If your demolition company works directly or indirectly for one or more English local authorities, please pay attention. In fact, in the words of Geena Davis’ character in the 1986 movie – The Fly – “Be afraid. Be very afraid”.
According to a report from the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), as many as half of English councils could be filing for S114 notices within the next five years. While local authorities do not go bankrupt in quite the same way as individuals or commercial companies (as evidenced by Birmingham City Council) and S114 notice means they will concentrate only on “core services”.
Many local authorities have already pulled the plug on demolition projects either through genuine embodied carbon concerns or through Net Zero virtue signalling. The issuing of S114 notices could see demolition projects pushed even further towards the back burner.
You can find out more about the wider implications in this excellent article from Refurb and Retrofit magazine.
Following a meeting 0n 21 March, the National Federation of Demolition Contractors has announced a rule change. Henceforth, NFDC Officer positions from Regional Vice-Chairman up to President can only be held by persons who have been employed on a PAYE basis for a minimum of two years by the NFDC member company they wish to represent. 
Liam McArdle, from Gravesend, was fatally crushed by an excavator attachment while working for Erith Plant Services Limited on 21 September 2021. A demolition grab, attached to an excavator, fell onto the 24-year-old while it was loaded onto a lorry at Erith Plant Services Limited’s workshop at Eastern Quarry on Watling Steet, Swanscombe.