Alisdair Gray on the Building Safety Act Panel at Wedlake Bell

16 October 2024

We had a packed room this morning and heard some fascinating insights on the Building Safety Act at this morning’s panel discussion chaired by Wedlake Bell and Sarah Elliott’s construction law team. Cousins & Cousins’ Associate Director, Alisdair Gray joined the panel with Kevin Savage, Managing Director of Socotec Building Control and Matthrew Lodge, Senior Director for Valuation and Advisory Services at CBRE.

Some key thoughts and themes emerged during the discussion. These included a discussion on the viability of schemes due to the new regs affecting floorplate efficiency. Secondly, the impact of cost increases and programme delays incurred during the Gateway submissions. Also the problem of a lack of trained class 3H Building Inspectors and the challenges faced by building control consultancies. Finally, the statistics on Gateway 2 applications and the proportion of rejected and invalid applications due to a lack of understanding or knowledge of the application process within consultant teams.

However, there was universal agreement that the new system is necessary and good for the industry, and once the dust settles on the teething issues, the system will produce better quality buildings and have positive impact on the design process.

Thank you Wedlake Bell, and we very much look forward to the next breakfast discussion!

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