Architect's Legal Handbook

The Law for Architects

Anthony Speaight QC, Anthony Speaight QC, Matthew Thorne

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000317596
• Edition: 10
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture générale

The Architect's Legal Handbook is the most widely used reference on the law for practicing architects and the established textbook on law for architectural students.

Since the last edition of this book in 2010, the legal landscape in which architecture is practised has changed significantly: the long-standing procurement model with an architect as contract administrator has been challenged by the growing popularity of design and build contracts, contract notices in place of certificates, and novation of architect's duties.

The tenth edition features all the latest developments in the law which affect an architect's work, as well as providing comprehensive coverage of relevant UK law topics. Key highlights of this edition include:

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• an overview of the legal environment, including contract, tort, and land law;
• analysis of the statutory framework, including planning law, health and safety, construction legislation, and building regulations in the post-Grenfell legal landscape;
• procurement and the major industry construction contract forms;
• building dispute resolution, including litigation, arbitration, adjudication, and mediation;
• key fields for the architect in practice, including architects' registration and professional conduct, contracts with clients and collateral warranties, liability in negligence, and insurance;
• entirely new chapters on various standard form contracts, architects' responsibility for the work of others, disciplinary proceedings, and data protection;
• tables of cases, legislation, statutes, and statutory instruments give a full overview of references cited in the text.

The Architect's Legal Handbook is the essential legal reference work for all architects and students of architecture.

Part B

Statutory framework

7
Statutory authorities in England and Wales¹

JAMES STRACHAN QC

1 This chapter draws heavily on the chapter written for the first edition by Professor J. F. Garner.

1 Local government

Introduction: relevant local government authorities

1.01 Local government in England and Wales, outside London, was completely reorganised on 1 April 1974, when the Local Government Act 1972 came into force and this remains one of the most important statutes setting out local authority powers and duties. The pattern of local authorities, following this and subsequent local government legislation, is now simpler than it was before 1974, but Greater London (reorganised in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963) is administered differently, and there are also differences which exist between England and Wales. These three parts of the country should therefore now be considered separately.

1.02 Local government in England and Wales consists of administration by locally elected bodies constituted as corporations and subject to powers conferred and duties imposed by Parliament and the Welsh Assembly (where applicable). Local authorities are subject to the direction, control and supervision of the Government or, to the extent that Parliament or Welsh Assembly has legislated for that direction, control and supervision in statute or in other legislation.

1.03 The Labour Government elected in 1997 carried out a reform of local government in England and Wales. The Local Government Act 2000 gave local authorities general powers to promote the well-being of their community; established executive and scrutiny arrangements within local government; modernised the laws relating to the conduct of members; and changed some of the local government election procedures, subject to the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. The Government of Wales Act 1998 devolved certain powers from Westminster to the National Assembly for Wales. Many of the provisions of that legislation have now been replaced by the Government of Wales Act 2006, as amended by the Wales Act 2017, with certain powers now exercisable by the Welsh Ministers. The Coalition Government that came into power in 2010 instituted further significant changes in local government administration through the Localism Act 2011, including the replacement of the well-being power for local authorities in England with a general power of competence in its place, abolition of regional spatial strategies and the replacement of Regional Development Agencies with Local Enterprise Partnerships responsible for Enterprise Zones, reforms to the planning system, the creation of greater financial autonomy for local government and the introduction of elected police commissioners. It also devolved responsibility for certain policy areas under city “devolution deals” between central Government and local authorities under specific arrangements. This process has been continued by the Conservative Government that came into power in 2015 which has also required directly-elected mayors in those areas where substantial powers have been devolved.

1.04 In London, the Local Government Act 1985 abolished the Greater London Council and redistributed its functions among the 32 London boroughs, the City of London and new specialised representative bodies (e.g. the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority). Housing became the responsibility of the boroughs and the City. The Greater London Authority Act 1999, as now amended by the Greater London Authority Act 2007, established the Greater London Authority (GLA), which is composed of the London Assembly and the Mayor of London. The London Borough Councils and the Common Council of the City of London remain, although some of their responsibilities and functions have been affected by the creation of the GLA.

