Contract Administration in Holland Park

Documented building context

RBKC’s Holland Park appraisal records carriage openings, paired arrangements and external access to upper accommodation in Holland Park Mews. Its mews discussion also identifies other groups within the wider conservation area. Those architectural descriptions should be matched to the specific address; details recorded for another mews are not automatically attributes of this one.

Existing-building records for the tender

For a converted home, show which original openings survive and where the entrance and staircase now sit. Ask for drawings explaining any infill, enlarged opening or changed access. The historic document can help recognise the earlier form, but it cannot establish the support concealed above a modern entrance or the condition of the current conversion.

Mark the former carriage opening on the floor plan and request the work records for its current treatment. A glazed frontage, enclosed garage or doorway may relate to a different stage from the upper-floor refurbishment. Identify any threshold change and the position of retained masonry around the opening.

If a stair outside the dwelling remains, show its position and clarify whether it is the principal access, an additional route or no longer used. Ask for plans of any replacement internal stair and changes to floor openings. Distinguish title or access rights from the physical condition of the stair itself.

Holland Park tender and contract decisions

For a Holland Park Mews project, show the carriage opening, entrance and any external access to upper accommodation on the contract drawings. RBKC's account identifies particular arrangements, not a universal plan for every mews building. Confirm the current layout and who can authorise use of each route. Tenderers need a defined occupation and access brief before pricing deliveries, protection or work around a shared entrance.

Separate an alteration to the former carriage opening from repairs to the wall or upper accommodation. Identify the structure and weatherproofing interfaces that require investigation, and ask the designer to state the proposed response. A price for a replacement frontage should not silently include support work or changes to another dwelling's access. Keep the opening-up evidence, revised detail and JCT instruction together if the scope changes, with the measurements and programme information needed for assessment.

For a paired arrangement, locate the employer's boundary and any genuinely shared component. Obtain the relevant agreements through the appropriate advisers rather than treating the architectural pairing as authority over neighbouring fabric. Inspection records should identify the actual elevation and connection before it is concealed. At completion, file required drawings, tests and outstanding items against each work package, making excluded areas clear.

HCS cannot act as independent contract administrator where HCS is the contractor.

Contract scope

• RBKC — Holland Park Conservation Area Appraisal (2017) — PDF/printed page 82, sections 3.173–3.177: named mews groups, Holland Park Mews carriage openings, pairs and external access to upper accommodation. Do not transfer other mews groups’ no-basement description to the subject address.

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

• Holland Park area guide
• Notting Hill
• Shepherds Bush
• Kensington
• Bayswater
• Earls Court

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