Conflict Avoidance Conference 2026 – London

Note: exact date in June to be confirmed

PROMOTING CO-OPERATION IN CONSTRUCTION

CURRENT SPONSORS – Fenwick Elliot, Resolex, VVB Engineering

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Programme

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Welcome and introductions

Opening Remarks: Richard Bayfield (Chair of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition) 

Keynote Address

The state of the construction industry today

• A round-up of the latest opportunities and challenges
• What is causing disputes?
• A look ahead: what changes might there be in the pipeline

Why are Clients adopting Conflict Avoidance Methods? Sue Barrett (Houses of Parliament Restoration Project), Veronica Flint Williams (Environment Agency)

• What is the attraction of conflict avoidance?
• How to adopt conflict avoidance
• What do the contractors and consultants say?

Conflict Avoidance pre contract: establishing a collaborative culture: Ed Moore (Chief Executive, ResoLex)

• What can be done before there is even a contract?
• Building the team: What is a collaborative culture?
• Using the Conflict Avoidance Toolkit

Amending standard form contracts: do or do not? Anthony Armitage (General Counsel Thirdway, and Head of the Contracts Group for the CAC)

• The do’s and don’ts of amending contracts
• Why do we amend standard forms?
• Is it all the lawyer’s fault?

International Spotlight: what we can learn from infrastructure projects abroad? Jeremy Glover (Fenwick Elliott LLP, Vice President of the CAC)

• Is conflict avoidance simply a UK “thing”?
• What do the funders say? Can they influence performance?
• Dispute boards & conflict avoidance
• Examples form the Middle East

Why should I sign the conflict avoidance pledge? Len Bunton (Bunton Consulting)

• Conflict avoidance in action
• Examples from around the UK
• What’s in it for me? The advantages of Gold & Silver accreditation

What does Gold and Silver status accreditation mean to my organisation? Iain Mcilwee (CEO of Finishes and Interiors Sector, CAC Treasurer), Edward Schryver (Group Commercial Director VVB Engineering , CAC Vice President)

• How do I achieve Gold & silver status
• What are the benefits (and downside) of accreditation?
• How can clients help?

Our challenge to you? How can we change the culture of our industry? 

• Interactive final session, putting into practice what we have learnt from our earlier discussions.
• How do we overcome the challenges to implementing conflict avoidance?
• What should the Coalition be doing for the rest of 2026?
   

Speaker bios

Sue Barrett – Houses of Parliament Restoration Project Sue is Head of Contracts and Procurement at the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority. Leading the Development of the Procurement Strategy for the programme. Sue has worked in the construction industry for over 25 years, in a range of procurement and senior leadership roles. Her experience includes delivering enhancements to strategic network extensions, station capacities and interchanges, and station upgrade schemes. Sue has worked at a strategic level on a number of high value projects. She has been responsible for the development of commercial, procurement and contract strategies across a portfolio of construction projects with individual values in excess of £4bn and a portfolio value of £9bn. Prior to joining the Delivery Authority in 2023 Sue worked at the Urban Growth Company (UGC), where she was a member of the Senior Management Team and [delivered XYZ, driving ABC, etc – say something high level about what you worked on or achieved]. Before that, she worked for Transport for London, where she worked on various initiatives including the Northern Line Extension (a £1bn programme to extend the Northern Line to Battersea), the construction of two new stations and a new line extension, Bank Station Capacity Enhancement using Innovative Contractor Involvement, and the Victoria and Tottenham Court Road Station project (a £550m project to rebuild the station and create the adjacent Crossrail station in a very dense urban environment).

Veronica Flint Williams – Environment Agency Veronica joined the Environment Agency in 2010 after more than two decades in the private sector, where she specialized in the water industry’s commercial and contracting divisions. A qualified civil engineer, she brings her technical expertise to the infrastructure and construction sector, ensuring projects deliver sustainable and resilient outcomes. Veronica is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and is passionate about mentoring and inspiring the next generation of professionals. Since joining the Environment Agency, Veronica has played a pivotal role in shaping its commercial strategies across current and future frameworks. As part of the Commercial Centre of Excellence, she sets the standards and best practices for engaging with construction delivery partners. Her work focuses on managing commercial and contractual risk, ensuring a balanced approach that supports successful project delivery through collaborative partnerships.

