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The Concept
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The Concept
Introduction
With over 20 years experience dealing with high end private clients and blue chip companies on commercial projects, we are familiar with the pitfalls of approaching projects which have not been set up correctly.
The purpose of our services is to provide a turn-key package removing the speculative issues in designing and building projects.
Our design specifications aim to:
- Understand the client’s needs and requirements
- Develop potential projects fully from both a construction and design aspect and a regulation aspect.
We believe it is not the contractor’s role to offer opinion or change the specification at the time of pricing or after the project has begun. This can lead to confusion as to both what you actually need and also what works the contractors have actually been employed to undertake. With varying opinions from different contractors (all of whom may have expertise in different areas), you are unable to obtain a range of comparable costings.
We will provide you with a full working specification of works, together with all statutory permissions (where necessary) to enable you to obtain comparable costings from contractors – giving you peace of mind that the cost of works will not increase after commencement. This both allows you to budget accordingly and enables your chosen contractor to schedule works accurately – ensuring works on site do not unjustifiably overrun.
Our service allows you embark on a project secure in the knowledge that it has been set up correctly from both a construction and legal standpoint.
The Service
The purpose of our service is to provide:
- A full working specification detailing exact requirements and highlighting where statutory permissions will be required.
- To then acquire statutory permissions, be it Planning Permission, or a Lawful Development Certificate (in circumstances where permitted development rights apply) and Building Regulations Approval.
- We also highlight where necessary, grey areas which are often overlooked, in particular circumstances where Party Wall Awards are legally required.
We will initially visit you on site to undertake a feasibility study. We will discuss your requirements and evaluate the site potential to both fulfil your requirements and keep within the bounds of planning legislation.
In circumstances where legal restrictions may mean that your project cannot be designed to your exact wishes – for example where overdevelopment of the site may occur – we will adapt the scheme to enable you to complete your project as close to your requirements as possible, whilst keeping within the bounds of statutory permissions. This means you save time and money by entering into the project knowing exactly what is possible to achieve and that drawings and specifications are produced accordingly.
Once we have worked with you to develop your ideas and establish exactly what works you need to undertake, we will produce a full working specification of works with drawings which you can then tender to as many contractors as you wish, enabling you to gain an across-the-board view of prices and timescale. Our sister building company will also provide a quoted non-speculative figure for the works as a starting point for your negotiations.
Statutory Permissions
We employ chartered architects to create the necessary drawings which we then submit to the relevant Planning Authority and Building Control to obtain either a Lawful Development Certificate or Planning Permission and Building Regulations Approval where required. We will also provide full structural calculations from a structural engineer (if necessary) and submit these to Building Control.
Having such legal permissions in place prior to the project commencement means that: you are safe from the legal ramifications of not obtaining the relevant permissions, and also from possibly having to delay or even remove works already completed to subsequently comply with planning legislation.
In the event of a sale of the property, your potential purchaser, their solicitors and any potential mortgage company will undoubtedly require documentary evidence that the relevant permissions have been obtained in order to raise finance on the purchase and to know that any works have been undertaken safely and correctly. Not having these permissions in place at the time of sale can both cost you money and delay the sale.
Our service means that you can place your property on the market secure in the knowledge that all relevant permissions have been obtained for works undertaken, and that the necessary documentation can be provided.
The Project
Once the project has been designed to your requirements with a full scope of works and drawings completed, our building company will provide you will a quoted non-speculative price for the works as a basis for you to tender the works to contractors should you wish.
However, this is also a benefit for development concerns needing to raise finance for projects. Our complete scope of works (with drawings) is particularly advantageous to provide a comprehensive view of the project for banks and financiers.
Our specifications give the developer the ability to forward a valuation from development proposal to development completion, establishing market values, coupled with fixed price quotation, design specification approvals, and full development costs (start to finish).
Other Services
We also employ chartered surveyors to provide valuation surveys, Homebuyer surveys, and full structural surveys.
We can also, therefore, advise you on whether a Party Wall Award is required under the Party Wall Etc Act 1996, or where it is necessary in order to protect the private client or developer from spurious claims.
The Act ensures that any damage which may be claimed to have been caused (to the adjoining property) by your project was not pre-existing or brought about by other causes, meaning you are protected from claims being made against you for damage which is not your responsibility to repair.
It also ensures that the owner of the adjoining property is assured that their property will not be compromised as a consequence of your works and can rectify any damage without bringing a civil claim (possibly preserving good neighbourly relations!)
