Our Team

David Woodward was one of the youngest in England and Wales, if not the youngest, to become fully qualified in Building Control in 1999.  A trend which continued when he formed Harwood Building Control Approved Inspectors Ltd in 2005 which gained registration as a Corporate Approved Inspector by the Construction Industry Council. Throughout David’s career he has worked in public and private sector Building Control.  During this time he has project managed some significant and notable town centre shopping redevelopments and HM detention centre projects, to name but a few.  However, most recently his attention has been drawn from above ground to the London Underground where he produces fire strategies and offers consultation advice on all aspects of fire safety on some of the major redevelopment projects throughout the network. David’s vast experience and in-depth knowledge in all aspects of the Building Regulations, associated statutory legislation and standards, combined with his strong management, leadership and motivational skills all contributes to Harwood’s growing reputation as a leader in the Building Control field.

Ben has over eighteen years’ experience in private sector building control and is responsible for Harwood’s commercial development, financial performance and major projects. Ben is a chartered building engineer and is a fellow member of the chartered association of building engineers. Ben has a reputation in the industry for his excellent customer service skills and retaining valuable experience and knowledge, having dealt with a huge variety of construction schemes, across all sectors.

Ben’s commercial awareness and unique management style has significantly contributed to Harwood’s continued growth and increased reputation as a spearhead in the building control and construction consultancy marketplace

Adam Dodd, as an active member of both The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and The Chartered Association of Building Engineers, brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in Building Control. Serving as the Operations Director at Harwood, Adam takes charge of the day-to-day management of the Building Control teams, ensuring the smooth execution of projects. 

Throughout his career in the Kent and Sussex regions, Adam has been instrumental in nurturing Building Control teams from their inception, developing them into established, high-performing units.  

As an advocate for continuous learning and development, Adam has spearheaded graduate chartership training programmes and has mentored numerous budding professionals in the industry.  

Alongside an exceptional understanding of building regulations and allied legislation, these achievements and commitment to excellence demonstrate Adam’s expertise and leadership in Building Control. 

Connect with Adam on LinkedIn. 

Mark Goldsmith has over thirty-five years of experience in the construction industry, with the last twenty-five years being in both the public and private Building Control sectors.
He is a Chartered Building Control Surveyor and has been a member of the RICS for twenty years.

Mark’s experience in Building Control extends across large commercial and residential developments, health and education, defence estates, through to private residential schemes, and framework agreements for national clients.
Mark is committed to providing a professional service for our clients. Working closely with all those involved, either at project level or managing the delivery of our services across many projects and clients.

Jason joined us in July, with over 15 years’ experience in building control and 30 years’ experience in the construction industry, working on major high value projects such as Network Rail HQ in Milton Keynes, AstraZeneca HQ Discovery Centre, Cambridge and Papworth Hospital.

Jason brings vast experience with him from his previous roles within building control, having work on large multi-million pound commercial and domestic schemes, supporting clients from inception through the whole project Lifecyle. Jason extensive commercial experience and knowledge gained through building control and within the warranty sector will be a valuable addition to the Harwood Team.

Jason will be setting up our new Milton Keynes office.

He loves nothing more than to keep fit, having completed the London Marathon twice and completed several Ironman Triathlon events

A Chartered Building Control Surveyor with over 16 years professional experience, Martin joined Harwood in June 2021 and has recently been promoted to Building Control Manager.

Martin has extensive experience in the management of building control projects from inception to completion, across a wide variety of large-scale commercial and residential schemes, with a focus on flats, educational buildings, retail and office fit outs and healthcare premises. His ability to review technical drawings and specifications to ascertain technically compliant solutions using logical problem solving, whilst maintaining focus on a client’s budget constraints and requirements, is of great value to Harwood clients.

Martin will predominantly be responsible for Harwood’s South East regional projects, managing large and complex schemes in relation to building control compliance, as well as using his leadership skills to supervise, mentor and support the surveying team.

Vic Datlen has over thirty years’ experience in Building Control, the majority of which has been with Local Authority but more recently within Private Sector Building Control as he looks for fresh challenges.

As a member of the RICS since 2001, Vic has had a wealth of experience with both domestic and commercial projects, including the KIMs project in Maidstone, The Kent History Centre in Maidstone and, more recently a number of schools’ projects with Kent County Council, The Royal Sands Development in Ramsgate, the new Slatters Hotel in Canterbury, and a large residential development at former allotments on the outskirts of Ramsgate. With extensive knowledge in all aspects of Building Regulations issues and associated legislation, Vic continues to contribute to the continued growth and success of Harwood Building Control.

Harry has over thirty years’ experience in Building Control Surveying, nineteen years  in Local Government and fifteen years in the Private Sector.  He has a BSc Hons Degree in Building Surveying and is a member of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers and a member of the Planning Supervisor for Health & Safety.

