NEWS IN NUMBERS
Consultants must cough up
A UK Supreme Court ruling has confirmed that developers can recover building safety remediation costs from consultants, engineers, and others involved in a building’s original design and construction. The case, URS Corporation Ltd v BDW Trading, saw Barratt Redrow successfully sue consulting engineer URS for structural design defects discovered after buildings had been sold. Despite having fixed the defects voluntarily, BDW claimed losses for remediation works, and the Court ruled that such voluntary action did not bar recovery.
This judgment is seen as a major victory for developers, offering clarity on the implications of the Building Safety Act 2022 and the extended 30-year limitation under the Defective Premises Act (DPA). The Court confirmed that developers can be owed and owe duties under the DPA and that claims in contribution need not await formal settlement or judgment. The ruling encourages safety action, with the Court emphasising that responsible developers should not be penalised for remediating defects. Legal experts agree the ruling unlocks pathways for developers to pursue their supply chains – designers, consultants, and contractors – for compensation.
23% W omen at the UK’s largest construction firms earn 23% less per hour than men. Source: Trades Union Congress
Boosting biodiversity skills
L ocal authorities across England are ramping up training efforts to meet new biodiversity net gain (BNG) rules introduced in February 2024, according to environmental education charity the Field Studies Council (FSC). Nearly half of all group training enquiries for the FSC’s BNG courses this year have come from local councils, with a further 23 per cent from landscape architects, developers, and planning consultants – highlighting a sector-wide demand for support. The new regulations require developers to deliver a minimum 10 per cent improvement in biodiversity after
completing projects, placing pressure on planning departments to implement complex environmental metrics. An FSC programme for Worcestershire’s county and district councils proved effective, where 50 staff across planning, legal, biodiversity, and countryside teams attended, receiving guidance on securing BNG through legal mechanisms such as Section 106 agreements. Cody Levine of Worcestershire County Council said of the training: “Particularly valuable was the focus on building confidence in reviewing submissions and understanding what ‘good’ BNG looks like.”
15% The p ercentage of women
working in the UK’s construction industry. Source: ONS
36,000 The number of home completions in the 2024/25 period – up 14 per cent from 2023/24. Source: Homes England
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Master Builder
www.fmb.org.uk
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