Potter Raper names former trainee Mike Newman head of Clerk of Works

Potter Raper has named Mike Newman as its Head of Clerk of Works, a post the employee-owned consultancy said he took up in 2026 after joining its Beckenham office as an entry-level trainee in October 2017.

The firm set out his career in an employee spotlight published on 27 October. The headline of that post spells his surname "Nemwan", while the body text uses "Newman" throughout; this article follows the body text.

According to Potter Raper, Newman had worked as a High Court Bailiff before seeking a change of career. He joined through the firm's in-house traineeship programme, trained as a Clerk of Works, progressed to Senior Clerk of Works and then to the head role.

The company said his path showed how its traineeship programme helps people build a career in construction whatever their starting point.

The role

In the head role, Potter Raper said, Newman leads, mentors and develops the Clerk of Works team while continuing to provide day-to-day Clerk of Works services. Those duties include site inspections, monitoring workmanship and quality, and checking that projects are delivered in line with approved plans, specifications and Building Regulations.

The firm said his nine years of experience span public and private sector work, including stock condition surveys, refurbishments, housing association properties, leisure centres and a large new school built to Passivhaus specification. The spotlight did not name the school.

Potter Raper's Clerk of Works service, as described on its own website, covers site inspections and site reports, defects inspections and monitoring regulatory compliance. The firm says its Clerks of Works and Site Inspectors check that site works meet the required quality standards, specifications and regulatory compliance.

Qualifications

Potter Raper said Newman holds an NVQ Level 6, is a Member of the Institute of Clerks of Works and Construction Inspectorate (MICWCI) and is working towards Chartered Membership of the Chartered Institute of Building (MCIOB).

According to the ICWCI, its Member grade is awarded to those who demonstrate, through application, competency assessment and professional interview, a high level of knowledge and experience in a construction inspection role. The institute says Ecctis benchmarked the MICWCI designation as comparable to RQF Level 6 in 2021.

The CIOB describes Chartered Membership as demonstrating skills, expertise and commitment to the highest professional standards.

The firm

Potter Raper was founded in 1970 by Gerry Potter and Mike Raper, according to its history page. It opened a Colchester office in 1980, a London office in 1990, Brighton in 2017 and Cambridge in 2021. The firm became an Employee Ownership Trust in 2022 and said that, as a result, its staff are personally invested in its success.

Companies House records Potter Raper Ltd, company number 11729518, as incorporated on 17 December 2018 under SIC code 74902, quantity surveying activities, with its registered office at Duncan House, Burnhill Road, Beckenham.

The firm said in July 2026 that apprentices and newly qualified graduates make up about 10% of its workforce.

Its Clerk of Works service has recently been used on a Passivhaus-certified school. In February 2025 Potter Raper announced that Mulberry Academy London Dock, a five-storey, L-shaped secondary school built on a narrow plot for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, had achieved Passivhaus certification. The firm acted as Employer's Agent, Quantity Surveyor, Clerk of Works and Party Wall Surveyor, with Kier as contractor and Architype as architect.