Opinion

Lindsays partner Louise Norris shares her belief that the success of Scotland's property sector would be accelerated by an increase in female participation. The opportunities for women in Scotland’s property industry have never been greater - whether they be in construction, engineering or pro

CMS partner Shona Frame outlines key legal and legislative issues that are likely to impact the construction sector over 2025.  In the year ahead, significant legal and legislative measures covering a range of areas including environmental sustainability, health and safety, financing and employ

Brodies' legal director Jamie Dunne and solicitor Emma Hill highlight a CMA probe into possible bid-rigging in relation to a school improvement fund and discuss what it could mean for construction businesses.

Organisations that can deliver green construction stand to benefit from increasing consumer demand, argues Julia Maguire​, partner and head of energy at Pinsent Masons. The UK construction industry is navigating its way through the energy transition as it shifts towards a more sustainable, lower c

CMS partner Caroline Maciver highlights what the Scottish Government has in store for 2025 in terms of cladding remediation. As this year comes to a close, Scotland’s housing minister Paul McLennan has given some indications of what to expect next year in respect of cladding remediation.

Very few in Scotland’s real estate sector are currently satisfied with the existing planning system. The question then is how best to alleviate the issues that currently challenge the public and private sector parties with an interest in this key industry. Lee Murphy, a planning consultan

Following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017, the Grenfell Inquiry’s Final Report (also called the Phase 2 Report), was published in September. It paints a bleak picture of years of failures by government and others in the construction industry and calls for far-reaching reform

Kate Ross, a trainee solicitor at BTO, considers the implications of a case where a main contractor and subcontractor were invited to notify the adjudicator of any "clerical or typographical errors". McLaughlin and Harvey Ltd v LJJ Ltd [2024] EWHC 1032 (TCC) concerned the enforcement of a decis

A Scottish appeal court decision on time bar should provide a stark warning for the construction sector, argues Michael Collins. Five years. That’s how long a party has to make a claim for damages under the Scottish law of prescription (time bar). But when, exactly, does that clock s

Kirsten Belk, a practice development lawyer at Dentons, runs through the new Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill with an eye on its impact for real estate in Scotland. The Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 26 June. Sustainable production and consumption are

Ailsa Ritchie, partner at law firm CMS, provides the following comment on the construction policy note which has introduced a Graduated Pricing Mechanism as an alternative method of determining price score in tender evaluation. Guidance setting out a new method of determining the price score in tend

With the average number of deaths in the building sector now significantly higher than in the pre-pandemic period, Kevin Bridges, partner and head of health and safety at Pinsent Masons, said the focus is now on construction's efforts to improve its safety practices. Construction companies have

Neil Kelly, partner and head of construction at Morton Fraser MacRoberts, provides some analysis into a case where the Supreme Court ruled that a collateral warranty isn't considered a construction contract eligible for quick resolution under the Housing Grants (Construction & Regeneration)

The full impact of the Cladding Remediation Bill, which was recently passed in the Scottish Parliament, is still to be felt within the construction sector, write Shona Frame and Ryan McCuaig. The 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy, which claimed 72 lives, put a sharp focus on the safety of cladding systems

Formal building contracts are a fundamental part of any construction project, specifying the contractual obligations on all parties, avoiding any ambiguities and the need for third-party interventions that can add to project costs and timescales, writes Ian McCann. The Joint Contracts Tribunal