Architect found guilty by PCC

Architect found guilty by PCC (17/01/2003)

At a Hearing of the Architects Registration Board’s Professional Conduct Committee in London on 15 January 2003, architect Brett Greatorex was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and/or serious professional incompetence on a number of counts.

The case against Mr Greatorex was brought to the PCC following the investigation of a complaint by the Reverend Ian Lewis. The architect, who was not present for the Hearing, pleaded guilty to all seven charges. These were:

1. He made misleading and/or inaccurate representations in that he represented tenders had been obtained from different contractors when no tendering had occurred.

2. He made misleading and/or inaccurate representations in that he represented that Quantity Surveyors were involved at all states of pre-contract negotiation when they were not.

3. He made misleading and/or inacurate representations in that he represented that formal contractual arrangements had been entered into when the contractual arrangements were on an ad hoc basis.

4. He failed to adhere to the costs limit agreed at the commencement of the works.

5. He failed to carry out his work with due diligence and/or failed to keep his client informed of the progress of work and of issues which may have affected its quality and/or costs, and/or failed to comply with the duties required of him under the RIBA SFA 92 agreement.

6. The defendant undertook professional work without adequate and appropriate professional indemnity insurance cover.

7. The defendant failed and/or delayed in replying to correspondence from ARB.

The PCC found the defendant guilty of unacceptable professional conduct on all seven charges, and in addition, they found him guilty of serious professional incompetence on counts 4 and 5. The Committee ordered that Mr Greatorex be erased from the Register.

Commenting after the Hearing, ARB’s Head of Regulation, Richard Coleman, said:

“Today’s findings demonstrate how essential it is for architects to follow the requirements of the Code. The Code is a blueprint for best practice, and not only will it help architects to avoid many of the pitfalls highlighted in this case, it will also ensure that they provide a high level of client care.”