calfordseaden was appointed to act as Independent Certifier for the Beechwood West project, comprising 251 two and three storey units and public areas, constructed of cross laminated timber prefabricated modules. The development site is one of a number of sites that are within the Craylands Estate and the neighbouring Fryerns Land (Beechwood Village) in Basildon providing a total of 1,375 residential units.

Our appointed role was to act as independent certifier sitting between Client (Swan New Homes) and Contractor (Nu Build) reporting back to Homes England’s Monitoring Surveyor (CBRE) on key items/deliverables. Although not originally part of our remit, we offered added value by also attending Contractor’s internal monthly project meetings. Not only did this provide some useful early warnings regarding progress or other potential logistical issues to feed back to the Monitoring Surveyor, but the Partner level individual involved was also able to use their wealth of experience on technical construction details, and their expertise in all processes involved during procurement/construction of a building to assist Swan/Nu Build in solving problems and mitigating the effect of such issues, both from a cost and time perspective.

A further significant benefit provided to the Client, was assistance with the format of their monthly financial reporting to the Monitoring Surveyor/Funder. Whilst our remit as Independent Certifier did not extend to reviewing/verifying any financial matters on the project, we did have sight of this information. It was apparent to calfordseaden that the format of the monthly reporting/valuations was unclear and unnecessarily complicated. calfordseaden therefore provided considerable assistance to Swan/NuL’s QS, initially in the form of a workshop, but this was followed up with further support in order to devise a clearer format for monthly reporting/valuations to be issued to the Monitoring Surveyor.

Lastly, calfordseaden identified during the delivery of the project that the completion programmes being presented were particularly ambitious and unrealistic. This ultimately led to a 360 degree review, whereby NuL’s construction team re-phased the project to make the completion not only more realistic, but also more efficient in its delivery. calfordseaden’s prompt identification of this issue, led to timely addressing by the Contractor and similarly early warning to the Client’s decision making board of the likely delay, but also the mitigation by way of careful re-phasing/procurement.

In summary, our extensive knowledge of all aspects of developments, including procurement, programming and funding provided plenty of added value to the Client and mitigated their exposure across the duration of the project.