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On using Christopher Betts
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| “I think the
reason I like using Christopher Betts is general responsiveness . .
. They are responsive in the sense that if I phone them up and say
“I’ve got this site and this possible issue, what do you think,
can you pop in for an hour to discuss?”, and if it is they will
send me a proposal and when they can do it.”
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| “What I like
about Christopher Betts is that, if they do the survey and they find
something, they come back and say, we found this, but we think you
can do x, y & z, or deal with it in the following manner, etc.
They offer a practical solution.”
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| “What makes
Christopher Betts stand out above other organisations is that you
know from Day 1 the person you are going to deal with is the same
person throughout. You are not going to ring up one day and find out
that that person is no longer dealing with your project and equally
. . . if person A isn’t in today then person B knows and can pick
up the report from their desk and read out the initial findings.
[With the] huge environmental companies that do everything . . . you
don’t get that personal approach.”
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| “Christopher
Betts are, “The bespoke, ‘niche’ practice – you know the
person you are going to be dealing with and there is an awareness of
the client requirements. It actually feels like a partnership.”
“Things
have changed after a particular Court case that came out about two
years ago. It’s the Jo Hardy Case in Cornwall. She was a woman
that challenged a planning permission that had been issued by
Cornwall County Council on the basis that the Bats Study that had
been carried out was not detailed enough.
“Christopher
Betts will be receptive to different ways of doing [the job] within
the relevant legislation. They were very knowledgeable and could
advise me there and then.”
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| “They are
good at finding a solution.”
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| “I tell
developers that you mustn’t look at Ecology as a problem, look at
it as a constraint to development – you can’t do away with
Ecology.”
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| “It’s the
people at Christopher Betts! Very professional and easy to get on
with – no problems at all.”
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| “I just
think they are very easy to get on with, they are not high pressure,
they provide a good service really; to me they are just right . . .
Everything that they say we have got to do costs us money, so we
don’t want to go overboard and they seem to get that just right.
They don’t say you must do this and you must do that, which is
something that I’ve heard other companies have said – Betts seem
to be level headed and see our side of the story as well, which is
good.”
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| “It’s
knowing that you can hand an issue across and that it will be dealt
with competently, but you will be able to say to Christopher Betts,
fine – I understand all of that, but can we get around it? Does
this kill development, or is there a solution? I have confidence
that they will provide a proper answer and a proper survey.”
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| “There was
an extensive knowledge base and Christopher Betts were dedicated to
the cause, but that dedication was applied in a pragmatic
fashion.”
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| “We tell
clients that you won’t get a half job with Christopher Betts”
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| “Christopher
Betts are a one-stop shop with a lot of people who know things about
a lot of aspects of Ecology and the Environment. They do tend to
have that overall knowledge which they can call on.”
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| “They have a
proven track record in finding solutions.”
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| “I think
[Ecology] is one of those things that we know is going to be costly.
I would say Christopher Betts are professional so we expect to pay
more for it. The reports I get have good digital photos, good
reports – it is all done properly. It is not a one man band going
out and saying, “Here you are: there are no mice, no badgers.
You’re fine.” and written on the back of a fag packet. With
Betts you get a full report.”
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| “[The main
point about Christopher Betts is] the responsiveness of the company
and the personal nature in which they deal with things.”
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| On choosing
Christopher Betts
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| “We
commission on behalf of our clients – we normally advise our
clients and we normally put the Christopher Betts name forward only
because they are so good. I know how they work & you’ll get a
reputable but practicable solution”
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| “I
went straight to Christopher Betts as other people had told me they
provided an excellent service and delivered on all the things they
said they’d deliver on.”
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| “I didn’t
consider anyone else other than Christopher Betts - they were at the
top of my mental list and I was grateful to them for doing some spec
work to come and talk to us about legislation and how it might
affect us.”
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| “We contact
them before [site] acquisition as, from a walkover survey, they can
give us reasons how we should or should not develop.”
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| “I don’t think we’ve
used anyone else!” |
| “I have a list of Consultants in every field so that we
can offer two or three names to clients, but I tend to offer two or
three names and recommend Christopher Betts.”
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| “Well, when
their material is used to support a planning application it is
important that there is no doubt in the minds of the local authority
that they are sufficiently experienced to be concluding as they
do.”
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| “I
would never have thought to check their credentials and have taken
it for granted that by their size and professionalism they have the
necessary credibility.”
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| “It is
important that they have full professional accreditation in case
they have to attend a public enquiry for example.”
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| “For us,
just on past performance we were happy, but when we had their
brochure a while ago it explained who everyone was, their
qualifications accreditations etc, I was very impressed.”
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|
On recommending Christopher Betts
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| “I always
recommend them because of Chris. I know he’s not so involved in
the day-to-day stuff anymore, but you still get the same service
from the firm.”
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| “I don’t
just recommend Christopher Betts because he is a nice chap because
our reputation stand or falls as well. I recommend them because he
and his company are good.”
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| “I willingly
recommend them to other clients who I believe need the services of
an Ecologist in terms of promoting a planning application – on
that basis I may have referred people to the Christopher Betts
website.”
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| “Christopher
Betts [give] value for money – they’re not seen as the cheapest,
but you get a solution.”
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| And, in case you
thought this was just a selective eulogy and we never have problems,
here is an example of the (happily very few) less positive comments
our research revealed. We always respond to issues raised by
clients and work to resolve them, as we believe the above
testimonials clearly demonstrate.
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| “They lack
commercial awareness of what the client is actually trying to
achieve. They were sort of taking us down the wrong road – being
too sympathetic to the whole conservation lobby, whereas we wanted
to get on and build houses on the site. So we changed to another
company who were more pro-active and more positive about the
project. What you need is someone that can find a solution, not
looking for problems all the time.”
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| Well… we are
scientists and therefore objective. We try to be straightforward and honest with our clients whom we always support with truthful advice. We don’t conceal difficulties if we find them because that just creates greater problems.
Unfortunately, there are still some who would prefer to ignore
ecology entirely and construe any acknowledgement of the wildlife regulations as being negative. In fact, conservation is not really the main
issue: for clients it is first a matter of compliance with wildlife
law and regulatory best practice, then finding the best option. This
we do.
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