Estates and other business clients often have in-house skills, materials, machinery and other resources that they wish to use, either to give a personal touch in keeping with the site, or to reduce costs. This is a good approach and understandable. This package enables us to discuss what the project is and the drivers behind it and assess the skills, resources and materials available and whether these are suitable to the project.

The outcome of this process is:

• Written document clearly stating client brief based on the initial consultation
• Written assessment of the materials, resources and skills needed to achieve the result, weighed up against the materials, resources and skills that the client can provide
• A rough estimate of volumes of materials needed, compared with the available in-house materials
• Written assessment of any additional professional input required
• Brief assessment of applicable planning designations
• Written document produced stating client brief based on the initial consultation
• Fees, payment structure & terms & conditions provided
• These are discussed, agreed & signed before moving on to next stage

Cost and duration of this stage is dependent on site, proposals and complexity.