20 Essential Services for a Successful Property Development Project in the UK
An Introduction To The Professional Services You'll Need To Ensure Your Property Development Project Is Successful
So, you're diving into property development, perhaps even aiming to become a notable property developer in London or somewhere else around the UK. The journey from acquiring building plots for sale to seeing a fully constructed building is complex but rewarding. Below are 20 essential services you'll need for a successful property development project.
Planning and Approval
1. Property Development: Planning Consultants
One cannot overlook the importance of a knowledgeable planning consultant. They guide you through the labyrinth of local regulations and help secure planning permissions.
2. Building Regulations Approval
Before laying the first brick, you'll need building regulations approval to ensure your plans align with local building codes.
Surveys and Assessments
3. Land Surveying
A fundamental service in property developing. A Land Survey, also known as a Topographical Survey helps you understand the topography, boundaries, and other critical aspects of your building plot. It is crucial that this work is carried out properly as your whole development will depend on it. Bury Associates will provide you with a high-detail, accurate, and reliable Topographic Survey of your site that you can completely rely on. Follow this link to find out more and to get a quotation straight away for a Land Survey and for other services you'll need, such as an Underground Services Trace.
4. Geotechnical Engineering
Understanding the soil, rock, and groundwater conditions is essential for any property developer, especially those working in areas such as London with its varied geological landscape. This information needs plotting on the accurate Topographical Land Survey that we will provide you with. Click here to get a quotation for your Land Survey.
5. Environmental Impact Assessment
Understanding the ecological consequences of your property development project is critical for sustainability and local approvals.
Legal and Financial
6. Legal Services
Contract law, land acquisition, and other legal aspects are crucial for anyone venturing into property development. Establishing the exact boundaries of your site can be one of the most crucial tasks for your legal team. We will accurately measure any walls, fences, hedges, and other boundary features and plot them on your Topographical Survey. This can be compared with the Land Registry plan for your site to help define exactly where your legal boundary is. Where no physical boundary currently exists, such as when a field has been sub-divided into different plots, our surveyors can mark out the legal boundary on the ground from the Land Registry plan.
7. Quantity Surveying
Every property developer needs a detailed financial plan, and this is where a cost-estimating Quantity Surveyor will come into play.
Engineering and Architecture
8. Architectural Consultancy
Good architecture is the cornerstone of any successful property developing project. There are many excellent architectural practices in the UK and there will very likely be several close to your area. The RIBA website is a great place to find out more about how an architect can help you.
9. Civil Engineering Services
This involves assessment and planning of infrastructural elements like water supply and sewage systems. A Structural Engineer will be required if you're adding loads to an existing structure,
10. Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
This pertains to the evaluation of existing systems if you're refurbishing or requirements for new buildings.
Niche Assessments
11. Historical Building Assessment
If you're carrying out a property development involving an old or listed building you will need to consult an expert in this field who will be able to advise you about what changes can or cannot be made so the historical integrity of the building is preserved.
12. BREEAM Assessment
For refurbishment projects, sustainability assessments like BREEAM are crucial.
13. Traffic Impact Assessment
Understanding how your project affects local traffic is a key component of property development.
Public Relations and Community
14. Public Consultation Services
Engaging the community can offer valuable insights and potentially reduce objections to your property development project.
Final Checks and Approvals
15. Utility Services Check
Checking for existing utility connections is vital before initiating construction. Not only will you need to connect to services such as drainage, gas, water, electricity, and telecoms - you'll also need to avoid any pipes or cables during construction that cross your site. We will carry out a full Underground Services Trace for your site and precisely map all the pipes and cables on your Topographic Survey so your construction team will know exactly where they are and how deep they are in the ground. As part of the initial Underground Services Survey, we will obtain all the public records for your site. These will tell you which services are near your site and which utility company is responsible for them.
16. Health and Safety Assessment
Compliance with safety regulations is not optional but a legal requirement.
17. Arborist Services
If your building plots for sale have trees, an arborist can guide you on their protection or removal. This is another service that will require a fully detailed Topographical Land Survey to complete their work. Accurately mapping out all the trees on a site and measuring their sizes is an important task. Our Topographical Surveys contain the details of every tree. Because we laser scan your site instead of just taking simple measurements, we have a full 3D capture that shows the size of the trunk, the exact shape of the tree canopy, and the tree's height.
18. Flood Risk Assessment
Understanding flood risks is critical, especially if your development is near water bodies. All flood mapping is related to the Ordnance Survey Level Datum. We use a highly accurate GPS system to relate our Topographical Surveys to the correct OS Datum for a Flood Risk Assessment. It is always best to have your Land Survey related to Ordnance Survey Datum and Grid as this is particularly important when connecting your drainage to sewer systems which always have their manhole cover and invert levels linked to the OS Datum.
19. Accessibility Assessment
Ensure that your development is accessible to everyone, in line with legal standards.
20. Fire Safety Assessment
A crucial final check to ensure your project adheres to fire safety standards.
Conclusion
From buying building plots for sale to completing the project, property development is a multi-faceted process that requires various services for successful execution. By knowing what's needed, you pave the way for a less troublesome journey in property developing. A fully comprehensive Topographical Survey and Underground Services Survey will always be the best starting point for your project as it will supply much of the information all the other service providers will need to complete their own tasks.
Steve Bury is the Managing Director of Bury Associates, a land and measured building survey company based in the UK. With over 40 years of experience in surveying, Steve Bury established Bury Associates in 1997 to combine the provision of high quality digital surveys with exceptional customer service. Steve has also designed software applications for measuring buildings to automatically create survey drawings.