What is the Principal Designer Role?

The Principal Designer is the person responsible for Health & Safety during the pre-construction phase of your project. These are some of the tasks that should be overseen by the Principal Designer.

Health & Safety risk assessment.
Identifying and mitigating potential hazards during the design phase.
Pre-construction phase plans.
Developing comprehensive plans to ensure compliance with CDM regulations.
Design review.
Assessment of designs for safety, efficiency, and regulatory compliance.
Coordination with project teams.
The Principal Designer will act as a liaison between the client, designers, and contractors.
CDM consultancy services.
Providing standalone health and safety advice for projects not requiring a Principal Designer.

CDM Consultancy

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) are a set of UK regulations that aim to improve health and safety on construction projects. Consulting on CDM before starting on a project should:

Reduce risk for workers, clients, and end-users.
Ensure compliance with legal health and safety requirements.
Minimise delays caused by safety concerns.
Protect you and your contracted workers from legal liabilities.

Tailored Services Across Industry Sectors

Residential projects.

Safe designs for new builds, extensions and renovations.

Commercial developments.

Health & Safety on office, retail and industrial projects.

Heritage properties.

Safety and conservation in listed and historic building projects.

Featured Case Studies

Renovation of Listed House Norwich, Norfolk Read more

New Build Waterfront House Horning, Norfolk Read more

Conversion of Listed Barn Brinton, Norfolk Read more

Eco Extension Thornage, Norfolk Read more

Renovation of Listed House Norwich, Norfolk Read more

New Build Waterfront House Horning, Norfolk Read more

Conversion of Listed Barn Brinton, Norfolk Read more

Eco Extension Thornage, Norfolk Read more

The Purslows Construction
(Design and Management) Process

Since the introduction of the CDM legislation in 2015, Purslows has been able to offer consultancy services relating to Health & Safety. Here’s what to expect from us:

Initial consultation. Understand the project scope and Health & Safety requirements.

Design risk assessment. Identify and mitigate potential hazards early in the design phase.

Pre-construction planning. Develop detailed plans to ensure CDM compliance.

Project coordination. Facilitate communication between all stakeholders to manage risks effectively.

Ongoing support. Provide advice throughout the construction process to ensure adherence to safety standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

A Principal Designer is a specific role with defined legal duties under the 2015 CDM legislation. They are responsible for managing and coordinating health and safety during the pre-construction phase of a project. A CDM Consultant can provide a range of services related to CDM 2015 compliance, which may or may not include acting as the Principal Designer.

To determine if you require a Principal Designer for your specific project, it's essential to consult with your architect, local council planning authority or building surveyors. A good rule of thumb is ‘if you are employing more than one contractor, you will need a Principal Designer’ but there are circumstances when you might require one even though you are only employing a single contractor.

The key elements typically included in a Pre-Construction Information document are Project Information (description of the project, its location, and the anticipated duration), Site Information (site location, entry and exit points, ground condition, adjacent properties etc), Design Information (project drawings and specifications) Health & Safety Information, and CDM 2015 Compliance.

What Our Clients Say

We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you and how much we appreciated your help and advice. You made the project so much more straightforward for us especially considering the additional work that was required with your attention to detail and clear explanations.

Residential Customer

I would recommend Purslows without hesitation and of course will do should occasion arise.

Residential Customer

I just wanted to say again how very grateful we are to you. The house is amazing. You are a brilliant and impressive project manager. You were very knowledgeable, efficient, sensible and hard working throughout the whole project

Residential Customer

Thank you for all your work on this. Your leadership and expertise to facilitate this feasibility study for this project is greatly appreciated. It has enthused us and encouraged us to continue to move forward to bring this project to a place where it can be realised.

Heritage Project

It has been a real pleasure working with you, and we are very grateful for all you have done to help us create our lovely home.

Residential Customer