Rachel Murray-Smith Archives - Sharpe Pritchard

The Construction Products Reform Green Paper 2025: paving the way for wide scale change to the construction products regime

17 April 2025

Sharpe Pritchard’s thoughts on the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 report

5 March 2025

The Government has announced its response to the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 report. The Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2 report made 58 recommendations, of which 37 were directed at the Government and 21 were directed at other bodies and institutions. As part of its response the Government has confirmed that all of the recommendations are being... Read more

Defective Premises Act 1972 and Building Liability Orders

3 February 2025

The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) has handed down a significant decision in 381 Southwark Park Road RTM Co Ltd & Ors v Click St Andrews Ltd [2024] EWHC 3179 relating to Building Liability Orders (BLO) and claims under s.2A of the Defective Premises Act 1972. Building Liability Order Construction projects can involve complex corporate…

Building Safety and The Remediation Acceleration Plan – What to expect in 2025

28 January 2025

Following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report in September 2024, the Prime Minister pledged to fast-track the remediation of unsafe buildings, signalling a strengthened focus on building safety. The Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP) was consequently launched in December 2024 with an aim that by 2029: “all 18m+ (high-rise) buildings with unsafe cladding in a Government…

Summary of the English Devolution White Paper

18 December 2024

Overview On 16 December 2024, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (“MHCLG”) released the English Devolution White Paper (the “White Paper”), setting out plans to develop devolution in England with the intention of “unleashing power from Whitehall back into local communities that know their areas best”. The Government announced plans to merge local…

Budget 2024: Highlights for local government

1 November 2024

This week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, announced a series of measures that will affect local government. These measures cover a number of areas from the structuring of future funding settlements to future local government devolution and reorganisation plans. In this article, partners Rachel Murray-Smith, Peter Collins and Bernadette Hillman consider the impacts…

Performance bonds and parent company guarantees in construction contracts

29 October 2024

Performance bonds and parent company guarantees (“PCG”) are a means of protection for an employer against non-performance by a contractor in carrying out works under a building contract. There are various ways in which an employer to a building contract can secure the performance of the appointed contractor. In this article, we consider performance bonds…

The Golden Thread of Information Unravelled: Navigating the Golden Thread Guidance for Higher-Risk Buildings

10 September 2024

The Building Safety Act 2022 (“BSA 2022”) together with subsequent secondary legislation, introduced a new regulatory regime for Higher-Risk Buildings (“HRB”) in England. Part of the new regime is a requirement for a ‘Golden Thread’ of information. On 27 August 2024, the Construction Leadership Council (“CLC”) published “Delivering the Golden Thread: Guidance for dutyholders and…