Construction and Planning Update – June 2025 top five

Here are our top five for June:

1. License to build

The Federation of Master Builders has produced a report in favour of licensing of builders. Licensing of builders of domestic works does seem to be on the horizon, as the Domestic Building Works (Consumer Protection) Bill has its second reading in the House of Commons in early July. This provides for regulations to be made to govern this construction sector. We are hopeful that this Bill will pass into law.
Link to Bill: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0046/240046.pdf

2. A story about a roof storey

In our November newsletter we reported that a roof garden had been held to be a storey of a building and that guidance was expected. The government issued updated guidance at the end of May 2025 – rooftop gardens should not be considered a storey for the purpose of assessing whether a building is a higher-risk building (HRB). To support this position, the government is currently consulting on a proposal to amend the Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023. If adopted, this proposal would exclude rooftop gardens from the “storey” count in HRB assessments.

We are reporting this in our newsletter for June as we wanted to see what the Upper Tribunal would say about the position. However, there is not much of substance about this issue in the decision, so we merely provide a link to it for those interested in reading it.
Link to judgment: LC-2024-661 corrctd.pdf

3. Marine energy

News from the Pentland Firth off the coast of Scotland is that the MayGen 6 megawatt-hour (MWhr) marine energy project has passed a significant milestone. It has now been producing non-stop power for over 6 years without maintenance. This proves the commercial viability of such projects, dispelling concerns about the need to constantly address equipment failures in installations that are located in harsh environments with all of the costs consequences that flow from this.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory describes marine energy as the world’s largest untapped renewable energy source, allowing the creation of energy from tides, currents, waves or temperature changes.

As an example of productivity, the MeyGen site’s 4 turbines produce 6 million times more energy than a solar panel, every hour! Enough to power 7,000 homes annually.

Understandably the energy industry is interested in the development of marine energy and the up scaling of this power source exploitation. We expect national and international development funding to follow this recent milestone.

4. Building safety regulation consultation

The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee has launched an inquiry into building safety regulation. Baroness Taylor of Bolton, Chair of the Industry and Regulators Committee, said:

“The safety of residents in higher-risk buildings was at the heart of the Building Safety Regulator being set up in 2022.

The Committee wants to hear from all stakeholders to find out if the BSR has the skills and resources required to ensure the safety of all buildings and its residents in the process of approving applications for high-rise buildings.

This is crucial if the Government is going to achieve its manifesto target of building 1.5 million homes over the next Parliament.”

The Committee is seeking evidence from building industry specialists, housing associations, architects, resident groups, safety experts, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders on a number of questions. If you wish to contribute to the debate, please use this link by 31 August: Industry and Regulators Committee seeks views on Building Safety Regulator – Committees – UK Parliament

5. Payment applications

An adjudicator decided that an Employer should pay a £100,000 interim invoice presented by a Contractor. The Technology and Construction Court enforced the adjudicator’s decision. The Employer sought to argue that the interim invoice was invalid for failing to comply with the payment notice provisions in s110 of the amended Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. It was held that: “the construction of the notices must be approached objectively. The issue is how a reasonable recipient would have understood the notices”, i.e., a reasonable recipient “circumstanced as the actual parties were”.

The Employer’s arguments were dismissed, the Judge giving short shrift to “nice points of textual analysis or arguments which seek to condemn the notice on an artificial or contrived basis”. The judgment is a 5 minute read and well worth the time invested in doing so for anyone dealing with or preparing payment notices.

Link to case: 1St Formations Limited v LAPP Industries Ltd [2025] EWHC 1526 (TCC)

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