As the challenging economic conditions continue to cause problems for the construction industry, construction contracts are becoming increasingly complex and onerous. In this article, we identify 10 of the most important clauses to look out for when reviewing a prospective contract.

1. Conditions Precedent

Galliford Try could consider expanding its housebuilding operations into the north of England within three years, its group managing director told CN.

Group MD for construction Ken Gillespie said the firm is adopting a “disciplined growth strategy” to housebuilding but is focused firmly on the South and South-east at present.

“As the market and [economic] environment hopefully improve, we will see a ripple as we always have done with a recessionary recovery in the country,” he said. “Historically it’s always been south to north.”

Purcell Miller Tritton has changed its name to Purcell and refreshed its visual identity to reflect the aspirations of the practice and the values of its founder.

Purcell Miller Tritton was established in 1947 by Donovan Purcell, a fellow of Corpus Christi College in Cambridge where he taught at the School of Architecture. Shortening the practice’s name to Purcell is a fitting tribute to his dedication to architecture and conservation – a legacy that still underpins the way the practice works today.

In the last decade Purcell has grown and diversified, and in 2011 opened an office in Hong Kong. Last year the output from the Hong Kong studio accounted for 11% of turnover.

Contractor Bowmer & Kirkland has been fined £280,000 for the 2009 collapse of a tower crane in Liverpool that left the operators paralysed.

Structural engineer Bingham Davis, which has since ceased trading, was also found culpable and fined a nominal £1,000.

Inadequate foundations was determined as the cause.

A 79m-high Wolff 500B luffing jib tower crane toppled on 6 July 2009 while making a lift during construction of an apartment block and hotel on the Kings Dock Mill site in Liverpool’s Chandlers Wharf. Operator Iain Gillham, a 53-year-old father of four, fell from his cab onto the roof of the apartments and was left paralysed from the waist down.

A Yorkshire law firm plans to increase its market share, at a time when the Government’s drive to promote localism is expected to lead to more mediation work.

Huddersfield-based Armitage Sykes has launched a specialist construction law team.

The team, which is being officially launched this week, will provide services for developers, contractors and sub-contractors, professional consultants, funders and property agents.

The £3m turnover firm has decided to launch the team in response to the Localism Bill, which aims to ensure that more decisions about housing are taken locally.

The Construction Products Association has welcomed the government’s new National Planning Policy Framework, which has been published today.Commenting on the publication, Michael Ankers Chief Executive at the Association’s, said:  ‘There has been enormous confusion about planning policy in this country since the last Election and this at a time when we have needed urgently to encourage economic growth.

‘This document should put an end to that confusion and we are particularly pleased to see the government has reaffirmed the long-standing presumption in favour of sustainable development. What they have to do now is to ensure that local authorities support fully this objective in the way they consider each and every planning application within their area.

TESCO have lost a legal bid to stop their biggest rivals from building a new superstore. The supermarket giants had objected to plans by Asda to build a shop on the site of the former NCR factory on the outskirts of Dundee.

But UK Supreme Court judges have ruled that the £24million development, which will create 480 jobs, can go ahead.

Asda were granted planning permission for the supermarket to the west of the city in 2010. But Tesco, whose South Road store is a few hundred yards from the proposed site, challenged the decision by Dundee City Council.

The proposed cuts would have gone beyond DECC’s powers in the Energy Act 2008. This week's ruling confirms that, once the eligibility date for a solar installation has passed, the feed in tariff rate then applicable is “locked in” for the 25 year period, subject only to adjustments for RPI.

Social housing head also named vice-chair of Trust Housing Association

Law firm HBJ Gateley has been appointed by social housing provider Kingdom Housing Association (KHA) to its new panel of legal advisers after a competitive tender process.

Two roofers have been fined and received suspended sentences after a Derbyshire office worker was injured when a roll of roofing felt crashed through the ceiling of her office.

Kathleen Philipson of Allestree, Derby, was sitting at her desk at offices in Nottingham Road, Ripley, when the metre-long, 37kg roll fell through a roof light and came through the ceiling, hitting her on the shoulder.