EDDIE IZZARD

The latest news and views from SAPCA
ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE?
Tim Freeman, vice chair of SAPCA’s tennis division, explains
how recent changes in health and safety legislation will
impact sports and play facility owners and operators
If you are planning to carry out
construction works, or have asked
contractors to quote for an upcoming
project, you need to be aware of
your responsibilities under the new
Construction, (Design and Management)
Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015).
The CDM 2015 places legal obligations
on you (the client), as well as on the
designers and contractors involved in a
construction project, to ensure the Health
and Safety (H&S) of anyone who may be
affected as a consequence of the works.
What kind of a client are you?
A “domestic client” is defined as an
individual having work done at their own
home, provided it is not for a business
purpose – such as coaching or for let.
Domestic clients can transfer their duties
to others. Guidance on CDM 2015 refers
to other clients as “commercial clients”
being an individual or organisation having
work done for a business purpose.
The regulations themselves, however,
only make reference to clients and
domestic clients. So while it might be
argued by some sports clubs and others
that they are not operating as a business,
it would be prudent to accept that the
client’s duties will have
to be fulfilled in
these cases too.
CDM 2015
duties associated
with the client role cannot be transferred
to other duty holders. You can obtain
guidance from those with the necessary
knowledge and experience, but the legal
duty remains with you.
How does this affect sports
and play facilities?
If your sports club, school, parish council or
any other form of client body is planning to
carry out construction work to provide new
or improved sports facilities at premises
under your ownership or control, you
have statutory duties as the client for that
project. You’re not expected to manage
or supervise the works, but you are best
placed to ensure that only suitably qualified
designers and contractors are appointed
and that adequate time, finance and
resources are allocated to the project to
allow it to be completed safely.
What are these duties?
You must appoint a principal designer and
a principal contractor – where more than
one contractor is being employed – or a
contractor for single contractor projects.
The appointments must be of a person
or company with the necessary skills and
knowledge to carry out the duties that go
with these roles. Appointments should be
made as early as possible, so health and
safety considerations are part of the preconstruction,
as well as construction phase.
You must also ensure the project team
is adequately resourced, with access to
competent health and safety advice and is
fully briefed about the project. The team
must be provided with all relevant preconstruction
information about the site.
The client must provide information on any hazards present on the land
How might this work in practice?
It’s a good idea, having found suitably
qualified designers and contractors, to
formalise their appointment in a way that
details the role they are to fulfill as far as
CDM 2015 is concerned. In this way you
can be seen to have carried out your first
duty under the regulations.
Resources proportionate to the work
being undertaken must be allocated to the
project, including specialist advice if there
is a need for it, for example if the site poses
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