Harry has a wealth of experience and knowledge of the Building Control Regulations and associated legislation and has worked on many diverse projects throughout his career including both domestic and commercial from an extension in a residential dwelling to the Park Royal Industrial Estate – one of the largest industrial estates in London, which includes Guinness, Central Middlesex Hospital and McVities. He has also been involved in various government projects including HMP Holloway.

Iain started his career as a Site Engineer on the Bluewater Shopping Centre some twenty years ago. He subsequently spent several years in Local Authority Building Control gaining a working knowledge of the Building Regulations and a degree in Civil Engineering. The majority of his career to date has been spent working as a Structural Engineer on a diverse range of projects from schools and surveys to listed buildings and temporary structures.

Having worked on site, in a design office as well as in a checking role Iain now brings his experience and ability to look at problems from multiple viewpoints back to Building Control.

Darryl is a Chartered Building Engineer who has been working in the Building Control sector for more than thirteen years. He started his career as an Apprentice Building Control Officer in the Local Authority.

Darryl studied towards and completed a HNC in Building Surveying at Greenwich University and following this graduated from the University of Westminster with a BSc (Hons) in Building Surveying in 2013.

Darryl’s expertise and experience is generally in the residential sector however his knowledge is now expanding on commercial projects with the support of his colleagues in the Harwood Team.

Shaun Joined Harwood Building Control in June 2021 and has been a Chartered member of CABE since 2017, he became chartered with the RICS in 2021 and offers a broad range of experience as a Senior Building Control Surveyor on a variety of both commercial and residential projects.

Shaun’s experience extends to residential care homes, new build school projects, MOD accommodation and office and shop fit outs. He has comprehensive knowledge of Building Regulation requirements, relevant guidance and legislation.

Shaun will be supporting Harwood in tendering for and delivering new commercial projects. Shaun is proactive in offering early advice to clients to ensure a compliant solution can be achieved whilst taking into consideration client requirements

Chris started his career as a Plumbing Engineer where he gained valuable onsite experience for six years. Having decided to make the move into Building Control, Chris previously worked for an Approved Inspector company, where he studied towards and gained his HNC Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment/ABBE Level 6 NVQ Diploma in Building Control qualifications.

Chris’s experience for over seven years’ as a Building Control Surveyor is generally in the domestic and residential sector, however since joining Harwood his knowledge is now expanding on large and complex commercial projects with the support of his colleagues in the Harwood Team. Chris became a member with The Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE) in 2021 and Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).

Jamie has completed his HNC in Construction and BSc Hons in Building Control, all while working in the industry as a Building Inspector since 2018. He has predominantly covered residential projects, whilst gaining some commercial experience along the way and aiming to expand his knowledge in this area.

Following completion of his RBI assessment, Jamie now operates as a Project Manager at Harwood and is looking to further his knowledge whilst progressing through the RBI classes and attaining his Chartered status.

Imanol has over 11 years’ experience in the construction industry, he is a Chartered Member of CIOB. He started his career in construction as a Draftsman in a Civil engineering company back in Spain and has been working as a building control surveyor for over 5 years’ in the UK.

Imanol completed the equivalent of an HND in construction, achieving the highest grade in his class!

As a Building Control Surveyor Imanol has been working on a wide variety of projects from small residential to commercial and buildings up to 18m. He has joined Harwood to expand his knowledge and expertise.

Shamaun has completed his HNC in Construction and Built Environment at Bedford College while working on construction sites. Upon completing the HNC, he joined the Local Authority as an Apprentice Building Control Surveyor. During his 5 years with the Local Authority, his experience and skill set involved primarily the residential sector.

Shamaun has passed his BSc (Hons) in Building Control degree in July 2023 at Wolverhampton University and is expanding his knowledge and expertise to both commercial and domestic projects, where he is Project Managing with the support of his Harwood Colleagues and continuing his development within the company.

Joining Harwood from Sweco, Albert has over 45 years’ of construction experience, starting from a trade background progressing through various Site and Contracts Management roles through to Director level.

Being too active to retire and qualifying as a member of the Institute of Clerk of Works and Construction Inspectorate (MICWCI) in 2017, Albert wanted to put all his knowledge and experience to work!

He was the Founder of the Kent Construction Focus Group (KCFG). Which is a group of Kent based construction businesses working together to promote best practice to its members, lobbying local government on local issues, also providing opportunities for networking and business referral.

Jayden is a Building Control Surveyor who joined Harwood in August 2019. Jayden has recently completed his BSc Hons Building Control degree. Jayden is looking forward to continuing his development and gain valuable experience in the Building Control sector.

Having grown up in a family keen on the outdoors it wasn’t long before Stuart spent more time in the outdoor environment, at first with outdoor sports then latterly following his mother into landscape design. A product of the revered Garden Design school at Hadlow College under Kemal Medhi he turned down the chance of an unconditional degree place to set off working for the family firm.

