This article was produced by Olswang LLP, which joined with CMS on 1 May 2017.
Fashions and opinions change. Defining deleterious materials in construction documents has therefore always been a snapshot of current thinking rather than a precise science.
Where a contractor or consultant is involved in the selection of materials on a development, it is market practice to include a clause in the contract or appointment document which prohibits the use or specification of so-called deleterious materials or the use of materials which are not compliant with the Ove Arup & Partners 1997 ‘Good Practice in the Selection of Construction Materials‘. Although the Ove Arup guide was republished in 2002, it was left untouched until earlier this year when the British Council for Offices (“BCO”) published an updated ‘Good Practice in the Selection of Construction Materials 2011’. The previous Ove Arup guide listed and provided guidance on the 12 most frequently used materials and materials groups. As well as providing an update to this list, the key change is the inclusion of an ‘environmental considerations’ section (which generally requires consultants and contractors to take into account the environmental impact of the materials to be used on a development). It will be interesting to see what effect the inclusion of this element in the guidance note has on the wider industry given the current cash squeeze and a reluctance to purchase more expensive, eco-friendly materials when there are cheaper and equally effective other options.
Construction documents are only now starting to take the BCO’s updated guidance on board, but depending on how your contracts deal with deleterious materials it may well be relevant.
