Construction industry diary 2015
This is an archive of key events in the construction industry in 2015, such as changes in policy, legislation etc. The oldest items appear last.
For current and future events see Construction industry diary.
For the 2014 archive see Construction industry diary 2014.
End of the year - Publication of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment report on flood resilience and mitigation.
End of the year - Design Commission inquiry into design and behaviour in the built environment was due to report, but did not.
17 December 2015. Closing date for submissions to the Economic Affairs Committee inquiry into the economics of the housing market.
December 2015. The first cycle of flood risk management plans, will be published.
HCFCs banned in existing equipment.
November 2015. Chief Construction Advisor position scrapped.
October 2015. Inspection of Minor alterations to the London Plan.
6 October 2015. End of CDM transitional period after which a principal designer must be appointed.
6 October 2015. End of call for written evidence by House of Lords Select Committee on National Policy for the Built Environment.
2 October 2015. Apprenticeships levy consultation closed.
1 October 2015. Government removed pre-accreditation for all new participants in the Feed-in Tariff scheme.
1 October 2015. New edition of Approved Document M came into force.
1 October 2015. New edition of Approved Document G came into force.
1 October 2015. Approved document Q came into force.
23 September 2015. ISO 9001 revised.
September 2015 - revision of ISO 14001.
September 2015. An assessment of the skills required to deliver the National Infrastructure Pipeline will be published.
1 September 2015. Low emission zone for non-road mobile machinery introduced.
1 September 2015. UK Contractors’ Group (UKCG) and the National Specialist Contractors Council (NSCC) became Build UK.
31 August 2015. PAS 1192-2 consultation closed.
7 August. End of consultation on Housing Design SPG.
August 2015. End of pilot for new ways to publicise statutory planning notices.
6 July 2015. Planning (Wales) Act was enacted.
July 2015. Publication of BS 8536-1:2015 Briefing for design and construction. Code of practice for facilities management (Buildings infrastructure).
29 June 2015. Consultation closed for Business Improvement Districts.
26 June 2015. Closing date for Bowen Jenkins Legacy Research Fund
22 June 2015. Consultation ended on Minor alterations to the London Plan
June 2015. Builders were be able to sign up to the Home Quality Mark.
31 May 2015. PAS 1192-5 came into effect.
May 2015. Planning (Wales) Bill voted through.
6 April 2015. Changes to SuDS came into effect.
6 April 2015. CDM 2015 came into effect.
1 April 2015. English Heritage split into English Heritage and Historic England.
26 March 2015, Modern Slavery Act received Royal Assent.
25 March 2015. Timeline published to implement changes to the prompt payment code and a new prompt payment code website went live.
25 March 2015. PPS5 guidance was cancelled and replaced with Historic environment good practice advice.
19 March 2015. Consultation on Section 106 agreements closed.
11 March 2015. Consultation closed for display energy certificates.
8 March 2015. The BIM Toolkit was released in a public beta form for testing.
2 March 2015. Consultation ended for PAS 1192-5:2015.
March 2015. Budget set out proposed changes to the compulsory purchase regime.
March 2015. HSE Land Use Planning Pre-application Advice service fully rolled out.
March 2015. The Energy Company Obligation was extended to March 2017 as ECO2.
February 2015. Green deal home improvement fund funding released.
February 2015. Starter home initiative consultation closed.
February 2015. Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Bill 2014-15 introduced to House of Lords.
January 2015. Northern Futures initiative working group to report.
January 2015. Prospective buyers can register for the starter home initiative.
31 January 2015. Consultation on English Flood Risk Management Plans closed.
30 January 2015. Buy to leave consultation ended.
29 January 2015. Consultation on statutory consultees for planning (including SuDS) closed.
7 January 2015. Consultation on zero-carbon homes small sites exemption closed.
1 January 2015. The use of HCFC’s was prohibited in any form, even for maintenance.
Early 2015. DECC intend to publish more detailed water source heat map.
For older events, see Construction industry diary 2014.
Featured articles and news
CIOB photographic competition final images revealed
Art of Building produces stunning images for another year.
Major overhaul of planning committees proposed by government
Planning decisions set to be fast-tracked to tackle the housing crisis.
Strategic restructure to transform industry competence
EBSSA becomes part of a new industry competence structure.
Industry Competence Steering Group restructure
ICSG transitions to the Industry Competence Committee (ICC) under the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
Principal Contractor Competency Certification Scheme
CIOB PCCCS competence framework for Principal Contractors.
The CIAT Principal Designer register
Issues explained via a series of FAQs.
Conservation in the age of the fourth (digital) industrial revolution.
Shaping the future of heritage
Embracing the evolution of economic thinking.
Ministers to unleash biggest building boom in half a century
50 major infrastructure projects, 5 billion for housing and 1.5 million homes.
RIBA Principal Designer Practice Note published
With key descriptions, best practice examples and FAQs, with supporting template resources.
Electrical businesses brace for project delays in 2025
BEB survey reveals over half worried about impact of delays.
Accelerating the remediation of buildings with unsafe cladding in England
The government publishes its Remediation Acceleration Plan.
Airtightness in raised access plenum floors
New testing guidance from BSRIA out now.
Picking up the hard hat on site or not
Common factors preventing workers using head protection and how to solve them.
Building trust with customers through endorsed trades
Commitment to quality demonstrated through government endorsed scheme.
New guidance for preparing structural submissions for Gateways 2 and 3
Published by the The Institution of Structural Engineers.
CIOB launches global mental health survey
To address the silent mental health crisis in construction.
Key takeaways from the BSRIA Briefing 2024
Not just waiting for Net Zero, but driving it.