New warehouses and infrastructure growth are expected to fuel a rise in construction output by 2.5 per cent for 2022, according to the Construction Product Association’s latest forecast. The trade body predicts the industrial sector, covering warehouses and factories, to rise by 15 per cent for 2022 and nearly ten per cent for 2023. Construction Products Association, CPA, economics director Noble Francis said: “Activity continues to be boosted by the strength of online retailing as well as manufacturers’ need for [...]

Overestimates of the amount of river polluting nutrients housebuilding generates is leading councils to delay 100,000 new homes’ planning applications, claims the Home Builders Federation. A new report by planning consultancy Lichfields shows Natural England’s pollutant methodology to be based on overestimates about the population increase new homes generate. Lichfields senior director Gareth Williams said: “It fails to recognise a significant proportion of these new homes are to meet the requirement of existing residents so have no impact on the [...]

Thousands of first-time buyers will miss out on a help-to-buy loan due to the government introducing a new deadline for reserving a property by the 31st of October. Originally consumers could reserve a home by the end of December if the new building was completed by the end of March 2023. Home Builders Federation, HBF, policy director David O’Leary said: “Some developers were planning on keeping plots to come to fruition by the end of the year. They are shocked [...]

Steel, bitumen, cast iron, rebar and timber supply issues along with rising cement, bricks and blocks and glass costs are likely impacts of the conflict in Ukraine. The Construction Leadership Council, CLC, is urging contractors and suppliers to work together to overcome these problems. Arcadis partner and CLC member Simon Rawlinson said: “We hope to help companies navigate through these current challenges with guidance and points to think about, supporting firms in what could be a challenging period for the [...]

A new bill forcing builders to assess the carbon emissions of a new project prior to construction will force SMEs out of business, the industry has warned. Conservative MP Duncan Baker’s private members bill would require them to measure, report and reduce a scheme’s carbon emissions during the design process. SME construction firm Hofton & Son, based in Nottinghamshire, has said if the bill is passed on its second reading on 18th March then it will stop building homes. Managing [...]