Brexit

On 23 June 2016, a United Kingdom (UK) referendum resulted in a 51.9% to 48.1% decision to leave the European Union (EU). The process of leaving the EU has been described as ‘Brexit’.

Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon was triggered in March 2017, signifying the start of two years of talks to agree the terms of the exit. EU negotiator Michel Barnier has suggested that it will not be possible to begin negotiations about the subsequent trade deal between the EU and the UK until significant progress has been made on agreeing the ‘divorce’.

The triggering of Article 50, means the UK is scheduled to leave the EU by the end of March 2019. However, the government has since made it clear that it expects there will be a transition period of 2 to 3 years, during which the relationship between the EU and the UK may remain broadly similar to the relationship before Brexit.

Brexit has been seen as a potential risk to the construction industry in the UK, in particular, in relation to the skills shortage, the import and export of materials and services, regulations and standardisation, the value of the pound, research collaboration and funding and so on.

There are a number of detailed articles about Brexit on Designing Buildings Wiki:

• Architects' Brexit statement.
• Brexit - the case for infrastructure.
• Brexit Topic Guide.
• BSRIA Brexit survey 2018.
• BSRIA Brexit white paper.
• BSRIA response to Brexit speech.
• BSRIA response to Brexit white paper.
• Building to higher standards post-Brexit.
• Compensation events and Brexit.
• Construction industry Brexit manifesto.
• HVAC and smart energy post-Brexit.
• Overcoming the challenges of Brexit.
• Post brexit, house building and construction remains a safe sustainable industry.
• Post-Brexit vision for construction.
• Safeguarding infrastructure post-Brexit.
• Skills shortage and Brexit.
• What does Brexit mean for construction?
• Will Brexit shake UK construction?