Ten years ago we bought a cottage in the North York Moors. The cottage is Grade II listed and sits in a conservation area. It needed substantial renovation but we managed to carefully negotiate the complex legislation in order to finish the project four years later. However, when we applied to renovate an attached forge it soon became obvious that the rules and regulations had become more complex and stringent and we needed professional help. We contacted Dr. Harrison and it is entirely down to her that we have recently been granted listed building consent. She has extensive knowledge and experience of working with listed buildings legislation. Her research is thorough and the plans which she has drawn up for us are detailed and accurate. She builds good working relationships with all the professionals involved being fair in negotiations but diligent in holding others to account when necessary. Dr Harrison has worked incredibly hard for us, always taking into account and discussing with us our wishes for the use of the building. She is always punctual, being well-briefed and consistent in meeting deadlines. We would not have been granted permission without the guidance and detailed evidence produced by Dr Harrison.
Forge and adjoining cottage
Linda and Terry
Home owners
“We have been granted planning permission at last. I’m not sure we would have got this over the line without you, I can’t thank you enough.” David
“Joanne visited our home to complete a retrofit assessment and produce a home energy plan. She was easy to communicate with during the planning and polite and meticulous during the day she spent in our home surveying. She made changes to the report as requested, for our needs, and overall we found her knowledge of old buildings (ours is a 200 year old ex-warehouse) to be reassuring and informative; would highly recommend Joanne for heritage work.” Neil
“Thank you for all your efforts on my behalf, it has been much appreciated as has your advice and help with fixtures and fittings.” Anne “Thanks for all the work you have put in on the drawings – I know there have been some complications to resolve and I do appreciate the time and patience you have shown.” Jenny “It has been (and still is) a pleasure to work with people who showed that they too, like us, cared about our wonderful new school building.” Primary School Head Teacher
Joanne has developed an exceptionally high quality quantitative and qualitative post-occupancy evaluation pack for the Housing Delivery Programme at the City of York Council. This has equipped us well to measure the impact of our Housing Delivery Programme... Joanne’s experience, skillset and nuanced understanding of the effect of design on people was such that it allowed her to be very focussed on counting what counts... Joanne’s positive and proactive attitude as well as her perfectly organised approach meant that the pack was very well structured and delivered all of our requirements. I would be very confident to use her services on another project if there was the opportunity.
City of York Council logo
Lisa Otter
Housing Delivery Team, City of York Council

“Thank you for an amazing tour of the back to back houses in Leeds.  It was fascinating.” Alison

“Many thanks for one of the best guided walks I have been on.” Hillary