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Leading national surveying practice Trident Building Consultancy has launched a new service to ensure major building projects are designed in line with building regulations.

The company has introduced a Building Regulations Principal Designer (BRPD) role at its London headquarters and across five regional offices, as demand for the service continues to grow.

The move follows comprehensive RIBA training undertaken by key individuals within the business, enabling Trident’s team to assess design compliance with building regulations at all RIBA stages of a project.

Pedro Fernandes, Senior Associate Director of Trident Building Consultancy, is one of those who has undertaken the Building Regulations Principal Designer training.

He described the process as a ‘golden thread’ of collating and recording the design documentation and information throughout each stage of the design.

This, Mr Fernandes said, ensures a scheme fully complies with building regulations in regard to fire safety, structural safety, and other hazards that could affect the safety of the building’s future occupants.

He said: “The role of Building Regulations Principal Designer is focused on ensuring compliance with the new building safety regime introduced post-Grenfell, with specific attention to Higher-Risk Buildings.

“Essentially, our role as BRPD is to ensure compliance at every stage of the design of the project or development.

“On large projects with multiple designers this can be very challenging, but as chartered building surveyors and chartered building engineers we’re familiar with the approved documents and building regulations, meaning we have the knowledge and understanding to challenge other designers.

“It makes sense for a BRPD role to be carried out by someone with a surveying background, which is why Trident has invested so much in training.”

The role of BRPD was created under the Buildings Act 2022, as a result of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

The act, which came into force in October 2023, stated that any project requiring building regulations approval must have a principal designer and principal contractor.

This includes commercial and domestic properties, and Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs) which are subject to the Gateway Application Process.

Mr Fernandes added: “Higher-Risk Buildings (HRBs) are classified as 18m or more in height or seven or more storeys and containing at least two residential units. This also applies to hospitals and care homes. All proposed works to HRB’s must have the design rigorously assessed by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). Construction works cannot legally start until Gateway 2 approval is granted.

“Prior to construction commencing, there are various protocols which need to be in place such as the mandatory occurrence reporting (MOR) system. If there are any changes to the design after approval is granted, then these must be reviewed once again by the BSR. This can involve stopping works on site until the re-design is approved by the BSR.

“The British Standards Institution developed the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 8671 – Framework for Competence of Individual Principal Designers. We are able to undertake the BRPD role as we have the necessary knowledge, skills, experience, and behaviour requirements as set out in PAS 8671.

“The training we’ve undertaken as a business, together with our experience, enables us to provide BRPD services to all new build, refurbishment and remedial projects.”