Richard Bayfield FICE, FCIArb Richard Bayfield began his career working as a student at the Thames Barrier. He has held a variety of senior roles as a Contractor, Consultant and Client. He is currently a Vice President at the Institution of Civil Engineers (www.ice.org.uk). He is a former Chair and Honorary member of the Society of Construction Law (www.scl.org.uk ). Recent roles include Client Director / Advisor where he helps Client organisations set up processes, communications, contracts and governance that are purposefully designed to achieve collaborative cultures which reduce the risk of project failure. More at www.richardbayfield.com

Edward Moore Edward is a specialist in embedding collaboration in teams and monitoring the effectiveness of team development. Working with senior project leaders, he is an experienced and hands-on workshop facilitator, with a special interest in building effective foundations for strong lasting relationships.

Anthony Armitage, Solicitor Anthony Armitage began his career at Allen & Overy and has practised law in the City of London since then. He is now General Counsel at Thirdway, a market-leading commercial interior design and fit-out contractor based in the heart of London’s historic Clerkenwell. His passion is intelligent design and simplification of contracts and in upholding ethical legal practice in the construction industry. As Chair of the Coalition Contract Group, he leads a team of lawyers and other sector professionals promoting the benefits of contract standardisation as a core element of conflict avoidance.

Jeremy Glover Jeremy Glover is a partner at Fenwick Elliott LLP , the UK’s largest construction law firm and is listed as a leader in his field in Who’s Who Legal. Jeremy is an accredited adjudicator, Vice-President of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition, and a member of the CIArb Adjudication Sub-Committee. He is also a FIDIC Certified Adjudicator, Member of the FIDIC President’s List and of the FIDIC Net Zero Task Group TG23. Jeremy is the co-author of Understanding the FIDIC Red and Yellow Book: A Clause by Clause Commentary, the third edition of which was published in 2018, and lead editor of Building Contract Disputes: Practice and Precedents. He is a member of the Board of Examiners on the Construction Law MSc programme at King’s College, and also teaches on the MSc Building Information Modelling Management Programme at Middlesex University. Jeremy serves as the President- of the DRBF Executive Board.

Len Bunton FRICS FCIArb Hon FRIAS Len Bunton is a highly experienced construction industry consultant and now practices as a Conflict Avoidance Consultant and has been a passionate campaigner for changes in the UK construction industry for many years. He acts as an adviser to a number of trade organisations and also to specialist contractors advising on procurement and conflict avoidance. He has made a significant contribution to the work of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition, and is delighted to accept a role as the first President of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition, and to act as an Ambassador to promote Conflict Avoidance throughout the industry.

Ian McIlwee, CEO, Finishes and Interiors Sector Iain McIlwee is a Materials Engineer whose journey in construction started in a scaffolding yard in Hanwell in 1995. He has worked in around construction since in a number of roles including CEO of the British Woodworking Federation, Director of the Fire Door Inspection Scheme and serving as a non-Exec Director of FENSA and Vice Chair of the Construction Products Association. Iain is currently CEO of Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS), the trade body for the £10 billion UK fit-out and finishing sector. In addition to his role at FIS, Iain sits on the Steering Board of the City of London Corporation's Skills for a Sustainable Skyline Taskforce and is a Director of Ska Rating a not-for profit accreditation scheme that helps landlords and tenants assess fit-out projects against a set of sustainability good practice criteria. Iain has been a FIR Ambassador since 2021 and active member of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition for the past 3 years.

Ed Schryver Ed is the Group Commercial Director for VVB Engineering (UK) Ltd, a Mechanical and Electrical construction business that operate in the infrastructure sector namely within Rail, Highways, Fire, Power and Energy. Ed is also the Contracts Performance Director for Anthro Solutions, a project specific joint venture between VVB and Egis UK for the delivery of the M&E works on the Old Oak Common station development for High Speed 2. Ed has been in his current position for 5 years having previously worked for Balfour Beatty in the Rail and Major Projects sectors, and for Astins Ltd in the internal fit-out sector. Ed is also an active member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is Counsellor for a number of candidates seeking their RICS accreditation.