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Planning problems continue to remain topical in connection with the placing of land based wind turbines as can be seen from the judgement of the Administrative Courton 15th April whereby RWE Npower Renewables Ltd succeeded in its claim for judicial review of Milton Keynes Councils Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) The SPD attempted to fix minimum separation distances between wind...

We thought it would be useful to compare and contrast the features of certain endeavours clauses commonly used in drafting legal documentation. It cannot be stressed too strongly that to construe the meaning of such clauses is particularly fact and context specific, relative to the transaction they are used to document, but here is a short aide memoire of points to consider when faced w...

We recently ran a successful workshop for one of our engineering sub contractor clients on some key risk issues arising under NEC and related documents. We can repeat the workshop at your offices (lasting about 2 hours) from the perspective of main contractor or sub contractor whichever suits. Issues covered include: Basic philosophy of the contract Typical Z Clauses, why...

We have previously reported on the pitfalls of using letters of intent and a recent case provides a textbook illustration of the major problems that can arise when Letters of Intent go wrong. The case is Trustees of Ampleforth Abbey Trust v. Turner and Townsend Project Management Ltd where the trustees employed a building contractor to carry out substantial work at Ampleforth School...

It is a basic principle of good risk management that parties to legal agreements will not want to enter into absolute obligations to do certain things which are, to an extent, outside their control. Instead, parties will enter obligations to use "reasonable endeavours" or sometimes "best endeavours" to comply with certain obligations depending on the importance of the obligations which ...

NEC3 is rapidly growing in popularity as the construction and engineering industry's contract of choice, being less stringent and arguably more flexible than some of its JCT or ICE competitors. NEC3 main contracts and sub - contracts operate whereby a type of core contract (there are 6 available) is selected e.g. 'Priced Contact with Activity Schedule' and supplemented by a series o...

A recent judgment of The Technology and Construction Court handed down by Mr Justice Akenhead on 15th March 2012 could have a major impact on the provision of legal advice to the construction and engineering sector - Walter Lilly & Co Ltd v Giles Patrick Cyril Mackay and DMW Developments Ltd. Briefly, the issues turned on the appointment of claims consultants to give "contractua...

In this note we examine some of the issues relating to the duty of Architects to award extension of time ("EOT") where prior notification by the Contractor is, or is possibly, a Condition Precedent ("CP") to the Architect being obliged to issue the appropriate EOT award. If a CP could be found by the Court whereby the effect was that the Contractor's failure to serve a contractual noti...

Sustainability and energy efficiency in buildings - thinking design through from the outset and taking the long-term view Background Pursuant to the Climate Change Act 2008, the UK has set itself a legally binding national target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050. Buildings are responsible for approximately 50% of the UK's total carbon dioxide emissions and the go...

The main changes to adjudication under the amended Act are as follows:- Oral Contracts As the amended Act now applies to construction contracts made orally or part orally and part written, any dispute under such a contract can now be referred to adjudication. However, certain adjudication requirements still need to be in writing otherwise the adjudication provisions under the Sc...