Witham's historic core around the Maltings Lane and Chipping Hill, Victorian terraces along Newland Street, and mature suburban estates across the town all routinely generate party wall instructions. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies whenever works affect a shared wall, build on a boundary, or excavate close to a neighbour's foundations within the relevant proximity thresholds.
CHP Surveyors has been established since 2004 with offices in Wickford, London and Hampshire. The team is RICS regulated and reaches Witham within 25 minutes via the A12. Local coverage extends to Hatfield Peverel, Kelvedon, Feering, Coggeshall and Tiptree in the same drive. Larger refurbishment projects in the town centre often pair with daylight and sunlight reports at the design stage, particularly on the period stock close to Chipping Hill.
James Crowley is the past London and National Chair of The Pyramus and Thisbe Society, an organisation with a great interest in party wall and neighbourly matters.
Having been involved in projects across the UK for both domestic properties and larger, city centre developments, we have experience and knowledge of the more complicated methods of construction, including temporary restraint works, piling to form a triple basement and jet grouting. We have also negotiated licences for the use of scaffolding and tower cranes.
Each Witham instruction stays with a single named surveyor from the first call to the final award. The starting point is a free initial assessment covering the proposed works, the relevant sections of the Act, and the notice strategy. For Witham this typically involves party structure notices for extensions to terraced and semi-detached stock, line of junction notices for new boundary walls, and excavation notices for any deep foundation work close to adjoining buildings.
After the assessment the surveyor drafts and serves the statutory notices, manages adjoining owner responses, and produces a thorough schedule of condition with photographs and detailed written notes covering external and internal areas. Where the matter is agreed the paperwork stays proportionate. Where dispute arises the party wall award is drafted properly and served. Calls stay with the named surveyor throughout. Building owners and adjoining owners across the Braintree District Council area get continuity from instruction to last document.
Over the past four years, CHP have worked very successfully with us in their capacity as party wall surveyors. Through his calm, sensible approach and excellent communication skills James Crowley, in particular, gained the trust and confidence of the entire team and stakeholders. Looking forward to working with CHP again.”
- Clare Goggin, Jackson Coles
Three elements determine how well a party wall process runs on a Witham project: timely notices, a thorough schedule of condition prepared before works begin, and dissent dealt with through proper award process. Together these reduce the risk of injunction, mid-build dispute, and post-completion damage claim arising on the project.
Notice periods under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 are fixed at two months for party structure works and one month for excavations within the relevant proximity thresholds. The building owner generally covers reasonable surveyor fees on both sides under the Act. For Witham projects, particularly those running on tight planning consents from Braintree District Council, an early free initial assessment protects the build schedule from unwelcome delay and gives both sides time to agree on practical terms.
Get in touch.
Head Office
2-6 Boundary Row
London, SE1 8HP
Essex Office
2-6 Boundary Row
London, SE1 8HP
020 3714 4090
Get in touch.
Head Office
2-6 Boundary Row
London, SE1 8HP
Essex Office
2nd Floor, 10 High Street
Wickford, Essex
SS12 9AZ
020 3714 4090
enquiries@chpsurveyors.com
