Projects & Construction Quarterly Bulletin (September 2022)

Welcome to the Projects & Construction team’s Quarterly Bulletin.

In this edition of the Quarterly Bulletin, we look at who should bear the costs of remedying fire safety defects in tall buildings following Martlet Homes Ltd v Mulalley & Co Ltd and provide an update on The Building Safety Act 2022 from a social infrastructure perspective. We also give insight into the recent procurement case of Braceurself Limited v NHS England [2022] EWHC 1532 (TCC).

If you have any questions, please get in touch with your usual Clyde & Co contact or reach us at our Infrastructure@clydeco.com.

Who pays the costs of remedying fire safety defects in tall buildings?

The recent judgment of the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) in Martlet v Mulalley is an extremely important decision. Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, it has emerged that thousands of tall buildings across the UK have potential fire safety defects which may require remediation, and this is the first judgment from a UK Court which decides which party should bear such remedial costs, and the costs of waking watches deployed to mitigate fire risks. The judgment is therefore likely to have considerable ramifications. This article analyses the decision in the Martlet case and its potential consequences.

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The Building Safety Act 2022: How will it Impact Social Infrastructure Projects?

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA), enacted in April, is possibly the most significant piece of legislation regarding the built environment to be introduced in recent decades. Previous articles we have published looked at the history of the BSA, and some of its key provisions (and can be accessed here and here).

Given the tragic history that shaped the development of the BSA, discussions around the impact of the legislation have focussed on its application to residential buildings. Here we will focus on the application of the BSA to social infrastructure (including education, healthcare and defence) more widely.

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Check your scores before the Court does it for you - the importance of evaluating tenders carefully

An interesting procurement law judgment in the recent case of Braceurself Limited v NHS England [2022] EWHC 1532 (TCC) was handed down by the UK High Court in June 2022. This decision has reaffirmed the Court’s interventionist approach and willingness to re-score tenders where a contracting authority has made a manifest error during evaluation.

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Clyde Commentary: Thoughts on FIDIC

We recently released Clause 13 of our FIDIC series, Clyde Commentary: Thoughts on FIDIC, which focuses on both the 1999 and 2017 editions of the Red, Yellow and Silver Books (the FIDIC Suite). The series explores each of the Clauses in the FIDIC Suite and will contribute incrementally to a guide to the whole Suite. This guide aims to provide clients with a nuanced and in-depth understanding of the main FIDIC contracts.

Download our FIDIC Guide

Projects & Construction Podcasts

Our team of specialist projects and construction experts discuss the latest legal and market developments in the infrastructure sector.

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Other trending updates:

Climate change - Exploring how businesses are adapting to challenges

Climate change presents unprecedented risks and opportunities to all sectors. In the podcast series lawyers specialised in Climate Risk and Resilience discuss how businesses are adapting to challenges and embracing opportunities to become climate resilient. Listen to the podcast series here

Biodiversity liability and value chain risk report

Biodiversity risk is increasingly going to be on the corporate radar as part of ongoing work to mitigate climate change risk (and support nature-based solutions) and broader initiatives on ESG. Read our report on biodiversity liability and value chain risk.

Click here to learn more