide for building services – BG 6 – A Design Framework for Building Services (5th edition) – at an industry launch event in London in June.... View Article

Tangible proposals needed in Social Housing Green Paper

Following the launch of the Government’s Social Housing Green Paper, The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has welcomed the focus on rebalancing the relationship between tenants and landlords, but called for detail and concrete proposals. Announced by the Housing... View Article

RIBA calls for a comprehensive ban on combustible materials

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has submitted evidence to the Government’s consultation on banning the use of combustible materials in the external walls of high-rise residential buildings. After a lengthy investigation, the Institute has concluded that a ban... View Article