The Scottish Building Standards Hub launches

CABE Past President Stewart McArthur attended the launch of the Scottish Building Standards Hub.

More than 120 construction professionals from local authority and commercial organisations gathered to celebrate the new Scottish construction sector hub. The hub will deliver advice, learning and development on a range of building standards to local authorities in Scotland, as well as stakeholders in the construction sector.

It follows a two-year pilot programme operated within the Fife Council area, something that the council’s Chief Executive Ken Gourlay touched on in his opening speech. His experience of the hub was that it had been a great resource that had successfully supported five councils, all of which were delighted at its realisation. “A national hub such as this will be a fundamental part of improving building standards for the benefit of communities across Scotland,” he said.

“It also presents Fife Council with the opportunity to support innovation by hosting a national centre for expertise and resilience. I look forward to watching it deliver on its ambitious vision.”

The Scottish Building Standards Hub will also support specialist services, offering advice in areas including fire engineering, structural engineering, environmental and energy. This is particularly useful for smaller authorities. It will see experts from both public and private sectors work to establish a consistent approach to matters facing the industry such as building standards and building control.

Scottish Housing Minister Paul McLennan MSP elaborated on the inspiration for the hub – it was at the recommendation of an expert review panel on fire staff safety compliance and enforcement.

He stated: “The hub is an example of joined-up and collaborative working across our public sector and it will, with support from across industry, help to strengthen building standards for the future.”

Training and standards

James Whiteford and Alan McAulay, Scottish Building Standards Hub Directors, spoke of the benefits of a central point of contact for standards, design issues, competency and training. This is something that Stephen Garvin, Head of Building Standards within the Scottish government, echoed in his speech about the hub’s potential.

The presentation from Cala Homes highlighted the benefits it had found in using the hub in its pilot stage – namely the time it saved, having a single point of contact, having a consistency of approach, having an agreed process and confidence in design. Hearing this from a construction company and its designers impressed upon those assembled just how well this would work across the 32 local authorities in Scotland.

The launch concluded with a discussion on how the hub could support Local Authority Building Standards (LABSS) training from Laura Shanks, City of Edinburgh Council’s Building Standards Team Manager, Chair of LABSS and current CABE Scotland Treasurer, and Danielle Louis, who recounted her own experience as a young professional within building standards.

Russell Watson, LABSS Business Support and Commercial Communications Director, addressed the modern apprenticeship programme and how this would affect building standards. The attendees were left in no doubt that the hub is only the start of Scottish innovation and collaboration.

For more, visit sbsh.scot

Image credit | Fife-Council | Shutterstock