Contract Administration in Spitalfields

Documented building context

Tower Hamlets' November 2009 Brick Lane and Fournier Street appraisal identifies the early eighteenth-century grid of Fournier, Wilkes, Princelet and Hanbury Streets. Its character account describes variations in brick colour and original door, window, hood and ironwork details, together with interior panelling, mouldings and staircase balustrading. This evidence is tied to that historic group rather than every Spitalfields building.

Spitalfields tender and contract decisions

For a Spitalfields instruction in the historic Fournier, Wilkes, Princelet or Hanbury Street group, establish the particular building and work limits before inviting prices. The appraisal's account of surviving exterior and interior features is a reason to prepare an element schedule, not evidence that the same details remain at every address. Identify the actual doors, windows, hoods and ironwork the design intends to retain, repair or replace, with quantities and photographs tied to their locations.

Interior panelling, mouldings and stair balustrading should have a separate scope where the contract affects them. Show any route used to carry materials through those spaces and specify the required temporary protection. A contractor's general allowance for internal refurbishment should not be treated as a conservation method for every retained fitting. Where specialist advice or a trial is necessary, identify the decision-maker and the stage at which the proposed treatment can be accepted.

If earlier work has concealed a junction behind a lining or decorative surface, define the investigation before assigning a permanent repair quantity. Record the extent of opening-up, temporary support or enclosure where designed, and the reinstatement needed after inspection. Retain the findings and designer's response with any proposed instruction. A local character description cannot establish the hidden construction or justify an assumed replacement without property-specific evidence.

For a building divided between occupiers, put the employer's accommodation and common routes on the tender plan. Obtain the relevant arrangements for entry, service interruptions and protection of adjacent space. Keep these permissions and the current statutory consent position separate from the contractor's price. An accepted tender does not itself resolve an outstanding approval or give authority over another unit.

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

Contract scope

• Tower Hamlets: Brick Lane and Fournier Street Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Guidelines, adopted 4 November 2009 — PDF / printed 7, Character, Christ Church Spitalfields and the Fournier Street area: early eighteenth-century streets, exterior details, panelling, mouldings and staircase balustrading.

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

• Tower Hamlets area guide
• Shoreditch
• Whitechapel
• Bethnal Green
• City Of London
• Hackney

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