LCM Expert Insight · Partner Article · Ground Source Energy Chris Davidson · Chief Technical Officer, Genius Energy Lab Designing large-scale ground source heat pump systems since 2001. Genius Energy Lab is a design-only consultancy working on commercial and large-scale residential ground source …
A 0.25 percentage-point increase in the interest rate charged on a fully drawn £250m development facility would add £625,000 to annual interest, according to an London Construction Magazine calculation. The same movement would add £250,000 on £100m of debt and £125,000 on £50m, before fees, compounding or changes in the amount actually drawn. The calculation matters ahead of the Bank of England…
City Plan 2040 has passed its final inspector examination, with the Planning Inspectorate's report published on 14 October 2026 finding the plan sound subject to its main modifications. The report followed Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook's withdrawal of a direction that had required further examination of the City's tall-building approach around the Tower of London World Heritage S…
Two large London housing schemes were paused within days of each other in October 2026, but the deeper problem is visible well beyond Canada Water and Lewisham. London new-build prices were down 6.5% year on year in the latest official split, residential starts have fallen sharply and developers are trying to sell homes into a market where buyers have more negotiating power but still face high de…
The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has unveiled a larger Hospital 2.0 design for the redevelopment of Hillingdon Hospital in west London, replacing the previously approved layout with proposals for 538 overnight beds, all in single en-suite rooms, no basement and a separate energy centre. The refreshed proposals entered public consultation on 26 October 2026 and sit within the New …
Network Rail will deliver a £152m Christmas and New Year engineering investment programme across Britain's railway, with major construction and renewal work concentrated at Dolphin Junction near Slough, Forest Gate in east London, Birmingham New Street, Redhill and Huddersfield. The figure, published by Network Rail on 14 October 2026, is a programme-level investment value rather than a s…
Havering Council has approved an increase in its high-rise lift safety programme from about £3.8m to more than £5.4m as building safety works are extended to four additional tower blocks. The decision, recorded on 29 October, covers Highfield Towers and Uphavering, Overstrand and Parkview houses. Havering's decision record describes the move as an increase to the budget for building safet…
Retrofit can produce the lower-carbon answer in an estate appraisal and still fail to become the preferred construction option once structural life, fire safety, resident decant, housing quality, additional homes, programme and long-term cost are added to the same decision. Public-sector options appraisals reviewed by London Construction Magazine show why the choice between retaining an exist…
The government is expanding its PlanAssist artificial-intelligence planning tool to 15 English councils after early testing cut the time spent on selected planning tasks by 58%, alongside new rules giving professional planning officers greater responsibility for straightforward applications. The package gives Housing Secretary Angela Rayner something planning reform often lacks: measurable op…
Temporary safety measures on ageing residential blocks can remain in place for years when demolition, strengthening or regeneration moves more slowly than the engineering assessment originally assumed. Public structural reports reviewed by London Construction Magazine show the same problem appearing in different forms: restrictions on potential sources of explosion, vehicle-impact protection, wak…
