
Heat networks are increasingly a planning requirement, embedded in S106 agreements, the London Plan and forthcoming Heat Network Zoning regulation. Getting the design wrong doesn’t just risk performance, it risks non-compliance, unbudgeted remediation costs after handover, and delays to occupation.
Design Review & Assurance closes that gap. It puts independent, stage-by-stage scrutiny on the design against your brief and the standards that matter — CP1, TS1, Employer’s Requirements — so issues are caught and resolved before they’re locked into the specification, rather than discovered after handover.
Design Review & Assurance keeps your design honest against the brief at every stage it develops. Here’s what’s covered:

Delivering schemes under planning obligations means needing confidence that what’s specified is what actually gets built.
Managing a heat network portfolio means needing someone acting solely on your behalf, not the contractor’s.
Inheriting long-term responsibility for a network’s performance means needing an independent check that it was delivered as promised.
Here’s what clients most often ask before commissioning an independent design review.
CP1 is a CIBSE code of practice for heat networks. Design Review & Assurance includes CP1 checklists as part of ensuring a scheme meets recognised technical standards before it progresses.
It’s built to apply sign-off at every RIBA stage, so it can be engaged as early as Vision and Preparation, rather than only once a design is finalised. Engaging early gives more opportunity to catch issues before they’re built into the specification.
No. It provides an independent review of the design team’s work against your Employer’s Requirements and performance metrics, translating technical complexity into clear terms so you can make decisions with confidence.
Findings are reviewed against your original specification and performance requirements, with any gaps raised for resolution before they progress further through design or into construction.
Talk to us about where Design Review & Assurance fits into your current RIBA stage.