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Principal Designer Under the Building Safety Act Explained

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The Building Safety Act 2022 has fundamentally changed the landscape of duty holder responsibilities in the UK construction industry. For developers, employers, contractors and design teams alike, understanding the role of the Principal Designer – and how it has evolved under the new legislative framework – is no longer optional. It is a legal imperative. At Bailey Partnership, our Principal Designer service helps clients across Plymouth, Bristol, Exeter, Kent, Cornwall, Manchester, Edinburgh, Southampton, Chichester, Torquay and Bury St. Edmunds navigate these requirements with confidence.

 

A Changing Legislative Landscape

The Grenfell Tower tragedy of 2017 exposed systemic failures in how buildings – particularly higher-risk buildings – were designed, constructed and managed. The subsequent Hackitt Review and the Building Safety Act 2022 that followed represent the most significant reform of building safety regulation in a generation.

The Act introduced a new, more rigorous regulatory regime for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) – principally residential buildings over 18 metres or 7 storeys – but its implications are felt across the entire construction sector. Central to this new regime is the strengthening and clarification of duty holder roles, including the Principal Designer.

 

What is a Principal Designer?

The role of Principal Designer was first introduced in the UK under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015). Under CDM, a Principal Designer is appointed on any project involving more than one contractor, with responsibility for planning, managing, monitoring and co-ordinating the pre-construction phase health and safety – including the identification and elimination or management of design risk.

The Building Safety Act 2022 and its associated regulations – specifically the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 – introduced a second, distinct Principal Designer role for the purposes of Building Regulations compliance. This is separate from, but often overlapping with, the CDM Principal Designer role.

To avoid confusion, it is helpful to understand both:

 

CDM Principal Designer

Appointed under CDM 2015 on projects with more than one contractor. Responsible for:

  • Co-ordinating health and safety in the pre-construction phase
  • Identifying, eliminating and managing design risk
  • Preparing and maintaining the pre-construction health and safety file
  • Ensuring designers comply with their CDM duties
  • Liaising with the Principal Contractor on matters affecting the construction phase.

Building Regulations Principal Designer

Introduced by the Building Safety Act and its secondary legislation. Responsible for:

  • Planning, managing, monitoring and co-ordinating the design work during the design phase
  • Ensuring, so far as reasonably practicable, that the design work complies with all relevant requirements of the Building Regulations
  • Co-ordinating information between all designers and ensuring it is shared with the Principal Contractor and Building Control Body
  • For Higher-Risk Buildings, submitting the Building Control application to the Building Safety Regulator and managing the formal gateway process
  • Maintaining a design responsibility matrix and ensuring all duty holders are meeting their obligations throughout the design phase.

Both roles can be – and in many cases should be – held by the same organisation, provided they have the necessary competence. Bailey Partnership holds both, and we are experienced in discharging them as a unified, co-ordinated service.

 

What Changed Under the Building Safety Act?

Prior to the Building Safety Act, the responsibility for ensuring Building Regulations compliance rested primarily with the Principal Contractor and the individual designers. There was no single duty holder tasked with overseeing and co-ordinating Building Regulations compliance across the design team as a whole. The Act changed this and raised the bar considerably.

 

The Gateway Process for Higher-Risk Buildings

For Higher-Risk Buildings, the Act introduced a three-gateway approval process managed by the Building Safety Regulator (a function of the Health and Safety Executive):

  • Gateway 1 – Planning: Fire and rescue authority comments are now a mandatory consideration before planning permission is granted for HRBs
  • Gateway 2 – Construction: A full Building Control application must be submitted to and approved by the Building Safety Regulator before construction begins. This is a significant change – construction cannot proceed until approval is received
  • Gateway 3 – Completion: A completion certificate application must be submitted, and the Building Safety Regulator must be satisfied before the building is occupied

The Principal Designer plays a central role at each gateway – ensuring that the design documentation submitted is complete, co-ordinated and compliant, and that any queries raised by the Building Safety Regulator are addressed promptly and accurately.

