Best Partnership with Client/Housebuilder

This is a partnership that goes beyond mere plan checking. Devon-based developer Millwood’s technical manager has sat on Devon council’s customer panel for 10 years, it is regularly involved in Building Control seminars and Millwood’s graduate architects all spend time shadowing building control surveyors. The close partnership has led to the resolution of a number of tricky development issues, including schemes that involved cutting into a steep hillside and filling a valley with compacted stone.

The finalists

IE Developments/Herefordshire council

IE Developments has worked closely with the local authority on about 25 projects since 1981. Their most recent collaboration has been on 12 two-bedroom apartments on the site of a former pub. Located in a conservation area, regulatory issues were always going to be a factor, but the smooth completion of the scheme has been a credit to all involved.

Marks & Spencer/Vale of Glamorgan

An LABC initiative that involved Birmingham council checking Building Regulations and Vale of Glamorgan council carrying out site inspections ensured that some extremely tight deadlines were met on the extension of Mark & Spencer’s Culverhouse Cross store.

Persimmon Homes/Ipswich council

Extensive ground pollution was the main problem facing Persimmon on the Orwell Terminal project in Ipswich. Innovative engineered solutions were required for the remediation and successful redevelopment of the site, and Ipswich building control was on site full time working side by side with the project team to ensure that they were effectively delivered.

Primetower/Borough of Poole

Primetower has taken full advantage of its location 200 m down the road from the council offices in Poole to develop a close and longstanding relationship with a single surveyor, to the extent that he is now regarded as practically part of the team. This key client status ensures that potentially thorny technical and regulatory issues can be dealt in an informal and constructive manner.

Ikea Properties/Cardiff council

Cardiff building control might not be the most obvious port of call for a London furniture store, but its longstanding relationship with Ikea meant it was instrumental in the planning approval process of the firm’s superstore in Edmonton, London. Building control had instant electronic access to all relevant information, and the resulting store, the largest in the UK, is testament to the success of this approach.