Construction and Planning Update – September 2025 top five

Here are our top five for September:

1. It’s a nuisance, but not an actionable one

A marathon judgment from HHJ Stephen Davies, running to 1121 paragraphs, addressing the group litigation of 16 residents of Chirk, a small town south of Wexham, against a Kronospan factory that makes MDF and laminates. The claimants alleged nuisance, from the escape of dust, odour and noise. The judgment addressed the claims at length, but tellingly explained there was a difference between legal nuisance and something that people might describe as being a nuisance in general speech.

Despite evidence of 475 complaints having been made by residents, the evidence did not support a finding that there had been, or was, a legal nuisance. No doubt disappointing for the claimants, but clear demonstration that disliking a thing and complaining about that thing does not make that thing legally wrong.

Link to case: Andrews & Ors v Kronospan Ltd [2025] EWHC 2429 (TCC)

2. Adjudicators’ decisions and summary judgement

Summary judgement is a useful weapon in a litigator’s armoury as it is given at an early stage in a case if the court decides the claim is so undefendable that there is no need to follow all the various and expensive steps to trial.

In a case relating to groundworks and drainage sub-contracts, District Judge Baldwin considered whether two adjudication determinations should be enforced by summary judgement.

The party facing the application said the summary judgement application should be dismissed because there was an arguable defence in that:

1. the adjudicator had breached the requirements of natural justice in considering a surrejoinder (a statement of position) not provided for;
2. the drainage sub-contract adjudication was effectively the same as the prior groundworks adjudication so the adjudicator should have resigned from the drainage sub-contract adjudication.

Summary judgement was given on both adjudication decisions. To defeat an application for summary judgment a defence has to “carry some degree of conviction, being “more than merely arguable”, which this was not. The surrejoinder was not more than peripheral to the adjudicator’s decision. On point (b) the court rejected:

“the potential for persuading that Court at a later date that the disputes here are substantially similar as having fanciful prospects of success.”

The principle preventing the same dispute being adjudicated twice was to stop a disappointed party re-adjudicating a point. It did not prevent adjudication of a fresh dispute with similar arguments but different facts, so there was no need for the adjudicator to resign from the second adjudication.

Link to case: Construction Muzzy Ltd v Davis Construction (South East) Ltd [2025] EWHC 2258 (TCC)

3. In the news- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

PPE is in the news for the wrong and the right reasons this month. For the right reasons, Employers are being urged to provide properly fitting PPE for all workers, following the launch of British Safety Standard 30417:2025. The guidance aims to tackle issue in the UK workplaces, particularly in construction, healthcare and policing.

A recent study found that 46 percent of British women who had been issued with PPE or uniforms had received items that did not fit properly. Issues have been raised in construction, where Muslim women have faced difficulties sourcing modest PPE and workers with Afro textured hair have struggled to find appropriately fitting hard hats. Jan, our head of construction, has experienced wallowing in oversized PPE and having to climb ladders holding in the excess material to prevent it catching on scaffold clamps.

Good to know this Guidance, even better to order appropriate PPE in.

Link to Guide: BS 30417 Provision of inclusive personal protective equipment (PPE) – Guide | BSI

4. Competence consultation

The consultation “Setting Expectations on Competence Management” runs until 6 November. Competence and being able to show that competence of designers and contractors was assessed are important issues for all involved in construction, particularly now breach of building regulations is an imprisonable offence for managers and director of companies and enforcement time for beach of building regulations has changed from one to ten years by the Building Safety Act 2022.

Link: ICC Setting Expectations – Competence Management – Draft Consultation document

5. National Self-Build and Renovation Centre (NSBRC)

Whilst Davies and Partners Solicitors is known for its work on major new developments, the construction department also works for private clients. We have linked with the National Self-Build and Renovation Centre in Swindon. This is a permanent exhibition of self-build and renovation products with links to professionals in all relevant disciplines. If you have a self-build project or renovation project it is well worth a visit and a chat to us. We offer a 30 minute free discussion for private clients for construction and planning matters.

Link to NSBRC website: NSBRC – Home