What is LQS?
LQS is Land Quality Service, the team at NHBC I work in. We’re part of Commercial Services and we provide an early engagement technical risk management service for land, which is intended for residentially led development.
In simple terms, this means we work with landowners and developers who want to reduce the risk associated with building on challenging sites. We identify hazards and advise on the acceptability of proposals to manage any risks.
We assess all types of land at the pre-development stage, whether it's brownfield, geotechnically challenging land or greenfield.
We also provide technical assessment of compliance with NHBC Standards Chapter 4.1 (the chapter regarding managing ground conditions), subject to satisfactory resolution of technical matters, essential for builders to achieve Buildmark coverage.
Our work can support landowners when negotiating with developers because land already de-risked has increased or protected value offering a greater return on investment. For house builders, the service provides reassurance and understanding of whether their proposals would be acceptable prior to them registering plots with NHBC.
Engaging the LQS team for a project represents a win-win for both the customer and NHBC. The customer and funders can enjoy peace of mind and a smoother journey towards warranty, and NHBC benefits from a de-risked build, reducing the likelihood of later claims.
What is the LQS pathway?
When we talk about the LQS pathway, we mean the pathway to NHBC warranty.
If a development site has a certificate of land quality when it's registered for warranty, the review process can be streamlined as we've already undertaken a detailed assessment of the works against the relevant standards. Generally, this allows the scheme to progress more efficiently and smoothly. All parties are then aware of our technical opinion on which elements are compliant and what would be required to resolve any technical issues. Our very early engagement stage acts as a conduit to works being suitable for achieving warranty.
What technical expertise does the LQS team hold?
The LQS team is a specialist multi-disciplinary team made-up of geoenvironmental and geotechnical specialists with a combined experience of 191 years. We’re all chartered professionals, with significant experience in industry as both consultants and contractors. This is important, as we’ve been on the other side of the fence, as it were!
A number of us have specialisms – among our ranks we have, gas specialists, earthwork specialists and even radioactivity specialists. All the geotechnical specialists are on the UK register of ground engineering professionals (RoGEP).
What are the advantages for a developer using NHBC’s LQS? Why don’t they just use their own in-house specialists?
We don't replace the customer’s own technical advisors, but rather complement their expertise. We provide an advantage to the customer in that we understand exactly the standard and quality of work required to achieve NHBC warranty. Many consultants specialise in one discipline, whereas we’re multidisciplinary, which provides a more holistic overview of any technical issues.
We see ourselves as providing value in the three key areas important to any development: time, quality and cost. With regard to time, it’s the early engagement which gives us the opportunity to minimise unexpected delays - we also work closely with the customer’s project team so we can react to changes as works progress, avoiding lengthy disruptions. As for quality, the customer has upfront technical clarity on key elements of the works, which gives them reassurance and increases stakeholder confidence which for funders is very important.
Lastly, we can help protect land values – our work reduces risk of land issues presenting themselves later in the build journey. A certificate of land quality is a valuable asset which gives customers, developers and funders confidence in a build from the start.
Given the government’s ambitious house building targets, do you think the scope of LQS is growing?
Absolutely yes. Land that might previously have been considered unattractive or even unviable for development is now under consideration. For years greenfield sites have been the bread and butter for many developers but in order to meet the government’s targets, volume house builders are looking at more options.
Brownfield and greybelt are outside the usual appetites of most developers, so the LQS team can act as a trusted partner, giving confidence that their proposals and strategies will be acceptable for warranty approval.
