We discuss 4 reasons why small consultancies are better than their larger competitors for your building project.
Flood reinstatement insurance claim
Flood reinstatement insurance claim – as part of our Block Management services we are often engaged to project manage reinstatement works following an insurance claim. In this case block managers White & Sons had a problem with a leaking waste pipe in one of their Reigate buildings and the subsequent damage needed to be rectified to return the property to … Read More
Christian Resources Exhibition
Christian Resources Exhibition National 2019 will take place at Sandown Park, in Esher, Surrey between 15th – 17th October 2019. It’s a great venue for Europe’s leading annual exhibition of Christian resources. Just 15 miles from central London, the venue is easily accessible by rail (25 minutes from London Waterloo to Esher) and road (M25 and A3). Parking is free … Read More
Building Ambulance Make Ready Centres
Building Ambulance Make Ready Centres – for years paramedic staff were responsible for cleaning, restocking, fuelling and maintaining their ambulances at the beginning and end of every shift. This was a time consuming process that took specialist care staff away from looking after patients. “make ready systems must be put in place across the country to drive productivity” Lord … Read More
Condition Survey for schools 2019
The summer holidays are just over 9 weeks away but there is still plenty of time to book an up-to-date Education Condition Survey on your school buildings. Whilst the government’s Condition Data Collection report is a useful start point for local maintenance and development programmes, it does not replace a tailored survey. For example a CDC does not provide descriptions of … Read More
A new Church building for Caterham, Surrey
At a cost of £32 the land in Francis Road (then known as Elizabeth Road, Caterham) was purchased on 12 May 1894 for a new church building to be called Oak Hall. The church building was completed in July and August at a cost of £206 and opened on Thursday 13 September 1894. Fast forward 125 years and Oakhall has a … Read More
Your house is ready for delivery
Modular homes are nothing new – prefabricated houses were put up across Britain as a temporary solution to the post-Second World War housing crisis and were meant to last no more than a decade. Yet for over 70 years, thousands of families have continued to call them home. They offered not only cheap rent, but unheard-of luxury to men returning … Read More
Partner Profile – Elm Group Property Management
Elm Group adds to our expanding list of property management partners who access our Block Management services. With expertise and knowledge of all aspects in property management, Elm Group offer a comprehensive service to developers, private landlords, leaseholders, Right to Manage Companies as well as Housing Associations. They have over 44 years’ experience in the independent retirement living sector and are … Read More
Party Wall FAQ
We have been managing party wall matters for many years and have built up quite a few answers to particular questions. We thought an FAQ might be useful. The government website has lots of good explanations on the Party Wall Act etc.1996 including the main types of party walls; Party wall type A: a wall that stands on the lands of 2 … Read More
Top 5 tips for choosing a Building Surveying Business
It’s well known that buying a new home can be a stressful experience but often the focus centres on mortgages, solicitors and estate agents. Having the property surveyed by a building surveying business seems to fall down the moving list but our experience is you should never underestimate the importance of having a clear idea of the state a property, … Read More
Phew what a scorcher!
2018 was the joint hottest summer on record for the UK as a whole, and the hottest ever for England, according to the Met Office. Whilst most were enjoying endless days of blue skies, around 10,000 homes made insurance claims during July, August and September after the intense heat lead to subsidence. This was an unprecedented figure & only just short … Read More
Every Church’s ‘Family GP’
Back in October, Chawton Hill took a stand for the first time at the CRE show, Europe’s leading exhibition of Church Resources It was an eye opening few days for many reasons, not least of which was the directness of many of the visitors. No requests for a follow up email or tentative promise that they would be in touch. … Read More
Ambulance Make Ready Centres
Lord Carter’s report on Ambulance Service Trusts makes this specific recommendation; ‘make ready systems must be put in place across the country to drive productivity’ he adds ‘the introduction of a make ready system is a key enabler to productivity and can support significant savings through modernising trust estates.’ Chawton Hill has now delivered all but 1 of the 6 Make … Read More
December 2018 House Prices
House prices haven’t dropped this much since the 2012 London Olympics! Rightmove, the UK’s number one property portal and the UK’s largest property marketplace has found the price of property coming to market dropped by 1.5 percentage points in December, down a monetary value of -£4,496 on November’s average house price. After a second consecutive monthly fall, average new seller asking … Read More
RICS looking to simplify Home Surveys
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is looking at plans to simplify the system of home surveys by scrapping the three current options and replacing them with one instead. The proposals have been worked on for a number of months by a RICS panel but only recently have some of the details emerged of a possible future policy. In an article … Read More
British Assessment Bureau
Chawton Hill has once again achieved certification to the internationally recognised ISO 9001:2015 standard, establishing us as one of the leading businesses in the Chartered Surveying field. This independent assessment was conducted by the British Assessment Bureau, a leading Certification Body, and demonstrates our commitment to ISO 9001: customer service and quality in delivery. We have now earned the right … Read More