Cost Watch No.1
Updated: 15 hours ago
MATERIALS
Structural steel up 17.7% in a year. Cement down 4.5%
The latest building materials figures put all-work material prices up 6.0% over the twelve months to June, and new housing up 5.0%. Underneath those averages the spread is wide. Fabricated structural steel rose 17.7%, rigid pipes and fittings 12.0%, and aggregates 11.4%. Cement fell 4.5% and ready-mixed concrete 1.1%.
So what. A single materials inflation percentage applied across an estimate will be wrong in both directions. A steel-framed scheme and a concrete-framed scheme of the same value have not moved the same way this year.
REGULATION
Biodiversity net gain exemptions took effect on 6 August
Sites of 0.2 hectares or less are now exempt, provided they do not affect priority habitat. The requirement to prioritise on-site enhancement now applies only to major development, so smaller schemes can go straight to off-site units. That means buying registered biodiversity units from a habitat bank or other landowner, rather than creating habitat on the site itself. Statutory credits bought from Defra remain a last resort and are priced to discourage their use. Applicants submitted before 6 August, including section 73 variations, stay under the old rules.
So what. If you are holding an appraisal for a small site with a net gain allowance in it, that allowance may no longer be needed. Check the site area and the habitat before you spend it.
MARKET
343 construction insolvencies in July, the third highest month this year
Up from 332 in June, and 332 in July last year. Construction accounted for 17% of all company insolvencies in England and Wales. BCIS attributes the pressure to energy market volatility on top of margin strain that was already there.
So what. This is a tender list question before it is a cost question. On any scheme going to market this autumn, the covenant check matters as much as the price.
BUILDING SAFETY
Gateway 2 now runs at a 22-week median for new build
The regulator's May to July data puts the median decision time for new higher-risk buildings at 22 weeks, with 91% of decisions being approvals. A year ago, those figures were 43 weeks and 39%. Remediation and internal works are still 34 and 32 weeks.
So what. The sensible allowance has moved from two application cycles to one, which is a genuine saving. The 22 weeks themselves are not a saving, and they still have to be financed and inflated in the appraisal.
How we can help
Three of the four items above change a number in an appraisal you may already be holding. We will check any of them against your scheme:
• Steel-framed scheme priced before the summer. We will re-rate the frame against current prices.
• Small site carrying a net gain allowance. We will tell you whether you need it.
• Higher-risk scheme going to Gateway 2. We will price the 22 weeks.
Send the drawings and accommodation schedule to mark@qsetc.uk. Indicative fee proposal within one working day. Get in touch ›
Sources. Building materials and components statistics, GOV.UK. Building Safety Regulator application data, May to July 2026. Insolvency Service monthly company insolvency statistics. Defra biodiversity gain condition amendments.
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