Planning permissions for new homes in England fell to 42,000 units in Q3 2025, down 31% year-on-year and the lowest quarterly total in over 15 years, with only 1,311 projects approved between June and September, the 11th consecutive quarterly decline. Over the 12 months to September 2025, approvals dropped to 209,781 homes across 7,500 projects, 38% below the early‑2022 peak and just 36% of 2018 site numbers. London is hardest hit, with units approved down 49% on Q2 and 72% on Q3 2024, totalling fewer than 34,000 units and 910 projects.

Heatwave Construction Ltd of Uxbridge and director Gurcharan Singh Chahal have been ordered to pay more than £4,000 after repeatedly displaying the NICEIC logo on a company van despite losing registration on 4 January 2024. Hillingdon Council’s trading standards team issued warning letters on 30 August and 10 October 2024 and found the unauthorised branding still in use during a site visit on 7 November 2024, with Chahal twice failing to attend interviews under caution. The case signals tighter scrutiny of false electrical accreditation claims, with the judge warning of potential “deadly consequences” for clients relying on invalid certification.

Vp, the specialist equipment rental group whose divisions include Groundforce and UK Forks, has appointed Mitie Communities managing director Alice Woodwark as chief executive from 1 February 2025, succeeding Anna Bielby after a short handover. Woodwark brings a facilities management and services background rather than construction plant hire, having led Mitie Communities since 2021 and previously spent nine years in senior roles at Compass Group following McKinsey, Oxford PPE and Stanford MBA training. She will also continue as an independent non-executive director at Vistry Group, sitting on its nomination, remuneration and audit committees.