CJ consulting
Services
Typical services are listed below but do get in contact if you are unsure if CJ consulting could help.
Heritage
- Historical research and analysis
- Morphological drawings
- Gazetteers
- Significance illustrations
- Statements of significance
- Character appraisals
- Conservation area appraisals
- Heritage impact assessments
- Heritage statements and justification of the works
- Building recording (drawing and photographic)
- Conservation Statements
- Conservation and Maintenance Plans
- Management and Maintenance Plans
- Grant funding applications
- Disability access audits
- Negotiating with conservation officers, Cadw and English Heritage, other statutory consultees and heritage bodies
Statutory applications
- Listed building consent (grade 1, 2* and 2)
- Scheduled Ancient Monuments consent
- Planning within National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Permission for work within Sites of Specialist Scientific Interest, Special Areas of Conservation and Natural Nature Reserves
- Planning within historic landscapes and gardens
- Conservation area consent
- Ecclesiastical exemptions such as Church in Wales, United Reformed Church
- All manner of information required to discharge statutory conditions such as construction methodologies, detailed drawings
- Building Regulations
Consultancy
- Bespoke consultancy to other architects/surveyor’s including locum cover
- Community coaching
Architecture
- Architectural services in accordance with RIBA plan of work stages 0 - 7
- Brief development
- Feasibility studies and options appraisal
- Sketch design and proposed drawings
- Design and access statements
- Detailed design and working drawings for construction
- Specification writing
- Bespoke designs for joinery, furniture and fittings
- Ecological mitigation measures e.g. for bats, birds
Surveying
- Measured building surveys and existing drawings
- Technical advice on building conservation techniques
- Specifications for repair and replacement
- Property condition surveys and reports (including quinquennial or other periodic inspection) together with list of priorities and costs where applicable
- Defect analysis and building pathology
- Schedule of dilapidations, record of condition
- Deed or lease plans
- Quantity surveying services such as schedule of work and cost estimates
Construction management
- Obtaining quotations, tenders and other contractor procurement
- Contract administration duties such as valuations, instructions, certification, claims analysis etc.
- Site inspections
- Principle Designer health and safety duties
- Lead Consultant role
- Liaison and co-ordination with others e.g. mechanical and electrical engineers, energy assessors, structural and civil engineers, landscape designers, ecologists
Daunted by the complexity or perhaps never undertaken a building project before ?
CJC has a wealth of practical experience taking diligent care of buildings and helping people with their building projects from concept to completion. Work on historic structures is challenging often requiring multidisciplinary teams which CJC can lead. CJC will support and guide you through the maze so that your ideas can be converted into built form with minimal impact upon your historic fabric providing reassurance and confidence to all concerned that your project is appropriately resourced.
A typical project involves the following sequence:
- Establish your brief
- Initial investigations such as measuring your building, looking at its condition, research into history and undertanding significance, obtaining specialist reports
- Define your requirements and develop initial concept
- Review design options, assess impacts and estimate cost (this process may be repeated as required to reach the agreed final design)
- Submit a pre-application and discuss the scheme with the relevant people
- Submit application for planning permission, listed building consent etc.
- Make application for grant funding
- Develop the technical design with input from others such as structural engineers, energy assessors etc.
- Submit building regulations application
- Comply with any conditions imposed through planning and building regulations
- Prepare documentation to enable quotations or tenders to be obtained and any grant procurement conditions are satisfied
- Review contractor response and prepare contract documents for signature
- During the construction phase: undertake periodic site visits, issue instructions to the contractor, prepare valuations and issue payment certificates, assess claims for cost and extensions of time, hold regular review meetings
- Completion and handover of the health and safety file
- Depending on the type of building contract, there may be a period following occupation where the contractor can return to site to make good any defects before the final payment is handed over
I can get these services elsewhere - why should I bother with a conservation accredited architect ?
The title of Architect is protected by law with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) set up by Parliament to regulate the profession. It is a criminal offence to use the title Architect if the individual is not on the register - please do check by clicking on the ARB logo opposite. British Architects will have undertaken at least 7+ years academic training and practical experience before being allowed to enter the register and must maintain their competency with continuing professional development each year. In addition to prescriptive qualifications, an Architect also has to follow a professional code of conduct with minimum levels of professional indemnity insurance. Any Architect that’s fallen below the expected professional standard faces the Professional Conduct Committee with risk of being fined, suspended or removed from the register to protect consumers.
Chartered Architects are members of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) who have their own Code of Professional Conduct and disciplinary procedures. Chartered Architects must study a wide range of mandatory topics with audited training records each year.
The RIBA Code of Professional Conduct clearly states that members/chartered practices must "respect the importance of Heritage Assets" [Principle 2: Competence, paragraph 9.1] and "only carry out work affecting Heriage Assets if they are sufficienctly qualified, competent or experienced to do so in the circumstances" [Principle 2: Competence, paragraph 9.2]. In addition "members/chartered practices who are unsure of or unable to establish the significance of a particular Heritage Asset on which they are proposaing to undertake work must first seek specialist advice and/or advise their client to instruct an appropriately accredited specialist professional to undertake the work" [Priciple 2: Competence, paragraph 9.3].
The work of conserving and adapting heritage assets is a highly skilled art and it typically takes 12+ years for and Architect to become conservation accredited. We have a very different mindset - always worrying about the impact of intervention both now and in the future. It requires a much deeper understanding of building materials and construction methods spanning centuries of development. Most of us spend decades observing the same buildings when most designers don't look back at previous work. We have to adeptly collaborate with multiple stakeholders whilst navigating complex regulations and requirements in order to meticulously plan and execute building work to ensure heritage assets and cultural significance are safeguarded.
Many claim to specialise in listed buildings but conservation accredited Architects have demonstrated knowledge, experience and responsibility which has been assessed by an independent panel of experts so you can be confident this is true. This assessment is repeated at regular intervals with ongoing training and examples of work are submitted for approval. Most major sources of grant funding and some client's therefore require an Architect from one of the following professional schemes:
- Architects listed on the Royal Institute of British Architects Conservation Register at Specialist Conservation Architect level (RIBA SCA)
- Architects listed on the Register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation (AABC) at category ‘A’
If you decide to work with CJ consulting, be assured you will be working with a Chartered Architect that has RIBA SCA accreditation.
It's a sad fact but over 65% of CJC clients have worked with someone previously on their project suffering real losses in terms of time, money as well as heartache.
Please make sure that the person you appoint has the necessary expertise and experience.
CJC designs have a 100% success rate with statutory applications.
If you need just a little support or second opinion, why not book a paid consultation session. Within a few hours (or what ever duration you'd like), CJC could help you on all manner of built heritage topics.
CJ consulting is part of the Local Authority Building Control Partner Authority Scheme. Clients gain frmo a single point of contact, consistent approach and improved pre-application service whilst still benefitting from local knowledge and excellent liaison with other services such as fire, police and environmental health and no additional cost. LABC members also have access to exclusive training.
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