A leading North Wales construction firm is drawing on its experience of England's strengthened post-Grenfell building safety regime to help contractors, consultants, and suppliers prepare for regulatory change in Wales.
Wynne Construction says early preparation, clearly defined responsibilities, robust digital records, and close coordination between project teams will be increasingly important as the Welsh construction industry adapts to the new building safety requirements.
The Denbighshire-based contractor has already bolstered its design management, data control, and compliance processes while working on projects in England, including on the £8 million Kings Moat Community Primary School in Chester.
Operating across Wales and the North West of England, the company has first-hand experience of how regulatory change affects scheme delivery, welcoming the increased emphasis on the Building Regulations Principal Designer role, which focuses on planning, monitoring, and coordinating design work to help ensure compliance with Building Regulations.
Design and BIM manager Richard Beatson says the Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026 should not be viewed simply as additional administration, but as an opportunity to improve compliance, accountability, and building safety.
He said:
“The key is not to panic in the face of regulatory change. These reforms are ultimately about creating safer buildings from inception through to completion. That's why on Kings Moat, we brought in specialist third-party expertise to assist the project team and provide additional assurance.
“Updating our workflows supports the ‘golden thread' of building information, ensuring important decisions, design development, and amendments are properly recorded and controlled.
“Our cloud-based common data environment (CDE) has been vital. It enables us to track design alterations, maintain revision histories, and ensure our teams and supply chain partners are always working from the latest approved information.
“We also undertook comprehensive training ahead of construction to ensure everyone understood both the regulatory requirements and what that meant for their individual roles.”
The reforms are expected to place greater emphasis on competence, accountability, and the way building information is recorded and shared between clients, design teams, contractors, and building control bodies.
Enhanced requirements also apply for higher-risk buildings (HRBs), classified in Wales as structures that are at least 18 metres or seven storeys high and contain residential accommodation, as well as certain hospitals, care homes, and children's homes.
This three-stage regulatory approval framework is designed to maximise safety by ensuring schemes only progress if they pass the planning, pre-construction, and pre-occupation/completion phases.
Beyond construction, the wider reforms also introduce new responsibilities for those managing occupied HRBs, alongside stronger regulatory building control procedures intended to improve safety and security throughout a building's lifecycle.
Richard added:
“The main lesson from our experience working in England is that preparation needs to start early. The better prepared clients, consultants, and contractors are from the outset, the easier these changes become to integrate into normal project delivery.
“Ultimately, the objective is to deliver buildings that are safe, compliant, and properly understood during their lifespan.”
Wynne Construction is celebrating 100 years of construction excellence. Operating throughout Wales and the North West of England, the company delivers high-quality projects across sectors including education, social housing, healthcare, and sport and leisure.
The company is appointed to a number of key frameworks, including the North Wales Construction Partnership (NWCP), Pagabo, SEWSCAP, South West Wales Regional Contractors Framework (SSWRCF), Welsh Procurement Alliance, Westworks, and RNLI, demonstrating its strong track record of collaborative delivery for both public and third-sector clients.
