The Ground Forum has received a report that work to prepare a National Application Document (NAD) for Eurocode 7 (EC7) has been delayed and impeded because of lack of funding.

This could have serious implications for the Uk if the NAD for EC7 is not available by January 2007, then EC7 will have to be used in the UK in its current format. This will mean that all geotechnical design in the UK will have to be undertaken using all of the published design methods in EC7. Also, each of these design methods will have to use the general European design parameters, not parameters that have been calibrated for UK design and construction practice, and for UK ground conditions.

The benefit of having the NAD for EC7 will be to reduce the number of design methods applicable for the UK. This will have the obvious result that design time, and thus cost, will be lower with the implementation of the NAD, than without it.

In addition, without UK specific design parameters published in a NAD for EC7, it is likely that designs will either be more safe compared to those produced by current design practice (resulting in uneconomic designs for UK clients) or will be less safe compared to those produced by current design practice (resulting in potential construction failures and associated loss of confidence by the public and UK clients).

It is the view of The Ground Forum that the publication of a National Application Document for EC7 is essential before January 2007