Your Building Control Service

Gary Cass is a highly experienced Building Control professional who has worked extensively in both the public and private sectors. He holds prestigious designations such as Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers, Chartered Building Engineer, and Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Building.

Throughout his career, Gary has primarily held technical and strategic leadership positions within the private sector. He has been instrumental in fostering a strong team culture and has successfully obtained an Approved Inspector license for a growing warranty provider as their Managing Director. Additionally, as the Building Control Managing Director for the UK’s second-largest warranty provider Gary’s team regained their AI license and achieved independent ISO 9001 accreditation.

Gary’s profound commitment lies in safeguarding people within the built environment and enhancing the end-user experience in relation to the implementation of Building Regulations. This dedication led him to become the inaugural CIOB & LABC standards scholar, where he extensively researched the interplay between traditional building fabric and thermal upgrades under L1b. Building upon this scholarship, Gary completed a Master’s degree at Cambridge University, focusing his thesis on the influence of Building Control on the mental health of dwelling occupants. Presently, he is pursuing a part-time PhD with a focus on the correlation between housing and health.

In addition to his professional achievements, Gary has actively supported various esteemed organizations, including the CIC and NHBC Hackitt review groups. He has contributed to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) by assisting in the development of a guidance note on cladding. Furthermore, Gary served as a former policy board member for the CIOB, leveraging his expertise to contribute to the profession’s advancement. He has also shared his knowledge and insights as a speaker at numerous professional and academic events, including conferences organized by LABC and CIOB.

Pam Ryder brings a wealth of financial expertise and strategic leadership to her role as Chief Financial Officer at Hertfordshire Building Control. With a distinguished career spanning over two decades in financial management, Pam has consistently demonstrated her commitment to driving organisational success through sound financial stewardship.

Her strategic acumen and analytical prowess empower the leadership team to make informed decisions, supporting the company’s growth initiatives and operational efficiency. Pam plays a vital role in shaping the financial future of Hertfordshire Building Control, ensuring that the organisation remains financially robust and agile in the ever-evolving construction and building control industry.

Jayne’s career covers a multitude of positions within the built environment in both the public and private sectors. Jayne was the first woman to be elected President of Local Authority Building Control in 2015/2016! Following this, she became President of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers during 2020/21 during the global pandemic.

Starting out as an Architectural Technologist, both in local government and private practice Jayne moved on to establish her own way-finding consultancy. Her career in building control followed, starting out as an assistant Building Control Surveyor at Sedgemoor District Council, she progressed to Building Control Manager within 5 years. Jayne gained a suite of experience in her role as Built Environment Enforcement Manager at South Gloucestershire Council, looking after the Building Control, Planning Enforcement, Environmental Enforcement and Envirocrime functions. After 18 years in local government, she moved on to the private sector.

Jayne joins HBC following 15 months as a Principal Building Control Surveyor at Cook Brown Building Control, where she was responsible for developing and growing the business in the southwest, and leading a team of four surveyors from the Somerset Office. All while combining the extra responsibilities of presiding over prestigious organisations!

Jayne enjoys exploring the UK’s countryside and coast and visiting heritage sites around Britain. She has recently taken up re-upholstery to wind down in her spare time.

Les is Chartered Building Engineer with a successful career spanning more than 40 years in the private and public Building Control sectors. He has extensive experience working on a wide range of major construction projects including complex high-risk commercial, and high-rise residential schemes.

Time spent working in the steel design and fabrication industry and running a residential design consultancy have provided Les with a particularly broad technical knowledge, helped by his personal interest in construction technology and science. He is also interested in the more practical aspects of building and still retains his visual welding inspection qualifications.

 He keeps in shape as a competitive cyclist and playing tennis.

Richard’s Building Control career spans over 15 years. For seven of these years, he has also worked as a retained firefighter for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

A Chartered Building Engineer and member of the Institution of Fire Engineers; Richard is particularly interested in fire safety, using his experience to provide customers with guidance on fire evacuation planning.

Richard is customer focussed and considers communication and providing rapid responses of the utmost importance in order to offer the best possible service.

He is a keen mountaineer and is sports-orientated in his leisure time.

Richard has been working in public sector Building Control for 20 years. Experienced in working with both domestic and commercial projects he puts his emphasis on working with the customer to deliver compliant buildings.

As one of the company’s Fire Safety Specialists, Richard is a key lead on high-risk residential projects, as well as the more complex non-residential schemes within Hertfordshire and further afield.

Outside of the workplace he is a keen runner and you can often see him in local distance competitions.