Appointment of members to the Building Regulations Advisory Committee

The Department of Finance has announced the appointment of four new members to the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (NIBRAC).

Andrew Corbett, Andrew Frew, Cormac Freehill and Martin McCook have been appointed, commencing their three year terms on 31^st March 2021. 

The appointments have been made in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.

Notes to editors: 

1. NIBRAC is a statutory body set up under Article 4 of the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) Order 1979, to advise the Department on the amendment of Building Regulations and on other associated matters referred to it.    Further information about NIBRAC can be found here.

2. The Chair and members of NIBRAC do not receive remuneration but they can claim reasonable expenses incurred during their work for the Committee.

3. The appointment of the members was made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland’s Code of Practice.  A selection panel, which included an independent panel member, as required under the Commissioner’s Code, considered the suitability of all candidates. 

4. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published. Andrew Corbett, Andrew Frew, Cormac Freehill and Martin McCook have declared that they have not undertaken any political activity during the past five years.

5. Biographical details:

• Andrew Corbett represents the Building Surveying area of expertise on NIBRAC. Andrew is a Chartered Building Surveyor and Senior Project Manager with over 20 years’ practical knowledge and experience in domestic and commercial construction design and management.  In his career to date Andrew has held senior positions client and supplier side within private and public sector organisations delivering annual construction projects and programmes of work. He holds an MSc in Project Management a BSc in Building Surveying is an accredited NEC4 Project Manager and a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. 
• Andrew is the Capital Programme Manager for the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunal Service. This is his first term as a member of NIBRAC and he is also a School Governor.
• Andrew Frew represents the Construction (domestic) area of expertise on NIBRAC.  Andrew is an architect and housing specialist. He has worked in construction and design in Germany, London and Wales, and on new products for construction.  He pioneered the Energy Rating of housing in Northern Ireland, advising self-builders, architects, and Housing Associations on improving the energy efficiency of new and existing homes.
• Andrew won a national award for training NI Housing Executive Architects and Surveyors. He has supported NI government departments in developing initiatives to upgrade standards in private NI homes, and currently works improving standards and managing innovation for social rented homes.  This is his first term as a member of NIBRAC and he holds no other public appointments. 
• Cormac Freehill represents the Construction (non-domestic) area of expertise on NIBRAC.  Cormac is the Managing Director of Bennett Freehill and an experience Building Services Engineer who specialises in Passivhaus and Nearly Zero-Energy Building (NZEB) construction.
• He is a chartered engineer and a member of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (MCIBSE) and the Institution of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management (MIHEEM). He is a current member of CIBSE NI Committee. He holds a BEng (Hons) in Building Services Engineering and a MSc in Renewable Energy and Energy Management with the University of Ulster.
• Cormac has extensive experience in leading the MEP and Sustainability design on large scale construction projects across the Leisure, Healthcare, Culture and Tourism and Conservation sectors.  This is his first term as a member of NIBRAC and he holds no other public appointments.
• Martin McCook represents the Building Regulation Enforcement area of expertise on NIBRAC.  He has achieved MSc Environmental Health Protection and Safety and BSc (Hons) Building Engineering and Management from Ulster University and holds full member status in the Chartered Association of Building Engineers.
• Martin is a Chartered Building Engineer with over 21 years’ experience in Local Authority Building Control in Northern Ireland, including roles as Senior Building Control Officer and Building Regulation Manager. He also has previous experience in the Public Sector within Building Management (NI) and Private Sector of the construction industry in Northern Ireland.
• Within Building Control, Martin has held positions within the Building Control Northern Ireland Committee, Building Control Northern Ireland Standards Panel and Building Control Northern Ireland Fire Safety Panel and has participated in various specialist subcommittees. In part fulfilment of these roles he has drafted non statutory guidance relating to interpretation and application of Building Regulations and other allied legislation. Martin currently Chairs the NIBRAC Technical Sub-Committee for Part R.  This is his first term as a member of NIBRAC and he holds no other public appointments

6. The four newly appointed members of NIBRAC have joined the current Chair and two existing members on the Committee, who represent the Architecture and Building Services, Engineering & Energy areas of expertise.  A further recruitment process is anticipated to appoint members to two remaining vacant positions on NIBRAC, which will represent the Fire Safety (fire protection and fire safety engineering) and Structural Engineering areas of expertise. 

7. All media queries to Department of Finance Press Office on 028 9081 6724. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 9037 8110 and your call will be returned.

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