The wind of change blows for Scottish building regulations

Last month I mentioned the proposed changes to the building regulations in Scotland. The details were confirmed at the end of April.

Ban on combustible cladding materials

One key change which comes into effect from 1 June is a ban on the use of combustible cladding materials on high-rise buildings. The building standards legislation also removes the option of a fire test, completely prohibiting such materials from use on domestic and other high-risk buildings, such as care homes and hospitals, above 11m.

Environmental and energy standards regulation changes

The other changes relate to sections 3 and 6 (environment and energy standards respectively). These will come into force from 1 October. A full update to the Building Standards Division (BSD)’s technical handbooks detailing these changes will be available later in May. The BSD informed me that they will run a series of webinars in June to provide information on and answer any questions FMB members have about the changes. The dates and registration details will be confirmed later in May. If you are interested in attending, keep an eye on the BSD website or get in touch with me.

Three-year freeze on Scottish regulations changes?

Finally, there was a general view from our FMB Scotland Board members that building contractors and the wider construction industry would benefit from a three-year freeze on further changes to the Scottish building regulations. This would give everyone the opportunity to understand and accommodate the changes coming into effect this year. I will be making this point to the BSD team in due course.

Authors

Gordon Nelson

FMB Scotland Hub Director, Federation of Master Builders

Director, Federation of Master Builders Scotland

Gordon has nearly twenty years’ experience of working in membership organisations in Scotland and joined the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in 2014. Prior to this, he worked at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and for Unilever in business development, membership management and business-to-business marketing roles. Amongst his responsibilities in his role as the Director for FMB Scotland are public affairs, media relations, governance and representing member’s interests to Scottish policy makers and stakeholders within the Scottish construction industry. Gordon is the Secretary of the Cross-Party Group on Construction in the Scottish Parliament, and he is a member of the Scottish Building Standards Futures Board. Gordon represents the FMB on Scotland’s Construction Industry Collective Voice: which is comprised of the leading construction trade and professional bodies. In spring 2023 Gordon was appointed as an industry co-chair of the Construction Leaderships Forum’s (CLF) Transformation Board.

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