We caught up for a chat with Tom Crouch from Hertfordshire Building Control, winner of LABC Newcomer of the Year 2025

Did you know much about building control before you applied to join Hertfordshire Building Control?

After careers in the armed forces and ambulance service, I was working on-site on small domestic projects. A builder suggested that building control might be the ideal role for me.

There are so many transferable skills for people leaving the Forces or Emergency Services. Things like leadership, confidence and a proven ability to deal with stressful situations. You are likely to progress pretty quickly, even if you start as a trainee, as long as you are prepared to work hard and earn trust.

This must be the best time to join building control. With its status as a Registered profession, the possibility of a single construction regulator, roles with the BSR, and so many vacancies across both sectors, there are so many job opportunities for a Registered Building Inspector (RBI).

Have you enjoyed the academic or the practical side most?

Definitely the practical side, although the academic side has been really interesting, albeit sometimes challenging. I’m now working towards a degree in Building Control from the University of Wolverhampton.

It’s 10 years since my paramedic exams and a long time since school, so it’s been tough!

Has anything surprised you about the role?

Just how much legislation, technical guidance and standards need to be read and understood, and how complex the concept of functional requirements is, with designers needing to demonstrate and prove how their designs work and comply. 

What has been your biggest learning curve since joining the profession?

The fact that the regulations don’t actually tell anyone how to build anything. 

What technical skills have you developed most rapidly since entering the industry?

The ability to research niche technical guidance and British Standards, and to always be ready to look things up. There are some great resources like the new MHCLG Regulatory Updates which have links to all the hard-to-find information. Wolverhampton University have been really helpful too. 

Have you got a favourite Approved Document?

Probably Part H. It’s easy to read, full of tables and diagrams, logical, practical, and it’s probably not going to change much.

My least favourite is Part R -it's so techy, difficult to understand and full of jargon. It's very hard for contractors and installers to read and comply with, and not much easier for designers and regulators.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen on site?

Amazingly, a working washing machine outside on a site, pumping dirty water straight into a newly dug foundation trench. This was like it for weeks. There were a lot of rats there, too!

What do you wish you’d known?

That building control isn’t quality control, and you can’t really do anything about poor workmanship unless it really affects safety. It's difficult to be flexible, pragmatic and helpful about alternative methods of compliance when you can’t help with design. 

About 80% of builders are really receptive to building control and want to learn about the regulations and ask why and how. That’s when not being able to give design advice becomes tricky – it's much easier to just tell them what to do, but we can’t.

Which aspect of building control do you find the most rewarding — and which is the most challenging?

The most rewarding has to be when people actually listen to you, like an architect responding to a plan check. The most challenging must be enforcement. It takes up so much time, requires so much detail and accuracy and is so hard to do effectively without telling someone what to do. 

Is there a particular project you’re most proud of? 

Three timber-framed new-build houses for Hertsmere Council. These were designed with the needs of specific tenants in mind and go way beyond the requirements for M4(2) and M4(3) with innovative solutions and specialised experts.

Can you tell us about winning “LABC Newcomer of the Year”? 

It’s all a bit of a blur! I was really nervous, but I remember meeting Larry Lamb, Peter Keates (of course) and having lots of photos taken. I’m very proud of this award. Winning this has probably backed up my belief in my ability, and it’s definitely nice to have. I’m intending to progress to Class 2 A-F in the coming years and want to stay technical, working in the public sector, hopefully on interesting projects.

We don’t have a lot of cause for celebration in our industry, so we should take it where we can and keep supporting new entrants.