May 2016

The month began and ended with significant private commissions in Worcestershire and Staffordshire illustrating H+R’s geographical reach into the Midlands. The agents for both properties required risk management and QS information so as to give greater cost certainty on refurbishment and purchase

Projects in the month ranged in size from a 1900s timber framed hut for a small Christian community in Twickenham up to Dover Town Hall. The client team on the latter project also required H+R to provide a condition assessment on some of the original historically important William Burges furniture

In the month, there was also a wide historic time range from an early medieval undercroft in the City of London as well as Windsor Castle – to a contemporary multi-million mansion in St George’s Hill, Weybridge. This property, on strip-out, revealed many latent defects that H+R were tasked to evaluate, despite the structure being only two years old. H+R were also asked to assess failing high value engineered wood flooring in a new 42 storey residential tower in London. ‘All that glitters, is not gold’

There was a welcome return to George III’s King’s Observatory building in Kew to assess timber condition in the original telescope cupola

Of particular interest for H+R’s north-west office was the appointment to provide specialist investigative and consultancy services to the recently fire damaged Wythenshawe Hall outside Manchester. Post fire and flood damage investigative consultancy is an area of long standing H+R expertise

H+R welcomed a new additional member of the survey staff at the end of May. Ben Perl will shortly complete an MSc in Historic Conservation, after earlier degrees in Urban and Environmental Planning and Urban Regeneration and Community Development. He is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institution and has previously had experience as a commercial surveyor