Straight away he was learning landscape construction skills on the job with some of the South East’s top contractors whilst developing his design skills in-house, quickly starting to produce the work to match the potential others saw. This was underlined by the success at the RHS shows Chelsea and Hampton Court, with medal winning design and build for him and his team and letters of commendation from the RHS for work on others projects at both shows.

“Stuart has strong eye for detail and his visualisation for an outdoor space is uncanny, he sees the finished article minutes into a site visit and has this innate understanding of a client’s ideas delivering it with a passion that is so infectious”

                  Mr B Humphrey –  Private Client – London

Abby Ashmore joined Harwood in September 2014 to take the full time role as the Financial Controller. Abby started her career in accounts after completing her A Levels and then joining a firm of Chartered Surveyors, where she worked and studied towards her AAT and has been a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians for over four years. Abby is going to be working towards her Accounting Chartership in order to be able to assist Harwood’s growth and provide sound forward planning advice to maintain financial compliance and control.

Samantha Douglas joined Harwood in January 2017 to take on the position of Finance Officer. Sam started her career in accounts in 2006 and has knowledge and experience of working within the property industry and has built on important administration and finance skills along the way with excellent attention to detail and organisational skills. Sam has successfully completed her AAT qualification Level 4 Professional Diploma and is now a qualified accountant.  Sam also assists Harwood with R&D to help improve internal systems and processes.

Emily Yeo joined Harwood in July 2019 taking on the role of Finance Junior. She came to Harwood having just completed a Level 2 Business Diploma at College, and has since then worked hard to complete studies in Level 3 Business Administration. As she continues to develop her career in accounting, she plans to broaden her skill set with studies for her AAT qualification.

Amy How joined Harwood in 2017 to take on the role as Finance Officer. Amy’s career in accounts started in 2008 when she joined the accounts department of a construction firm where she achieved her AAT Level 4 Diploma in 2013 and became Finance Team Leader for three years. Since joining Harwood, Amy changed her career path to Human Resources.

She has since passed her CIPD Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Human Resource Practice in 2019 and has recently passed her CIPD Level 5 Associate Diploma in People Management which has led to her role as HR Advisor. Amy will start the final level, CIPD Level 7 Advanced Diploma in Strategic People Management in 2023.

Carol has joined Harwood, having had significant experience in administration in several high-profile organisations.

Carol started out her career in HR. She has worked in various banking and private client offices in London, before becoming the PA to the MD of Olympia and York/LMB, the face and inspiration behind the Canary Wharf development. On moving to Kent, she moved into education and was school Registrar and PA to the Headmaster of one of the three leading Independent Schools in Canterbury.

In joining Harwood Carol is aiming to work with the administration team to build upon existing success and provide an exceptional level of customer service.

Zoe Wallis has over fifteen years’ experience in administration and customer service in the engineering and construction industry. This has provided her with the skills to provide excellent customer service and the ability to respond to customer needs in a professional and responsive manner. The range of experience has allowed her to build on her administration skills to provide excellent attention to detail and organisational abilities.

Stephanie has fifteen years’ experience in providing customer service and administration, Steph has been in the building control sector for the past six years. Her skill in customer services enables her to deal proactively with any enquiries presented by our clients. Steph’s experience in recruitment and training is proving beneficial as she works with the administration team to improve efficiency and quality of service.

Sue has over thirty years’ experience in Secretarial and Administration and has been in Building Control for the past nine years’, both with Local Authority and Private Sector Building Control and as a member of the Harwood Team Admin.

Sue has excellent knowledge and experience of Administration and is a fantastic team player providing attention to detail in her day to day role, no problem is too big or small and will always provide a service with a smile.

Lucy has six years experience working within administrative roles, four of which have been within the construction and engineering industry at Sweco UK (formerly MLM Group) in a multidisciplinary capacity.

Having now joined Harwood as a Project Compliance Coordinator, Lucy is keen to use skills learnt from experience in the design process to assist with ensuring that all projects strive to continuously meet deadlines and exceed client expectations.

Kristen has over fifteen years of administrative experience working in a range of roles across the banking and finance sector, with a further 10 years of customer service in leisure and hospitality and five years running his own woodworking business.

In his role within the administration team, Kristen is looking to leverage this experience to continue to build on the existing excellent level of customer service at Harwood.

Kristen’s spare time is spent playing sport, walking with his dog, and indulging his love of classic cars.

Phillipa has over twenty five years’ experience in the event and hospitality sector with over twelve years’ in office administration, with a strong team work ethic and a wealth of experience, with attention to detail and organisational skills that are also put to good use as in her spare time, Phillipa is a volunteer at Canterbury Rugby Club.