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 twenty 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

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 heads up our Milton Keynes office.

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

Scott has worked in Building Control since 1988 but also spent almost 5 years as a Site Manager for 2 major housebuilders. Scott is a Chartered Member of CABE and an Incorporated Engineer with the Engineering Council. Scott has extensive Building Control experience in all sectors and has, and still is, working on large mixed-use developments throughout England. Scott also project manages and carries out site inspections on retail, healthcare, education, industrial, commercial, and residential projects.
Scott is managing our new office in Sheffield.

After starting his career as a trainee more than seven years ago, Mo Hussain has proven that with the right mentorship and determination, success is built from the ground up. Now joining Harwood, Mo is focused on giving back to the industry by helping develop the next generation of building control professionals.

Armed with a strong technical background and a portfolio of qualifications—including NVQs, HNCs, and professional Charterships—he will lead initiatives to train, mentor, and inspire both new and existing inspectors. Alongside this, Mo will support the ongoing development of Harwood’s technical policies and procedures, ensuring the highest standards across the business.

Driven by curiosity, Mo continues to explore emerging technologies, including AI, to shape the future of building control.

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.

Jaspal joined Harwood in May. She has been in the Building Control sector for 35 years, starting as a trainee with a local authority and progressing to senior levels within the Building Control environment.  Her knowledge and experience have been gained from the public and private sectors. This ranges from domestic to commercial projects, along with infrastructure involvement. Jaspal is part of the RICS Professional Group Panel, and an APC assessor.

Jaspal is also actively involved with CABE carrying out training and a panellist on their registration process.

Jaspal will be managing the Surrey/London office.

Jaspal enjoys keeping fit, mentoring, and coaching others to get the best out of them.

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.

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.

Darryl started his working life in the construction industry in 2006. Having worked in the industry ever since and he continues to have the same passion and enthusiasm for the industry as he did at the outset of his career.

He gained experience through an apprenticeship (within Local Authority) which allowed him to gain invaluable work experience whilst gaining the relevant qualifications along the way.

Having completed an ONC in Construction, HNC in Building Surveying and BSc (Hons) in Building Surveying whilst on day release, this set him in good stead to achieve his long-term ambition of becoming a Chartered Building Surveyor/Engineer.

He has a proven track record of integrity and good in-depth knowledge and experience of all aspects of the Building Regulations and associated statutory legislation and guidance.

His career has been developed within both Public Sector and Private Sector Building Control, focusing on small commercial developments and large residential developments.

Umayr has over 5 years’ experience in the construction industry, he is a Chartered Member of CIOB and CABE. He started his career via a degree apprenticeship specialising in Building Control, gaining valuable knowledge and experience throughout the duration of the course, and achieving First Class Honours.

As a Registered Building Inspector, Umayr has a variety of project experience, from standard residential projects to commercial and buildings up to 18m. Umayr has joined Harwood to further his knowledge and experience in all aspects of the industry, with a focus on commercial and more complex projects, with the goal of progression through the RBI classes.

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.

Richard has worked in various forms of construction over the past 18 years, starting in the family business of swimming pool construction and maintenance to eventually branching out as a sole trader and then director of his own general building company, undertaking domestic refurbishments and extensions.

Having this experience and a natural curiosity for building pathology and construction processes, the transition to building control felt like an obvious move.

He joined the local authority training program in 2023 and achieved distinction in his level 4 diploma in 2024.

Now with the team at Harwood, he looks forward to developing further and fulfilling his curiosity by gaining a wide range of project experience.

Jai is a Class 1 Registered Building Inspector who has been in the industry for around 4 years.

He is looking forward to getting stuck into a new working environment, expanding his experience, and being involved in large and more complex projects with the aim to quickly reach Class 2 A, B and push to achieve D.

Jai will be working from the Surrey/London office.

Outside of work Jai enjoys Watching the Football, F1 and playing Golf. Jai has also recently started to try out Fishing.

I started my career in construction as a Site Engineer on the Bluewater Shopping Centre some thirty years ago. I subsequently spent several years in Local Authority Building Control gaining a working knowledge of the Building Regulations and associated legislation whilst completing a degree in Civil Engineering.

The majority of my career to date has been spent working as a Structural Engineer on a diverse range of projects including schools, hotels, houses and domestic extensions, through to listed buildings, structural surveys and temporary structures.

In 2017 I joined Harwood, bringing my site and design experience back to building control together with the problem-solving abilities developed over a number of years. Since returning I have project managed a variety of domestic and commercial projects successfully before choosing to become a site inspection in 2020.

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 Finance after completing her A Levels and then joining a firm of Chartered Surveyors, where she worked and studied towards her AAT qualification and has been a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians for over 10 years.
Abby was promoted to Finance Manager in May 2023 and more recently progressed to become a Fellow Member of the AAT, the most senior designation, showcasing her exceptional knowledge, dedication and leadership in the accounting sector.

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.

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 Kellas 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.

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.

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.

Marijana holds a Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Design and began her career working as an architectural assistant in Croatia while completing her studies. After relocating to the UK, she moved into administration within the care sector, where she developed strong organisational and communication skills. She joins Harwood, where she is excited to return to the built environment and continue growing her career in a field closely aligned with her academic and professional background.

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.