As September draws to a close, we’ve been reflecting on a productive month of insights, innovation, and collaboration across the development and infrastructure sectors. In this newsletter, we share the latest industry and Brookbanks updates, to help you stay ahead of changes.
This month, we released our guide on BREEAM New Construction v7, due Summer 2025.
It’s more than an update; it represents a shift in how sustainability, carbon, and resilience are evaluated in building projects.
Key updates include:
Why this matters: Projects initiated without accounting for these changes may find themselves facing downgrades or unexpected costs. Early involvement of sustainability specialists (e.g. BREEAM assessors) and integrating these requirements into the early design and procurement stages will help protect both budget and rating outcomes.
Reach out to Shawn Galliers, Director of Sustainability, for more information.
In our recent team video, and article “Structural Engineering: Integrated, Efficient, and Built to Last”, we introduced our Structural Engineering team and explored how we are pushing for structural design that works in harmony with architecture, M&E, and commercial strategy.
Key takeaways included:
How clients can benefit: By involving our structural team early, you gain more predictable cost outcomes, fewer surprises in contractor bids, and buildings that perform better (in cost, safety, sustainability) over their lifetime.
Chat to Chris Vivian, Group Director for Structural Engineering, to see how we could support you.
We published our full overview of the Building Safety Act 2022 and our M&E team hosted a dedicated webinar on this topic, led by Jack Kenny. The BSA continues to reshape how building safety is regulated in England.
Key lessons included:
What this means for you: Decisions that used to be made later in a project (materials, contractor appointments, detailed design) now need earlier attention. Ensuring that all duty holders are clear on their responsibilities and that safety documentation is robust from day one, can reduce delays, cost surprises, and regulatory friction.
Thank you to everyone who joined our BSA webinar, and contributed to the discussion. If you missed it, don’t worry, you can catch up via the link below.
Looking ahead, Jack Lynch (Planning Manager) and Fran Walker (Senior Associate Director) from our DM group will be hosting the next webinar at:
12:30pm on Wednesday 15th October
Focusing on
Elevating Value: Planning & Project Management in Action
They’ll delve into their insights, discussing real word examples about how we tackle barriers to smooth project delivery, ensure stakeholder collaboration and programme complex timelines.
This promises to be a highly practical and valuable session for anyone involved in planning, development management, or large-scale residential schemes.
Sign up here to secure your place
We look forward to seeing you there!
Thank you for reading! If you would like to stay in up to date on our news and projects please sign up to our monthly newsletter via the button below.
Our goal is to make sure you’re not just compliant, but resilient and well positioned for the future. If you’d like to discuss any of these topics in more depth, or assess your projects with fresh eyes, contact Rachel Appleby, Group Business Director, at rachel.appleby@brookbanks.com.
Alternatively, follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram or YouTube for real-time news and content. For example, this month we shared on LinkedIn and Instagram that we were shortlisted as “Residential Consultancy Team of the Year” at the 2025 Midlands Property Awards and we published our second podcast episode on YouTube, diving into post-contract administration.
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Developers often focus on design, budget and planning, but the ground underfoot can be a silent deal-breaker. In fact, it’s estimated that roughly 80% of construction problems arise from unexpected soil or rock conditions that proper investigation could have revealed.
The Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill, introduced in March 2025, is a cornerstone of its housing and growth agenda. Its report stage has recently concluded, with members seeking amendments to some elements.
In this episode of the Brookbanks Podcast hosted by Ben Wakeling, guests Paul Coombs, Senior Civils Engineer and Andrew Wilkinson, Director, share their experience and reflections on the evolving landscape of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS).