Fears about basement excavations aren’t new, with local residents often concerned with what can be years of building work misery. What is new though is the emergence of Local Neighbourhood Plans which set guidelines for development in a particular area – and the plans for this particular basement are said to go against Camden’s new Local Plan. The Local Plan, adopted by Camden council on July 3, states that basements must not be built under existing basements. It remains to be seen what conclusions come from this new row. One thing we can conclude though is it’s evident that digging deep with ..read more

Trying to explain to a client who purchased an unoccupied property insurance from you some time ago that they are not insured for anything but fire, aircraft, explosion and earthquake at the point of a claim is always tricky.  Sure, if you have backed up your advice at the time with the right sort of words, then your firm’s PI policy will be in the clear, but if you haven’t it’s likely that a client who perceives that they have no place to go financially may decide to pursue you. Clients have a habit of taking the cheapest option much of the time but not really understanding, beyond ..read more

New findings from GoCompare have made the papers in recent weeks, with research recently commissioned highlighting that a large number of property owners are not informing their home insurers of the renovation plans. The research states that 43 per cent of UK homeowners have carried out major work on their property in the last five years, but 41 per cent of those have not informed their insurer of the changes made. Having not informed their home insurer, it means those who splash out over home improvement works are at risk of invalidating their insurance policy – for renovations such as a new ..read more

The Grand Designs Live show in London has shut its doors for another year – and once again thousands of individuals descended on London’s ExCel to be inspired and educated for their current or upcoming building project. In our last blog, we wrote about our pride in being invited to be part of the Ask the Expert session taking place during the show. For our latest article, our Managing Partner Douglas Brown offers his insights and perceptions on an event that included his contribution for the first time. “Our whole business has been built on offering high value renovation advice to those who n ..read more