Contract Administration in Hammersmith and Fulham

A borough-wide contract administration brief should distinguish the site’s planning records, building phases and operational constraints. Hammersmith and Fulham contains separate conservation areas and a planning-authority interface in its north. Use the address and work footprint to establish the relevant documents; the borough name alone cannot define the approvals or technical scope.

HCS cannot act as independent contract administrator where HCS is the contractor. Confirm the appointment and executed form; NEC roles differ.

Scope and fees

Check extensions against the current conservation map

The council’s current conservation-area index explains that several boundaries were extended after their original profiles were published. A tender relying solely on an older appraisal map may therefore start with incomplete site information. Locate the actual building and temporary-working area on the current council mapping, then obtain advice on the proposed intervention. Keep the relevant map version, decisions and unresolved matters with the tender issue. Historic character descriptions can inform the design discussion, but should not be substituted for an address-level check. The administrator needs a clear record of what the contractor priced and which decisions were outstanding when the contract and programme were agreed.

Resolve the northern planning-authority interface early

Hammersmith and Fulham’s conservation index identifies the separate Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation area in the north of the borough. For an instruction near that interface, establish which body deals with the actual site and proposal before selecting application records or advice. A borough postal description is not sufficient evidence of the responsible planning authority. Ask the project team to record the confirmed position and the documents relevant to the work. Keep approvals separate from the building-contract appointment and identify who obtains any outstanding decision. This gives the administrator a usable information schedule and avoids assessing a contractor’s change against an unrelated neighbouring-area requirement.

Distinguish register updates from the original profile

The Parsons Green council page notes that St Dionis Vicarage and Mission Hall were listed after the original conservation profile, and provides an addendum and revised mapping. That is a practical example of why a historic profile should be checked alongside current building records. In a borough-wide repair programme, assign each property its own evidence references and confirm the proposal with appropriate advisers. Do not assume that the status recorded for one address applies to the next. The tender schedule should locate each intervention and its approved detail. Retain later decisions under those property references so the administrator can follow changed requirements without losing the original basis of the appointment.

Break a mixed institutional repair package into actual components

Historic England’s entry for the former nurses’ home at 116 Fulham Palace Road describes brick and roughcast surfaces, projecting wings and different window arrangements between levels. Such a building illustrates the limits of a single external-repair allowance for an institutional property. Survey the actual elevations, construction and retained details, and ask the designer to specify each treatment and junction. Confirm present use and working constraints rather than rely on the historic building name. During the contract, organise photographs, sample decisions and instructions by elevation and component. The administrator can then assess progress and remaining work against defined items instead of treating the whole building as one repeated façade.

JCT tender preparation: Hammersmith And Fulham

For a borough-level Hammersmith and Fulham appointment, establish the named property and employer's scope before using the Cardross Street examples to frame the tender. Identify the actual parapet, chimney and rear addition rather than assume each cottage has the same repair quantities. The proposed JCT documents should state design responsibilities and any investigation needed before the detail is finalised. Ask bidders to price equivalent access, protection and making good around the occupied building. Reconcile omissions or replacement alternatives before selecting the contractor. Carry the agreed schedule, drawing versions and accepted qualifications into the contract set so later instructions have a precise physical reference.

The Bradmore profile describes two-storey cottages on Cardross Street, with stock-brick upper walls, stucco at ground level and prominent chimneys. It identifies the taller parapets of 38–48 Cardross Street as a distinct group. These are descriptions of named buildings, not evidence that every cottage shares an identical roof or present condition.

For a house with an extended ground floor, show the original rear wall and the new accommodation on a plan. Ask where the roof over the cottage can be seen and how the covering above the addition connects to it. If chimneys or internal walls have been removed, request the relevant drawings and completion information. A retained front elevation should not be used to assume an unchanged interior. Keep the inspection questions focused on the parts altered and the evidence available to explain them.

The Bradmore profile distinguishes flat fronts, square bays and canted bays on Nasmyth Street, and notes small basements in some properties towards the north. It records changes to external finishes and windows. That variation is a reason to inspect the advertised house on its own terms, rather than assigning one basement or bay arrangement to the whole street.

Historic England's entry for 71–77 New King's Road records an early nineteenth-century brick terrace with two storeys and basements, hipped slate roofs and railings at the front steps. The end houses have additional bays and first-floor balconies.

The Bradmore profile and the New King's Road list entry describe different building groups and different forms of heritage evidence. Neither is a record of every intervention at an address.

Check current requirements for the particular property and proposed work.

• Hammersmith & Fulham: current conservation areas, maps and extensions
• Hammersmith & Fulham: Parsons Green profile and subsequent changes
• Historic England: 116 Fulham Palace Road, entry 1286859
• Hammersmith and Fulham: Bradmore Conservation Area Character Profile (2017)
• Historic England: 71–77 New King’s Road including iron railings (List entry 1192382)

• Major works
• Tendering
• Clerk of Works
• Employer's Agent
• Insurance reinstatement

• Hammersmith and Fulham area guide
• West London area hub

Professional profiles · RICS regulation