1.05 In England outside the London area, the country was divided among six metropolitan areas (West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and Tyne and Wear) and the ‘ordinary’ counties. Between 1974 and 1985 in the metropolitan areas there was a metropolitan county for each area, and a varying number of metropolitan districts, each with a council, within each county. Since 1985 the metropolitan counties have been abolished and their functions redistributed to the metropolitan districts and specialised representative bodies.

1.06 Outside the metropolitan areas the structure originally comprised 38 counties (each with a county council) and approximately 390 districts (each again with a council). However, following the recommendations of the former Local Government Commission, a number of the former county councils have been abolished in favour of new unitary authorities, which combine the functions of county and district councils. In other non-metropolitan counties, two tiers of government were retained, although in some cases large cities have been given unitary status with the county and district councils retaining their responsibilities for the remaining parts of the area. The Electoral Commission has the powers of the former Local Government Commission for England to review and make changes for effective and convenient local government under the Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000 and the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. The 2007 Act enabled two-tier areas to propose a single unitary authority area, and a number of county councils have sought such change to create single unitary authorities, such as Wiltshire Council and Cornwall Council in existence from 1 April 2009.

The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, as amended by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, now enables the Secretary of State to establish either an economic prosperity board (EPB), or a combined authority (such as now exists for Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, the Tees Valley or the West of England). EPBs or a combined authority may be created for the whole of two or more local government areas to exercise specific authority functions, so giving effect to the principles of local authority devolution and “devolution deals”.

The Secretary of State may provide for a directly elected mayor and for functions of mayoral combined authority to be exercisable by the mayor, including the functions of a police and crime commissioner for that area. The mayoral combined authorities of Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region and the West of England have been given the equivalent powers exercised by the Mayor of London to produce spatial development strategies for their areas. The Secretary of State has various powers under the 2009 Act, the Localism Act 2011 and the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 to delegate local public functions to permitted authorities and to make regulations about structural and boundary arrangements in relation to local authorities with the consent of the local authorities themselves. The Localism Act 2011 also allows specified persons or voluntary community bodies to express an interest in providing specified local authority services which must be considered by a local authority and may only be rejected on grounds specified by the Secretary of State. The Broads Authority established by the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988 and a number of National Park Authorities established under the Environment Act 1995 exercise specific duties in respect of the Broads and designated National Parks respectively. National Park Authorities are the planning authority for the relevant National Park.

1.07 In addition, rural parishes which existed before 1974 have been allowed to continue, subject now to Part 4 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (amending the Local Government Act 1972). Some of the pre-1974 district councils have been re-formed with parish council status. As an additional complication, district councils have been allowed to apply for a charter giving themselves the status of a borough, although this is solely a ceremonial matter. Some parishes have been allowed to call themselves ‘towns’ and have appointed ‘town mayors’, again with no real legal significance. The parishes (‘communities’ in Wales) have very few substantial functions, but may provide and maintain recreation grounds, bus shelters, and roadside seats. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of a parish council must now be chosen from elected, as compared with appointed, councils. New parishes within an area may arise as a result of community governance reviews.

1.08 In Wales there are no metropolitan areas. The former structure of 8 counties divided into 37 districts, with councils at each level, was abolished on 1 April 1996, since when all local administration has been undertaken by 22 new unitary authorities (11 counties and 11 county boroughs) under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. The Government of Wales Act 1998 provided for the devolution of certain powers from ministers to the National Assembly for Wales and this is now subject to the Government of Wales Act 2006 which separates the executive and legislative functions of the Assembly and Welsh Ministers. In effect, the Welsh Assembly and Welsh Ministers have taken over the responsibilities that the Secretary of State for Wales previously exercised in Wales and local government measures taken in Wales include those under the Local Government (Wales) Measures in 2007 an...