Professionals and Qualifications – Page 5
Who is competent to prepare or sign off each report, and how to brief and check them.
Professionals and Qualifications articles – page 5
372 articlesActing as an expert witness at a planning appeal
An expert witness owes a duty to the inquiry before the client. Here is what that means for a proof of evidence, cross-examination and costs exposure.
What a professional reviewer takes responsibility for
Signing another party's draft means taking responsibility for the judgements in it, within a defined scope. Here is how to set that scope and when to decline.
Who signs the ownership certificates on an application
The applicant or their agent signs the ownership certificate, and the signature is a statement of fact. Here is what it warrants, who counts as an owner, and what to do when it is wrong.
Independent audit of a basement impact assessment
Where a council has an adopted basement policy, it appoints an independent auditor to review your assessment and recharges the fee. Here is what the auditor checks and how to get through it in one round.
What suitably qualified means for an air quality assessment
Credentials are not the test environmental health officers apply first. Verification against local monitoring data is, and an unverified model gets the report returned.
Daylight and sunlight assessment: who is competent to do it
BRE 209 accredits nobody, so judging competence falls to whoever appoints. What separates modelling skill from interpretation, and the questions to ask first.
Heritage consultant competence and the significance test
No rule says who may write a heritage statement. Advice Note 12 says what one should contain, and the gap between the two is where most assessments fail.
Appointing a party wall surveyor: what the Act requires
An appointment under section 10 must be in writing and cannot be rescinded, and the surveyor's duty is to the Act rather than to the owner paying the fee.
Who should write a transport assessment or statement
Competence for transport evidence is judged by the highway authority, not by a register. The scoping agreement tells you which skills the job actually needs.
Arboricultural credentials and what each one covers
No statute says who may write a BS 5837 survey. Here is what each arboricultural qualification and registration scheme covers, and the checks to run before you submit the report.
What chartered town planner status means for your application
Anyone may call themselves a planning consultant in England. Here is what chartered membership of the planning institute actually certifies, where it changes the weight of your evidence, and how to verify it.
Who can carry out a protected species survey
Disturbing a protected species needs a licence from Natural England, and using an unlicensed surveyor costs a season twice. Here is how the licensing works and what to check before appointing anyone.
Do you need a chartered town planner? RTPI membership explained
Planning is not a closed profession in England, so anyone can trade as a planning consultant. Here is what chartered RTPI membership means and when a small project actually needs one.
Lighting assessments and obtrusive light competence
A luminaire schedule is not an obtrusive light assessment. This sets out the zone classification that drives every limit, the competence to look for, and the condition to expect.
Geotechnical reporting and Eurocode 7 responsibilities
Eurocode 7 splits ground work into an investigation report and a design report with different authors. Knowing which you bought is what prevents a gap at building control.
Licensed assessors and BREEAM pre-assessment
A credit tracker is not a pre-assessment an officer will rely on. This explains the licensed assessor requirement, the scheme versions, and the condition wording that follows.
Structural engineer competence for a building in poor repair
Chartered status, conservation accreditation and a one page brief decide whether a structural report is useful. What to ask before appointing, and how to read the limitations.
Transport planner, highway engineer or traffic consultant
A transport planner writes the assessment, a highway engineer draws the access, a traffic engineer models the junction. How to tell them apart and brief them properly.
Checking a consultant's experience before you rely on a report
Qualifications tell you someone is entitled to do the work. They do not tell you whether they have done this particular thing, with this authority, recently.
Reviewing an AI-drafted report: the reviewer's scope
Review of a drafted report is a defined piece of work with a defined boundary. Setting that boundary in writing is what protects the reviewer who signs it off.
Briefing a consultant so the report answers the council
A technical report fails validation because nobody told the author which requirement it was answering. The brief is where that gets fixed, before any fee is agreed.
Professional indemnity cover: what to check before you appoint
A consultant's insurance is the only thing standing between a defective report and your own balance sheet. Check the certificate, the basis of cover and the cap before work starts.
What a planning agent can do without RTPI membership
Anyone can call themselves a planning consultant and submit your application. Chartered membership changes the accountability, not the legal right to act.
Who signs a geotechnical design report under Eurocode 7
The investigation report presents the data. The design report states the design values and carries responsibility. Here is how the two differ and what the appointment should say.
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