The Week That Was - 10 April 2026

Welcome to the week that was, a round-up of key events in the construction sector over the last seven days.

Ardmore to appeal landmark £15m Building Safety Act ruling

A landmark High Court ruling against Ardmore has extended liability for £14.9m of alleged fire safety defects across multiple group companies after its principal contracting subsidiary fell into administration.  In Crest Nicholson v Ardmore, Justice Constable granted Crest Nicholson two Building Liability Orders (BLOs) under the Building Safety Act 2022 which may make associated Ardmore entities liable for historic defects at Portsmouth’s Admiralty Quarter development, built between 2007 and 2009.

Crest Nicholson alleges serious fire safety failings, including combustible insulation, missing cavity barriers and defective fire stopping.  In 2025, an adjudicator ruled that Ardmore Construction had breached its duties under the Defective Premises Act and ordered it to pay £14.9m.  However, the firm entered administration the day before the decision was issued and, as such, has not paid.  The court held that adjudication awards can constitute a “relevant liability” for the purposes of a BLO and found it “just and equitable” to extend liability across the group, citing insolvency, restructuring, and evidence of defects.  Ardmore argues the legislation was not intended to apply in this way and says the decision has wider implications for the construction sector. Ardmore has indicated it intends to appeal the decision.  

Please access the full article here.

Farage sacks housing spokesman over Grenfell comments

Nigel Farage has dismissed Reform UK’s housing chief, Simon Dudley, following controversy over Dudley’s comments on post-Grenfell fire safety regulations. Dudley claimed that regulations introduced after the Grenfell Tower tragedy had gone too far, reportedly saying that “everyone dies in the end” and that tragic events such as fires cannot be entirely prevented. His remarks prompted condemnation from Labour.

Dudley later apologised, insisting he was not belittling the disaster or its “huge loss of life” and stressing it “must never happen again”. A Reform UK spokesperson has said that homes must be built safely but warned that “overly burdensome” building safety regulations risk stifling housebuilding. They said Dudley’s comments reflected a broader concern that the “regulatory pendulum has swung too far” since the Grenfell tragedy.

Please access the full article here.

UK construction costs remain stable despite Iran conflict

Dr David Crosthwaite, Chief Economist at BCIS, has examined how the Iran conflict might impact UK construction, and while early estimates expected the disruption to be short-lived, it’s now clear that the conflict could affect both demand and costs.

A BCIS survey conducted in late March found that 95% of the more than 300 construction professional respondents expect material prices to rise over the next year. While tender prices haven’t changed yet, a prolonged conflict could result in stalled projects, reduced workloads, and downward pressure on prices.  Fluctuating energy markets could also shift cost pressures from labour to materials.

Compared to the volatility caused by the Ukraine conflict in March 2022, the situation is more stable for now, but rising material costs (especially steel) are still a concern. Therefore, if energy prices remain high, the construction sector’s recovery could be delayed, adding to broader inflationary pressures.

You can read more here.

New Rail Station to Boost 4,000-Home Development in East London

The government plans to include a new rail station in the Beam Park development scheme in Havering, east London, as part of efforts to unblock stalled housing projects. 

The scheme, led by Countryside Partnerships and housing association L&Q, is delivering over 4,000 homes, with 50% designated as affordable and 25% suitable for families. Over 1,000 homes have already been completed, along with amenities like a primary school and health centre. Another 520 homes will soon be handed over to BeFirst, Barking and Dagenham's regeneration company.

The housing ministry, alongside the Greater London Authority, Havering council, and Transport for London, is securing funding for the station under the New Homes Accelerator programme. Kevin Delve, Managing Director of Vistry East London, has emphasized that this station will help "unlock the complex site" and keep the project on track.

You can read more here.

Building Safety Regulator introduces external remediation improvement plan

On 8 April 2026 the BSR announced on its website that it has introduced a "comprehensive external remediation improvement plan to reduce delays to higher-risk building safety works" to speed up higher-risk building (HRB) safety works across England.

The BSR say a major source of delay is poor quality or incomplete applications and with the plan they aim to reduce decision times for remediation applications to under 12 weeks and achieve approval rates above 65%.

The plan's key measures are:

• The creation of a dedicated external remediation multidisciplinary team (MDT), modelled on BSR’s Innovation Unit, with dedicated account managers to streamline communication.
• Further recruitment to increase regulatory lead capacity and reduce individual caseloads from around 25 to about 10 applications each.
• The use of more flexible “approval with requirements” so projects can start safely while some technical issues are finalised.
• The publication of new guidance on external remediation.

Access through the government website here.

With thanks to Jonathan Carrington, Josh Wong, Keira-Anne Dowsell, Elizabeth Terry and Sky Arklay

Disclaimer: The information in this publication is for guidance purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.  We attempt to ensure that the content is current as at the date of publication, but we do not guarantee that it remains up to date.  You should seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content.

If you have any queries please do get in contact with a member of the team, or your usual RPC contact.