LAW
The sky ’ s the limit - Sophie Crosby , solicitor , and Adam Aston , head of construction at Muckle .
Teesside Airport was one such project and Muckle continues to support its ambitious growth plans , including the delivery of new hangars , commercial facilities and infrastructure improvements .
Ranked by both Legal 500 UK and Chambers & Partners , Muckle ’ s construction team may be best known for delivering major projects for clients in the North-East and across the UK .
It also acts for procuring public and private organisations across all sectors , including local government , health , education , retail , energy , offshore , travel , sport , leisure and charities .
Existing clients include Mandale Group and Teesport , run by PD Ports , one of the largest private employers in the Tees Valley .
Other clients include CPI Darlington , which brings together academia , business , government and investors to help take bright ideas and research to the marketplace . Muckle delivered training on construction and engineering issues to CPI ’ s in-house legal and commercial teams .
Muckle lawyers also worked with Darlington College on a net zero energy project involving an array of solar panels .
The work saw the college achieve the coveted net-zero standard , allowing more resources to be spent on learning rather than running costs .
The purpose-built £ 3m Ingenium Centre has been carefully designed , heavily insulated and heated by electrically operated air-source heat pumps .
It is now being powered by photoelectric solar panels , which provide 19 times more electricity than is needed , allowing surplus power from 1,000 roof panels to help supply the rest of the college ’ s energy needs .
Muckle ’ s seven-strong team of construction lawyers spend their time working closely with clients , builders , architects and structural engineers , drafting construction agreements for a diverse range of projects , from a single house to a housing estate , hotels to student accommodation .
While any construction and engineering project involves a degree of risk and exposure , Muckle is ideally placed to advise on the major issues from a commercial and legal standpoint .
“ There are always new things cropping up ,” says Adam . “ Covid represented a unique challenge to the industry , and since then , managing the aftermath has been a key priority for the sector .
“ That has required a cleaner focus on issues such as fluctuation provisions and insolvency protections . Now the industry is processing the implications of the new building safety legislation upon how it conducts itself and what that means in time
As a firm , we have really close links with TVCA working on a number of exciting projects making a positive difference to the region .”
and cost terms .” It ’ s a sector beset by financial pressures . “ One of the big risks for contractors is getting the price wrong in what has traditionally been a fixed price marketplace as they strive to be competitive , and they then find they can ’ t complete the work within their margins ,” says Adam .
“ Helpfully , we ’ ve seen a lot of clients recognising this and working with rather than against contractors to help them get their pricing right for the good of the project .”
Thankfully , material and labour prices , interest rates and inflation are all stabilising , and the region is becoming much more active again . Adam says : “ There is so much going on around Teesside , which really stands out in the region .
“ Construction projects need careful planning and coordination , so having a legal partner who is an expert in providing solutions to risks helps to deliver successful projects on time and on budget every time .”
If you want to explore how Muckle can help support your construction project please contact Adam Aston on adam . aston @ muckle-llp . com .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 163