Principal Designer Services: CDM 2015 and Building Regulations
Two legal roles share the same title. We explain which ones your project needs, then take the role on or support the principal designer you have already appointed.
Since 1 October 2023, “principal designer” has meant two different appointments in England. The CDM 2015 principal designer manages health and safety during the pre-construction phase. The Building Regulations principal designer, created by Part 2A of the Building Regulations 2010, coordinates design work so it complies with the building regulations. Resilient Consult takes on either role, or both, on suitable projects. Where you already have a principal designer, we can support them with document reviews, coordination and record keeping instead.
Mixing up the two roles is common, and it causes real trouble. A design team may be strong on buildability and safe maintenance but have nobody tracking compliance with Approved Documents across every consultant. Or the reverse. We map who is responsible for what at the outset, so each duty has a named owner and the client can show it was handled.
Ask for a proposalPrincipal designer support we provide
Role and appointment advice
We confirm whether your project needs a CDM principal designer, a Building Regulations principal designer or both, and draft the written appointments.
Design risk management
We review drawings and specifications for hazards in construction, cleaning, maintenance and use, and log how each one is removed or controlled.
Pre-construction information
We help the client assemble the information designers and contractors need, and issue it to them in a usable format.
Building Regulations compliance coordination
We plan, track and record how each designer’s work meets the relevant requirements, and flag gaps between packages before they reach site.
Higher-risk building gateway support
For buildings in the higher-risk regime, we help organise the design information and compliance records that the gateway applications rely on.
Health and safety file
We prepare the file during the pre-construction phase, keep it updated with the principal contractor and hand it to the client at completion.
The two principal designer roles in law
Under CDM 2015, a client must appoint a principal designer in writing where more than one contractor will work on the project (regulation 5). Regulation 11 requires the principal designer to plan, manage and monitor the pre-construction phase, apply the general principles of prevention, identify and control foreseeable risks, make sure designers meet their duties and liaise with the principal contractor. Regulation 12 makes the principal designer responsible for preparing the health and safety file and passing it to the client at the end of the project.
The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 came into force on 1 October 2023 and added Part 2A to the Building Regulations 2010. Regulation 11D requires a written appointment where there is more than one contractor, regulation 11G sets competence requirements and regulation 11M requires the principal designer to plan, manage and monitor design work so that all reasonable steps are taken for it to comply. Government guidance confirms one appointee can hold both roles if the client confirms this in writing. Higher-risk buildings, at least 18 metres or seven storeys with two or more homes, also pass through Gateway 2 before work starts and Gateway 3 before occupation.
What you receive from us
- Role map showing every dutyholder and their written appointment
- Design risk register, kept up to date through design
- Pre-construction information pack
- Building Regulations compliance tracker across all design packages
- Design review notes issued to each consultant
- Information for the construction phase plan
- Completed health and safety file at handover
How it runs
Scoping
We review the project and building type, confirm which principal designer roles apply and agree whether we hold them or support your appointee.
Appointment
Written appointments are put in place, including the client’s written confirmation where one firm covers both roles.
Design phase
We run design reviews and coordination, keep the risk register and compliance tracker live, and report progress to the client.
Handover
We pass construction-phase information to the principal contractor, complete the health and safety file and close out open actions.
Why clients bring us in
Clients often struggle to see who in a design team is actually managing these duties. With Resilient Consult you get one point of contact who reports to you in plain English: what has been checked, what is outstanding and who owns each action. Director Adrian Heaton oversees each appointment, and we only take the principal designer role where the project suits our competence. Where it does not, we say so and support your appointed principal designer instead.
Design reviews regularly turn up a need for more information, such as an asbestos survey before strip-out, a compartmentation survey or advice on fire alarm design. We arrange these through our specialist partners, who hold the relevant qualifications and third-party certification for that work, and you see the certificates. Their findings feed straight into the risk register and compliance records, so nothing sits in a separate inbox.
Who we do this for
Related construction consultancy services
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Questions about Principal Designer
All questionsCan one firm be both principal designers?
Yes. Government guidance says the principal designer appointed under CDM 2015 can also carry out the role for building regulations, provided the client confirms this in writing to the appointee. It is often the most practical setup, because the same person sees both the health and safety and the compliance sides of the design. The appointee must still meet the competence requirements for each role, so it is worth checking before you combine them.
What happens if we do not appoint a principal designer?
Under CDM 2015, if a client fails to appoint a principal designer where one is needed, the client must carry out the principal designer duties in regulations 11 and 12 itself. Under Part 2A of the Building Regulations, the client also has to make suitable arrangements for compliance. In short, the duties do not disappear, they land with you. An early written appointment is far easier than trying to recover the position mid-project.
Is our building a higher-risk building?
For the design and construction regime, a higher-risk building is at least 18 metres tall or at least seven storeys and contains at least two residential units. Hospitals and care homes of that height are also included. If yours qualifies, building work cannot start until the Building Safety Regulator approves it at Gateway 2, and a new building cannot be occupied until Gateway 3 is passed. We help you assemble the design and compliance information both stages rely on.
When should a principal designer be appointed?
As early as you can. CDM 2015 requires the appointment as soon as is practicable and in any event before the construction phase begins, but a principal designer brought in after the design is settled has little left to influence. For higher-risk building work under Part 2A of the Building Regulations, the appointments must be made before the building control application goes in. We recommend appointing at concept stage, while design choices are still open.
Do you work with contractors?
Yes. We help contractors with risk assessments and method statements, COSHH assessments, written policies and preparation for SSIP schemes such as CHAS, SafeContractor and Constructionline. On projects we can support clients and principal contractors with CDM duties, and we work alongside main contractors when managing fire remedials, so the people on site have clear information and the right paperwork before they start.
What do your reports look like?
They are written in plain English with each finding located, photographed and given a clear priority. Where remedial work follows, you receive before, during and after photographs, a log of materials used and the certificates for specialist work. Long programmes come with regular progress reports. Everything is supplied digitally for you to keep, ready for your safety file, an audit or the golden thread for higher-risk buildings.
Tell us what you need.
What it is, where it is and what you need checked, fixed or managed. You get a scope and a written proposal back.
- adrian@resilientconsult.uk
- Based
- Wigan-based, working across the North West