A government industry working group is being set up to promote increased use of off-site prefabrication in house building. The working group has been launched by housing minister Mark Prisk following on from the findings of a new report produced by the Construction Industry Council (CIC). 

Issues for the group to review include:

• encouraging off-site construction and prefabrication to deliver an increased number of new houses
• promoting investment in the emerging sector
• helping to create market con...

I am repeatedly asked why it is important to use an Architect, when sometimes it can be cheaper to use an un-registered plan drawer or architectural designer, what’s the difference?

To call oneself an ‘architectural designer’ you don’t necessarily need any formal qualifications or experience, whereas the title ‘Architect’ is protected by law and can only be used by people registered with the Architects Registration board (ARB), having gone through the relevant training and demonstr...

"The Government launched its long-awaited consultation on proposed changes to the Building Regulations this week, setting out a number of proposals designed to boost energy efficiency.

The Government has has made great efforts to mitigate the cost impact on house builders of achieving Part L from next year by setting an improvement target of 8% in additional carbon savings compared to the 25% that the industry had been told to expect by the previous government. There is no plan to drop the obj...

Overall the ‘Green Deal’ is a very exciting and positive scheme that should be supported and encouraged, however there are still some key concerns that need to be addressed if the scheme is to be the success it could be.

The ‘Green Deal’ is a framework to enable private firms to offer consumers energy efficiency improvements for their homes, community spaces and businesses at no upfront cost, and recoup payments through ongoing charges on energy bills.

The financing mechanism allows con...

Building Magazine has reported that the number of planning permissions granted in the three months to September 2011 was 10% down on the previous year. This is according to the latest figures from the Home Builders’ Federation.

The HBF is reported to have said its quarterly housing pipeline report showed that just 32,500 homes were given planning permission in the third quarter, down from 38,500 in the same period last year.

The number of units approved in the first nine months of the year is...