Farmers' deposits under threat?

It is now four months since a new regulation which could have far-reaching effects on the way farmers source new buildings came into force.

CE Marking became compulsory in the UK on July 1st when it became a criminal offence, punishable by a prison sentence, for a steel framed building (which most agricultural buildings are) to be supplied without this mark.

RIDBA (the Rural and Industrial Design and Building Association) which has campaigned for steel frame building contractors to comply with the new legislation, is now warning farmers of the future threat if they employ companies which are not complying.

National secretary Tony Hutchinson said: "To date, trading standards have been taking a soft approach if they know frame manufacturers are working towards CE Marking.

"But we expect this to change soon, when they will start clamping down on frame manufacturers who are not accredited. In time, this could mean that some will have to stop trading, which raises the question of what happens to any deposit a framer pays for a building if the frame manufacturer has been forced to stop work before he has supplied it."

CE Marking demonstrates, among other things, that the building is fit for purpose under BS EN 1090-1:2009 ‘Execution of Steel Structures and Aluminium Structures'.

Recent winters appear to have shown that many farm buildings may not have been fit for purpose since they have collapsed under the weight of snow because they were either not correctly designed or fabricated. Luckily no-one has been harmed but another winter approaches.

Farmers can ensure the new buildings they are investing in are correctly designed and fabricated to CE Marking standards by engaging a steel-framed building manufacturer member of RIDBA, listed on their website at www.ridba.org.uk/cemarking.htm.

RIDBA's 170 members have been, and are being helped to meet the new regulation by being given preferential access to guidance manuals and training which has markedly reduced their costs in meeting the requirements, costs which they could have chosen to pass onto the farmer.

RIDBA members supply over 75% of the UK agricultural market and over 20% of the total single-storey steel-framed market. They erect more than 6,000 agricultural and industrial buildings a year and supply an area of over 4.5million²m of steel-framed agricultural and industrial buildings.