On 27 August, in the build-up to the publication of the final report by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) published its guidance to help stakeholders involved in ensuring the safety of high-rise buildings to better understand their responsibilities regarding delivery of the ‘golden thread’ of information for higher-risk buildings
The Building Safety Act 2022 (‘the BSA’) received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. The Act introduced ground-breaking reforms to give residents more rights, powers, and protections and has implications for the developers, owners, managers and occupiers of residential buildings. Under the Building Safety Act 2022, the ‘golden thread’ of information for higher-risk buildings is the information that will enable duty holders and accountable persons to understand their building as well as the steps needed to keep the building and people safe both now and in the future.
The BSA ushered in new requirements for a golden thread of up-to-date digital information to be kept about high-rise residential buildings to improve the management of building safety. For higher risk buildings, i.e. those containing at least two residential units and which are at least 18 metres in height or have at least seven storeys, a comprehensive record of all safety critical information, covering design, construction and ongoing maintenance, must be kept, maintained and made accessible to view.
The CLC’s guidance, Delivering the golden thread: Guidance for duty holders and accountable persons, is aimed at all those with duties relating to the design, construction, operation and management of higher-risk buildings. The document provides advice about roles and responsibilities and how to create a systematic approach to gathering and storing safety information for their building. It covers the content of the golden thread throughout the lifecycle of a higher-risk building, including what golden thread information accountable persons need to be aware of.
This detailed technical guidance aims to bring together all information about the golden thread into one place and reinforce the golden thread principles among key stakeholders.
Contact our expert Building Safety Group
If you have a query concerning how you may be affected by the Building Safety Act, then please contact our expert Building Safety Group by email to: buildingsafety@bishopandsewell.co.uk
The above is accurate as at 17 September 2024. The information above may be subject to change. The content of this note should not be considered legal advice and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
