At an early stage of a design stage of your project Debbie can carry out options appraisals for the heritage asset that can provide you with high level pros and cons for each option before developing a concept design for the preferred option.

If you are considering a development project of any kind, be it a refurbishment or remodelling of an existing building, a conversion or adaptation, or developing on a plot of land, you are likely to be considering making a sizeable investment.

As such, before embarking on any significant capital expenditure, Debbie considers it beneficial to ensure that the project is viable by way of a Feasibility Study. A Feasibility Study will provide you with a complete picture as to the viability of a project from several perspectives, including practical, financial and regulatory.

A good Conservation Architect can provide detailed, impartial advice on your proposed development at any stage of the process, whether you have just started out or already have full-fledged designs in place.

Debbie can provide expert knowledge and suggest refinement to a design to make it more acceptable from a heritage point of view, whilst also ensuring that the client’s needs are still met.

Debbie can make a valuable contribution to your design team and reduce the likelihood of objections on heritage grounds.

Generally projects are broken into work stages defined by the RIBA as below:

Stage 0 Strategic Definition – initial client meeting

Stage 1 Preparation and Brief – development of the project brief / preparation of a feasibility study

Stage 2 Concept Design – development of feasibility sketches

Stage 3 Developed Design – planning application/Listed building application

Stage 4 Technical Design building warrant application.

Stage 5 Construction – contract administration

Stage 6 Handover and Close Out– conclusion of building contract

Stage 7 In Use– post occupancy evaluation

It is very important to understand all parts of a heritage asset and carrying out bit archival and historic research is fundamental to the understanding of the development of the building through history. Debbie ensures that this forms part of her work on any project to ensure she can provide the best advice to you.

Debbie understands that the built heritage needs to be managed and maintained, and to help clients with this process she can produce a conservation plan. A Conservation Plan is a living document, having a clearly defined purpose, and which is used and updated as required.

The objectives of a conservation plan are:

a. to identify the cultural and historic significance of the site, and

b. to set out a policy and strategy for the management and conservation of those physical attributes of the site that contribute to that significance.

Debbie feels the preparation of a conservation plan must not be an end in itself but be considered as a necessary management tool. A conservation plan should pay dividends in the long term by providing a firm foundation for client’s management and expenditure decisions.

A Heritage Impact Assessment is a comprehensive document outlining the specific heritage significance of a building or site, as well as the impact of a proposed development upon its fabric and setting. The process also involves ongoing design advice, ensuring the scheme takes the sensitivities of all heritage assets concerned into account.

When Debbie creates a Heritage Impact Assessment, she brings everything there is to know about your site’s heritage into one place, allowing you to state with confidence what the impact of your proposed scheme will be to the local authority planners.

A Quinquennial Survey is a thorough survey of all aspects of a building’s fabric. This involves a visit to the site by your Conservation Architect, followed by the production of a detailed written report. The report will cover the condition of the external structure and fabric, internal condition and finishes, services and external grounds.

The report will help to establish priorities and costs for repair, to help manage the preservation of each building. This allows for the accurate planning and scheduling of works in an order and manner that will be the most cost-efficient and beneficial for the building’s future maintenance.

Debbie believes that having early discussions with the local authority and Historic Environment Scotland is essential for any new project to ensure a good open dialogue throughout the entire process.

Debbie has worked with many of the officers at the Council and has built up a good working relationship which results in you the client having a higher quality outcome that will meet your needs while preserving your heritage asset.

Listed Building Consent is a specific type of planning application required for all works of demolition, alteration or extension to a listed building that affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest.

Debbie can guide you through this process, ensuring that the correct information is fed into everything from the design work to the work on site, to acting as your agent which includes building a positive working relationship with local authority planners and conservation officers.

As part of the building process other statutory consents may also be required including Planning Permission, Building Warrant, and Advertisement Consent which Debbie can assist you in by preparing, submitting & monitoring of the applications.

Debbie is happy to work with you to produce a scope of work, materials to be used, methods of installation, and quality of workmanship for different parcel of work on you heritage project.

To get your project onsite as quickly and efficiently as possible Debbie can help you through the tender process, including creating tender documents to issue to contractors for pricing. Once on site she can help with Contract Administration.

The role of the conservation architect is to provide expert advice for conserving the architectural heritage and site. Conservation, however, is a multi-disciplinary activity and conservation architects must work closely with professionals of other disciplines in order to address its diverse objectives.

Throughout the years Debbie has built up a good relationship with a number of different consultants in the conservation field who can be introduced to projects.