Alan Green and his company A9 Architecture Limited have been convicted of four counts of the criminal offence of misusing the title ‘architect’
On 30 October 2019 Southend Magistrates’ Court heard that, despite having no architect in control of its architectural work since 2015, the term was used across the A9 Architecture Limited website and pricing policy, as well as its Twitter, Yell and LinkedIn profiles.
The Court’s attention was drawn to the prolonged nature of the offending. ARB first contacted Green regarding the use of ‘architect’ in 2012, and he had been made aware of the legislation protecting the use of the title ‘architect’ on several occasions since 2014.
While some breaches were rectified, others had continued. The Court’s attention was also drawn to the potential effect of this misleading information about A9 Architecture Limited would have on members of the public.
Having taken into account Green’s early guilty plea, the Court made an order of £3,378.13 against him and £5,100 against A9 Architecture Limited in addition to the criminal convictions. These included a fine, costs and victim surcharges.
In regulating the misuse of the title ‘architect’ ARB’s objective is to limit the harm as swiftly and effectively as possible. Green and A9 Architecture Limited will have 28 days to make any necessary changes. ARB will continue to monitor their trading style and take further appropriate action as necessary.
