Welcome to the Team: Chris Leaburn, Senior Project Manager

Welcome to the Team: Chris Leaburn, Senior Project Manager

Chris has recently joined the Milton Keynes office as Senior Project Manager to support the growing demand in the area and across the business. With decades of experience across local authorities, major consultancy roles, and complex regulatory environments, Chris Leaburn brings a wealth of expertise to Harwood.

We caught up with him to learn more about his background, his new role, and how he will support the business’s growth.

Tell us a bit about your background – what brought you into building control?

I began my career in building control straight after school, working for a local authority in Scotland for five years. During that time, I studied alongside my job and earned my degree while gaining valuable practical experience. After that, I took some time to travel, then resumed my building control career in England, with Broxbourne Council. I later moved to Stevenage as a Senior, quickly gained Chartered Membership of CABE, and progressed to a Principal Building Control Surveyor position. I continued in that role for seven years.

I’ve worked on many projects, including The Lamex Stadium (home of Stevenage FC), Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, and early-stage design work for the West Suffolk Hospital as part of the government’s New Hospital Programme.

I’ve always enjoyed the combination of technical detail and working closely with design teams to make sure projects are safe and compliant.

What led you to join Harwood and return to building control?

After spending seven years at another building control provider, I was approached about a role with Ryder Architecture, where I supported their design teams with in-house regulatory advice. That evolved into a consultancy role with their sister company, Okana, where I advised on high-risk, high-value projects – including hospitals and major developments like the St Thomas’ Hospital extension, which involved complex structural and safety considerations.

But I missed the core building control work. I also wanted to maintain my building control registration with the regulator, which you can’t maintain through consultancy work alone. Harwood gave me the opportunity to do both – building control and advisory work, which is precisely what I was looking for.

What will your role at Harwood involve?

I’ll continue my work in building control – site inspections, plan checking, and so on – but also helping to grow our advisory services. The industry is shifting. Building control bodies can’t offer design advice anymore as per the new regulations set out by the regulator, and that’s left a big gap for consultants to step in and support design teams from the outset.

Having worked within architecture firms and in regulatory control, I believe that a dual perspective is incredibly valuable. I’m helping develop Harwood’s principal designer advisory services capability, especially for complex projects and larger contractors needing additional compliance support.

How have you found your first few weeks at Harwood?

It’s been great. The team’s been welcoming and supportive. Jason Lee (Building Control Manager) and the other Milton Keynes and Canterbury offices have been incredibly helpful and welcoming.

I’m used to remote work and site-based roles, so the hybrid approach here suits me well. I’ve spent some time at the Milton Keynes office and have been down to Canterbury a couple of times, which is excellent for getting to know people properly beyond video calls.

I’ve also started attending social and networking events. I’m hosting the Reds10 team for a race day event from the corporate box at Brands Hatch, and I have a Harwood social event coming up, so there are plenty of opportunities to meet more of the team and get to know the clients better.

What kind of projects are you currently working on?

It’s already been a busy start. I’ve picked up many projects, including schemes for the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Education with Reds10. I’m also involved in refurbishments, hotels, industrial extensions, and an exciting scheme at The Shard. It’s a mix of residential, large commercial projects, and non-standard construction types.

Having variety is key for me – I’ve worked on everything from healthcare to football stadiums. The only thing I haven’t done is a prison project! That’s on my to-do list.

What does success look like for you in your first year at Harwood?

Firstly, I’d like to be a key, established team member. Secondly, moving from working in local authority building control to Registered Building Control Approvals (RBCA) – private building control – I’m keen to bolster some of my building regulation knowledge and combine that with my consultancy experience to strengthen both sides of my expertise.

I’d also like to establish a patch where I have my regular clients covering areas such as Hertfordshire, Essex, and North London, and hopefully build up a small team in that region. I want to continue growing the service offering to clients, further supporting the business’s growth ambitions.

Click here to connect with Chris on LinkedIn.