ARB’s Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) has issued a one-year suspension order to John Kirkpatrick of County Down due to failure to carry out site inspections
John Kirkpatrick was appointed to carry out site inspections by the developer of a semi-detached house in Belfast.
Architects Certificates were signed in January 2015 and May 2017, and the final certificate confirmed Kirkpatrick had visited the site at appropriate intervals and would be liable for a period of six years from the date of the certificate.
UPC allegations
It was alleged Kirkpatrick failed to adequately inspect the site in accordance with the Architects Certificate dated 22 May 2017 and that he acted inappropriately by attempting to enter into a financial settlement with the complainant on condition that she withdraw her complaint from ARB.
It was also alleged that Kirkpatrick failed to co-operate fully and promptly with ARB during its investigation into the complaint against him.
Kirkpatrick did not attend the hearing and was not legally represented. In his written submissions, he maintained that he had trusted the developer to resolve the issues, although that relationship had now broken down.
He also outlined his personal circumstances, which had prevented him from dealing with the matter fully and expressed some regret for the issues that had arisen.
The PCC found the allegations proven and agreed these failings were serious enough to amount to unacceptable professional conduct (UPC).
PCC sanction
When determining the sanction, the PCC took into account that Kirkpatrick had no previous adverse regulatory history and his unblemished career spanning 45 years.
The PCC also recognised that he had experienced some personal difficulties, which had impacted on his ability to respond to these matters.
However, the PCC noted that Kirkpatrick’s failings represented a pattern of poor conduct over an extended period of time rather than an isolated incident, and those failings had resulted in a significant impact on his clients.
It found he also failed to provide any evidence of remorse or real insight into the seriousness of his failings or engage meaningfully with the disciplinary process.
It, therefore, decided a one-year suspension order should be imposed in order to uphold proper professional standards and the reputation of the profession.
