News

The final piece in a three year programme by LABC to identify the competencies of local authority building control staff, standardise learning and introduce new specialist qualifications is complete following the recent launch of Wolverhampton University's BSc (Hons) Degree in Public Service Building Control Surveying.

More than 500 people from local government have attended a series of LABC/LGA (Local Government Association) regional briefings and questions posed at these events have revealed concern about MHCLG’s plans for reform of the building safety regulation system. 

The briefings were part of LABC's outreach exercise to its members, local government senior managers and elected members. The objective was to gain feedback from local authority members on the plans of the MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).

The LABC West of England Building Excellence Awards were held at the Bristol Marriott City Centre on Friday 12 July 2019. The venue was filled with over 370 guests attending from across the construction industry including representatives from Aqua Construction, Willmott Dixon, Newland Homes and Linden Homes Western.

The LABC South East Building Excellence Awards took place at The Grand in Brighton on Friday 21 June 2019. Over 300 guests attended the glamorous event with representatives from across the construction industry including the likes of Wates Construction Ltd, Croudace Portland and Crest Nicholson.

Joe Strafford was one of 200 local authority building control surveyors who passed an LABC five hour fire safety validation exam recently - and became the first in his county to do so.

To make Joe's year even better, he was then promoted to lead the seven person building control team in Midlands Development Consultancy apT, just a few weeks afterwards!

A plan by Swedish home decor giant IKEA and construction wizard Skanska to bring their low cost sustainable off-site housing model to the UK has been welcomed by insulation specialist Actis.

The Scandi heroes will be championing their revolutionary BoKlok housing initiative at this month's annual Chartered Institute of Housing Conference in Manchester.

Plymouth City Council's building control team have launched their new builders list. This new initiative focuses on quality, consistency and a commitment to regular training and updates.

Ten local construction firms have so far made the list and they joined the building control team for the launch event last Friday. This took place on site in the new supporters bar at Plymouth Argyle Football Club thanks to Select Developments (Plymouth) Ltd.

Last Thursday (6 June) the government announced its plans for regulatory and legislative changes to implement the Hackitt Review. These proposals are being consulted on and will have far reaching implications for all of local government – not just building control.

The consultation is scheduled to end on 31 July and the documents can be downloaded here.

The LABC West Yorkshire Building Excellence Awards took place at the Cedar Court Hotel, Leeds/Bradford on Friday 7 June 2019. More than 200 guests attended from across the industry including representatives from Wates, Kier and Esh Construction.

The LABC West Midlands Building Excellence Awards were held at the Telford International Centre, Shropshire on Friday 7 June 2019. There were over 200 guests in attendance from across the industry including teams from ProBuild 360, Shropshire Homes, Accord Housing Association and Lovell Partnerships.