Building safety 'should be incorporated from design stage'

Health and safety should be incorporated in buildings from the design stage, a leading watchdog warns.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is reminding architects to take these considerations into account when they are planning properties.

It cites requirements introduced in the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM 2007) as the reason for this.

HSE principal construction inspector Jim Skilling claims it requires health and safety considerations to be factored into every stage of a building's lifecycle.

Mr Skilling says: "Simple things can make a difference - how safe will it be to build this new structure? How easy will it be to clean the windows?"

He says the organisation hopes incorporating these factors into buildings from the design stage will help improve health and safety over its entire lifecycle.

The announcement has been made shortly after World Architecture Day, which is on the first Monday of October each year and is sanctioned by the Union of International Architects.

Child be the Architect of a Better Future was this year's theme.