Resources
Good work grows through good relationships.
Practical guides to winning work through good relationships, alongside our library of planning intelligence and construction costs.
Win work through good relationships
Practical ways to become easier to recommend, make useful introductions and stay in touch with purpose.
- Referrals3 min read
How to Make Yourself Easier to Refer
People may be happy to recommend you. The difficulty is that they do not always know when. Make the moments unmistakable.
- Referrals3 min read
The 10 Conversations That Could Lead to Your Next Client
Opportunities often appear first as ordinary remarks, not formal buying enquiries. Learn to hear the need without turning every conversation into a pitch.
- Networking2 min read
How to Ask for Referrals Without Being Pushy
A good referral request gives people something easy to remember and a low-pressure way to help.
- Networking2 min read
How to Stay Useful to Your Network
The strongest professional relationships don't revolve around constant pitching. They grow through attention, thoughtful help and timely introductions.
Planning intelligence
Drainage, SuDS and basement conditions, from the decision notices we read.
- Reference4 min read
The practices behind basement work, by London borough: how concentrated it is
How many architecture practices generate the basement applications in each London borough, and what share of that work the five and ten most active hold. Counts only; nobody is named.
- Reference4 min read
Basement planning conditions by London borough: drainage, SuDS and the start date
How often a basement approval carries a drainage or SuDS condition in each London borough, how often that condition must be discharged before work starts, and what it asks for.
- Reference5 min read
What a basement impact assessment condition requires
The three stages of a basement impact assessment, what the condition attached at approval asks for before work starts, and how often a drainage condition arrives on the same notice.
- Reference4 min read
Drainage and SuDS planning conditions by London borough: which councils condition most
Every London borough we have read deeply, ranked by how often an approval carries a drainage or SuDS condition, with pre-commencement share, discharge outcomes and the number of notices behind each row.
- Market analysis10 min read
Enfield SuDS requirements: drainage strategy checklist
A practical list of the plans, calculations and forms Enfield asks for, with evidence from recent planning conditions.
- Market analysis10 min read
Kensington and Chelsea SuDS requirements for basements
When RBKC expects a drainage statement, what the drawings must show, and the extra detail needed for basement schemes.
Construction costs
Cost benchmarks and indices, refreshed from public data.
- Sales6 min read
Which jobs to quote this month: a bid or no-bid triage for small building firms
Six questions, a scorer, and three verdicts for every enquiry: price it, ask one question first, or decline it this week.
- Reference5 min read
How much does BCIS cost, and what do you get for it?
What a BCIS subscription runs to, what sits behind the paywall, and what the free sources cover instead.
- Reference5 min read
Is BCIS worth it for a small practice?
A decision rule for one-QS firms: when the subscription pays back, and when the free stack covers you.
- Market analysis6 min read
UK construction cost forecast 2026: where costs are heading and why
What the leading indicators say about the next 12 to 18 months of UK construction cost inflation.
- Sales5 min read
How to justify a construction quote increase to a hesitant client
The live-data scripts and worked examples to have an evidence-based conversation about why 2026 numbers are higher than 2022 numbers.
- Sales6 min read
Fixed price vs cost plus contracts in UK construction 2026
What current labour inflation means for how you price, contract, and manage risk on residential projects.
For London residential contractors
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Can’t find what you need?
The construction-cost guides are built on the same data that powers the Trails Cost Tracker. For the interactive calculator, inflation adjustments and regional variations, use the tool directly. The planning-intelligence guides come from the decision notices we read across London, and are refreshed daily.