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A clear understanding on how the Building Safety Bill will be implemented was given to parliamentarians by the UK government through many draft regulations.

FREMONT, CA: In order to provide parliamentarians with a clear understanding of how the Building Safety Bill will be implemented, the UK government has released many draft regulations. Katherine Metcalfe, Health and Safety expert of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law, stated that areas such as the building control process for higher-risk buildings, regulatory fees, and construction products, which are covered by regulations, provide higher clarity about the requirements to comply with construction phase duties.  For the new regime, these laws should allow duty holders to enhance their preparations, Metcalfe stated.

Detailed provisions on how the bill's gateway system for higher-risk structures will operate from design to the issuance of a completion certificate is contained in the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings) Regulations (England). Clients will have to apply for building control approval under the Gateway 2 process before development on a higher-risk project can begin.

Demolition and site clearance are now excluded from the definition of building work. A decision on Gateway 2 applications must be made by regulators within 12 weeks. Further the details in relation to the golden thread of information that is required to submit a Gateway 2 application are also specified by the regulations. This includes information about the intended use of the facility, designs, and papers such as a design and construction approach document and a fire and emergency file.

Strict change control procedure will also apply after the Gateway 2 permission is received. Rather than the principal contractor or designers falling to the client, the record-keeping duties and notification requirements are vital, stated Metcalfe. Natalie Harris of Pinsent Mason, a property development expert, conveyed that much greater emphasis on the client role is placed as it is in compliance with the draft duty holder regulations. During the design and construction phases, they think this will promote greater investor involvement.