Message from the London District Surveyors' Association 

It is now a matter of history that prior to abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986, there were two systems of building control in London. In inner London the London Building Acts and Byelaws generally provided for building work to be carried out to the satisfaction of "District Surveyors", who were statutory officers employed by the G.L.C., and the office of the District Surveyor dated back to the Great Fire of London. In outer London, the Building Act 1984 and Building Regulations applied and these were administered by the Building Surveyors working within the outer London Boroughs.

The officers within inner and outer London had their own professional association, namely the District Surveyors Association and the Greater London Building Surveyors Association, and these met regularly to further the aims and objectives of building control in their respective areas. Following abolition of the G.L.C. in 1986 and much of the inner London legislation, there was an overwhelming logic in the two Associations uniting and this was duly achieved on 22nd October 1987 when The London District Surveyors Association was formed. In a fairly short time the L.D.S.A. has become an effective body in representing local authority building control in London and in particular has seen the need to fill the vacuum created by the demise of the G.L.C. in producing technical guidance on building control matters that were not covered by National legislation.

It has produced a level of service document, three Fire Safety Guides, Model Rules of Management and Model Technical Regulations for places of public entertainment. In doing so, it has worked closely with other associations, principally The Association of London Chief Environmental Health Officers, and The London Fire and Civil Defence Authority.

Therefore, when in 1989 the Building Control Unification Group called for "one voice for building control" the L.D.S.A. embraced the concept enthusiastically, having been beneficiaries of their own recent merger. The result of the BCUG initiative was, of course, that the L.D.S.A. and the Society of Chief Building Regulation Officers (SOCBRO) realised the advantages of a National building control managers organisation and entered in discussions enthusiastically the result of which is the new body that is inaugurated today, namely the District Surveyors Association.

Whilst the name of the new body reflects the historical links with building control in inner London mentioned previously, I am sure that all members would not like this to be interpreted as in anyway looking backwards. The new D.S.A's role is firmly in the future, setting National standards of good practice within local authority building control.

Before leaving the events that have led to the formation of the new D.S.A. I would like to pay tribute to Adrian Prest, Chief Building Surveyor for the London Borough of Brent, whose brainchild the B.C.U.G. was, and also acknowledge the contribution of Graham Fuller of the D.O.E. who has harried us all over his term of office about the multiplicity of representation in building control. Both have, directly and indirectly, contributed to the formation of the D.S.A.

Finally, I would like to give my best wishes to Jim Johnson, Chief Building Surveyor for Gloucester City Council, who will be the president of the new D.S.A. Jim has boundless professionalism, integrity and enthusiasm, and I am sure that the Association has made a wise choice in its president.

RON LAVERS, FRICS, C.Eng., MIStructE, MIAS, MIBC.
PRESIDENT OF THE L.D.S.A. 1991