Construction and Planning Update – January 2025 top five

Here are our top five for January:

1. 3-D printed social housing project completed in Ireland

Not just a house but a ‘social housing project’ has now been printed and pasted together using technology that allowed for a completion time 35% faster than the conventional methods used for building such structures.  This more automated approach to construction activities would address two of this government’s biggest concerns:

i) how to produce enough houses to meet their target of 1.5 million homes within the lifespan of the parliament;
ii) where to find the labour force to complete that work.

Accelerating the building process by 35% should increase output. It’s not a panacea, it isn’t going to address how plumbers, electricians, roofers or indeed any anyone other than bricklaying roles address the urgency of the government’s optimistic home building targets, but it does suggest that fabrication using gantry pipe 3-D printing production methods can be part of the solution to all of these problems. If you’d like to learn more: www.cobod.com

First 3D Printed Social Housing Project Built to New ISO/ASTM Standard Completed 35% Faster Than with Conventional Methods | COBOD International

2. Administrators in court

Readers may have seen the construction press reports of litigation started by the liquidator of Henry Construction Projects Limited (in administration) (HCPL). The litigation concerns payment of £10m by HCPL to its parent company and the onwards payment of that sum to a minority shareholder in and former director of HPCL and the holding company. The administrator is trying to recover the £10m for the benefit of the company creditors. We will be watching out for the outcome of this litigation. Given the financial fragility of some construction companies and the number of business failures in the sector, it is best to get bills paid on time! If your business is owed money, please contact Simon Hart in our Debt Recovery and Insolvency Department. Simon Hart has a proven record of successful recovery of business debts. Please visit here or call Simon on 01452 689226. If construction issues arise in relation to the debt, Simon will work with and involve our team.

3. The future of social housing is to be protected

January saw the end of the consultation period on reforms of the right to buy. In November 2024 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government set out how it was planning to make council housing ‘fairer and more sustainable’. This will largely involve changes to the right to buy and will allow councils to replace the homes they have to sell. See Future of social housing protected through Right to Buy reforms – GOV.UK

The Deputy Prime Minister said in the ministry statement that, “Too many social homes have been sold off before they can be replaced, which has directly contributed to the worst housing crisis in living memory. We cannot fix the crisis without addressing the issue. It’s like trying to fill a bath when the plug is not in…”

In last year‘s budget the government reduced the maximum right to buy discounts available to between £16,000 to £38,000, depending upon the area. Councils also got to retain all of the receipts from sales, including the share that previously went to the Treasury. This means councils got an extra £183,000,000 to spend on their housing stock.

In short, the proposals would allow local authorities to retain more of the money from the sales, allowing regeneration of new housing stock from sold assets and make it slightly more difficult for tenants to purchase council stock under the right to buy scheme and then dispose of those in short order at market value and a windfall cash outcome. These plans are to be allied to the £5,000,000,000 announced for the affordable homes program to support efforts in delivering tens of thousands of new affordable and social homes across the country.

This is all targeted at delivering the appropriate level and type of housing for a greater number of the population than was previously captured. The costs numbers are huge, indicative of the government’s intention in this and the importance being attached to achieving those goals.

4. Adjudication of Defective Premises Act cases

We’re sure you’ll forgive us for reporting now on the December decision BDW Trading Limited (BDW) and Ardmore Construction Limited (Ardmore): BDW Trading Ltd v Ardmore Construction Ltd [2024] EWHC 3235 (TCC) (16 December 2024)

BDW sought summary judgement to enforce an adjudication decision requiring Ardmore to pay £14,454,94.45 by way of damages together with the cost and expenses of the adjudicator.

Ardmore’s arguments included that the adjudicator had no jurisdiction to determine a tortious claim for breach of the Defective Premises Act 1972 (as amended by the Building Safety Act 2022). Ardmore’s argument did not succeed. Here’s why:

The court looked at the judgement in Fiona Trust & Holding Corp v Privalov [2007] UKHL 40, [2007] 4 All ER 951 about the true interpretation of an arbitration clause.

Under the Fiona Trust principle, claims “in connection with the contract” can be arbitrated (unless the contract says otherwise). Section 108(1) of the HGCRA 1996 adjudication is limited to disputes “under the contract”. Mrs Justice Smith preferred the argument made BDW and by Sir Robert Akenhead in J Murphy & Sons Ltd v W Maher and Sons Ltd [2016] EWHC 1148 (TCC) that adjudication was subject to the principles set out in Fiona case.

5. The Brutalist

A mainstream film about construction may well be a hard sell but we are looking forward to seeing it this week. It does bring to mind Bristol’s now demolished brutalist structure, Tollgate House, built in 1975 and demolished in 2006. For those interested, there is a bit about it here. Tollgate House – Wikipedia.