 

The ‘Golden Thread’ of Information

One of the most significant concepts introduced by the Building Safety Act is the requirement for a ‘golden thread’ of building information – a structured, digital record of all key design and construction information that must be maintained throughout the building’s life and handed over to the Accountable Person on occupation.

The Principal Designer is responsible for establishing and maintaining the golden thread during the design phase. This requires clear information management processes, co-ordinated digital models and drawings, and rigorous document control. Our digital architecture capability – including BIM Level 2 compliant processes – means Bailey Partnership is well-placed to manage this requirement.

Competence Requirements

The Building Safety Act placed new emphasis on competence – both for individuals and for organisations. A Principal Designer must now demonstrate that they have the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours appropriate to the nature and complexity of the project. For organisations, this means having appropriate organisational capability – processes, systems and management structures – as well as individually competent practitioners.

At Bailey Partnership, we have invested significantly in ensuring our team meets these requirements. Our Principal Designer practitioners hold relevant professional qualifications and memberships, and we maintain documented quality management processes that support our competence as an organisation.

 

The Principal Designer’s Role in Practice: What Clients Can Expect

Appointing a Principal Designer early – ideally at the outset of the design process – is one of the most important decisions a client can make. The earlier the appointment, the greater the opportunity to influence design for safety and compliance, and the lower the risk of costly redesign or delay later in the programme.

In practice, clients working with Bailey Partnership as their Principal Designer can expect:

  • Early engagement to establish the design responsibility matrix and confirm all duty holders understand their roles and obligations
  • Proactive design risk management – identifying hazards through the design process and working with designers to eliminate or reduce them
  • Regular co-ordination meetings and clear communication across the design team and with the client and contractor
  • Management of the Building Control process – including preparation and submission of applications and management of conditions and queries
  • For Higher-Risk Buildings, full management of the Gateway process with the Building Safety Regulator
  • Maintenance of the golden thread – ensuring design information is accurate, current and accessible throughout the project
  • Handover of the health and safety file and pre-construction information to the Principal Contractor

Building Safety Compliance Beyond Higher-Risk Buildings

While the Building Safety Act’s most stringent requirements apply to Higher-Risk Buildings, the implications of the new regime extend to all construction projects. Clients, developers and contractors across all building types need to be aware of:

  • The strengthened duty holder regime – with clearer accountabilities for clients, Principal Designers, designers, Principal Contractors and contractors
  • The new requirement to appoint a Building Regulations Principal Designer on projects where more than one contractor is involved
  • Increased Building Control scrutiny – with revised processes for both Approved Inspector (now Registered Building Control Approver) and Local Authority routes
  • The new building liability orders – which can hold parent companies liable for building safety obligations of subsidiaries

Our Building Safety team works across projects of all scales – from single-dwelling extensions to major mixed-use regeneration schemes – helping clients understand their obligations and ensuring that safety is considered and managed at every stage of the design and construction process.

 

Why Choose Bailey Partnership as Your Principal Designer?

Bailey Partnership has been delivering multi-disciplinary construction consultancy services for over 50 years. Our Principal Designer service draws on the full depth of our in-house expertise – bringing together architects, structural and civil engineers, building surveyors, project managers and building services engineers under one roof.

This integrated approach means that when we act as Principal Designer, we are not co-ordinating teams we have never worked with before. We understand how design decisions in one discipline affect others, we have established working relationships across our team, and we can identify and resolve issues quickly and efficiently.

We act as Principal Designer on projects across Plymouth, Bristol, Exeter, Manchester, Edinburgh, Kent, Cornwall, Southampton, Chichester, Torquay and Bury St. Edmunds – from new build commercial and residential developments to complex refurbishment, education, healthcare and heritage projects.

If you are appointing a design team for a new project – or if you are reviewing your current arrangements in the light of the Building Safety Act – we would welcome the opportunity to discuss how we can support you.

 

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