The people behind Witcombe Surveying & Conservation Ltd.

RICS Regulated Practice

We are a family-run company based in Hastings, St Leonards-on-Sea and Cranbrook, with our secretary Katherine Reynolds, and office support staff Jo, Jeanette and Lutfiah from Sussex Business Bureau providing us with their valuable assistance where needed.

No matter if David is out of the office and crawling through a tight roof space covered in cobwebs – someone is always available to answer your telephone calls and make appointments with Estate Agents and vendors.

Speak to the Experts. Call 01424 400232 or contact us

Founder

David Witcombe

MRICS MSc BSC (Hons)

David has always been interested in architecture, even from an early age. He started his BSc in Building Surveying in 1999 and worked as a Surveyor from 2001 as part of a degree work experience year before becoming a Chartered Surveyor in 2006. He completed a part-time MSc in Building Conservation in 2012 and is due to start another MSc in Timber Building Conservation.

Read his dissertation on Victorian pubs here

David is a full member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and has recently become a full member of the Residential Property Surveyors Association.

With over 20 years of experience as a surveyor, he has inspected thousands of houses and hundreds of Listed Buildings. He is an expert in identifying defects in period and heritage properties, and other surveying practices will often bring David in as an independent consultant to help with a complicated Listed Building Survey.

While at J J Hatfield & Company Ltd of Lewes, David oversaw the conversion of Listed barns to holiday lets and managed large extension projects. He surveyed all types of buildings, including the Grade I Listed Sheffield Park House, and was often commissioned by Local Councils to report on the condition of their public buildings.

After starting Witcombe Surveying and Conservation Ltd in 2015 with his wife Aicha, David’s focus has increasingly turned to providing pre-purchase reports on older, larger and Listed Buildings, including timber framed houses over 500 years old, mills and oast houses.

As a 15-year-member of Uckfield and Hastings Conqueror BNI (Business Networking International) and the Sedlescombe BBC (Business Breakfast Club), David knows the best local tradespeople, solicitors, and insurance brokers – in order to pass contact details when clients are new to the Hastings, St Leonards, Bexhill, Cranbrook and Rye areas.

His spare time is spent with his wife, Aicha, family and friends, including his four-year-old twins Bea and Belle, and step-son Keir. As a family, they’ll often enjoy day trips, garden BBQs, swimming, and ballet lessons (for Bea and Belle – not David!). Summer evenings are usually spent kayaking around Rock-a-Nore in Hastings with his dad and friends.

Jenna French

17:30 15 Feb 25

I have always been impressed with surveys David has carried out for my clients because of how thorough and detailed his reports are – leaving no stone unturned. David is always so approachable and goes the extra mile, particularly if a client has a specific query. David's reports are bespoke with a number of photographs demonstrating each of his points. I have known clients to be reluctant as to whether to incur the expense of having a survey carried out, but are grateful they did as David's reports have uncovered instances of subsidence or chimney defects which wouldn't have been obvious upon inspection by an untrained eye. They were then able to make an informed decision as to whether or not to proceed and negotiated a price reduction. Had this not been identified by David then they may have ended up with an unexpected and significant bill to carry out such works and may have experienced problems marketing the property for future sale. I cannot emphasise how important it is to have a survey carried out on a property but more particularly so with David Witcombe who is, in my opinion, the best there is in the business!

darrell deeprose

16:38 23 Jan 25

Fantastic service, fantastic reports, very knowledgeable

Response from the owner 09:07 24 Jan 25

Thank you Darrell, I was very impressed with your work and negotiation in getting the drains repaired.

Californian Classics

15:11 23 Jan 25

Having had a meeting with David from Witcombe surveyors and subsequent discussions about the detail and thoroughness of their surveys I can categorically state that they are in my opinion the most thorough building surveyors we have ever dealt with and have a fantastic knowledge of traditional buildings, certainly we would not look anywhere else.

If you are looking for a surveyor with integrity and attention detail for your traditional house purchase look no further

Response from the owner 09:08 24 Jan 25

Thank you for this, it was good to meet you at your premises with all of the interesting work you do.

Dave Thomas

12:36 23 Jan 25

David helped us twice, he is the best by far.

Response from the owner 13:59 23 Jan 25

Thank you, it was a pleasure to help

Ciarán Wilson

19:59 28 Dec 24

David provided a fantastic service when surveying the house we intend to buy, the report was clear, detailed and comprehensive. David provided lots of additional assistance over email and went above and beyond in helping us, and was a pleasure to deal with. We can heartily recommend his services

Response from the owner 14:00 23 Jan 25

Thank you very much Ciaran, I hope all went well and it’s moving forward

Charlotte

16:42 28 Nov 24

David conducted a very thorough survey, promptly produced a report with lots of useful detail, talked us through all of the main issues in a very balanced way and responded to queries very quickly and helpfully too. Would definitely recommend to anybody.

Response from the owner 16:53 28 Nov 24

Thank you Charlotte, any other questions, please come back to us.

Rosalyn Sober

21:47 19 Nov 24

I would very highly recommend Witcombe, David was great.He surveyed a complicated building for us and he came across as impressively competent as well as helpful and communicative . Thank you.

Aurora Estefan

09:54 27 Sep 24

Excellent! Swift response to initial request, provision of detailed information and offer of support in understanding and navigating the process of buying a house.

Christine Gibbons

07:56 07 Sep 24

Excellent service. Detailed report arrived promptly after a verbal report on the day of the survey. Very comprehensive. Thank you

Response from the owner 08:22 10 Sep 24

Thank you Christine, please come back to me if you have any questions.

Stuart Crosby

07:35 08 Aug 24

David provided an absolutely first rate survey for us on what is now our home. It was very thorough, highly detailed and he provided further explanation on anything I required. I’ve since recommended him to other friends. Excellent service.

Response from the owner 07:48 08 Aug 24

Thank you very much for this. I hope you are happy in your new home!

Chloe Roach

13:28 29 Sep 22

David was absolutely wonderful. He went above and beyond to help us on both the surveys we commissioned. He's very thorough and detailed, and always wants to do the best job he can. Great communicator and very helpful, even after delivering the survey. We will definitely be using him again, should the need arise.

S C

13:49 24 Aug 22

We instructed David to carry out a full property survey of our Grade II listed, flint barn house. We knew there would be lots of remedial work identified, as the property has been neglected, and we wanted to ensure that the report was as thorough as possible. We'd heard good things about Witcombe Surveying, so we decided to instruct them to survey the property. David's work was astonishingly detailed, and his report has been enormously helpful to us, not just in the purchasing process but also as we plan our repairs and updates to the property. He is clearly an incredibly experienced and thorough surveyor, and he really goes the extra mile too - he spent time with us on the phone both pre- and post- the survey, which was so helpful to us during a somewhat stressful time! I cannot recommend David's company more highly.

tom mcshane

13:47 11 Aug 22

Witcombe surveyors have been fantastic providing me with my survey, the home buyers survey I received was incredibly detailed. Their knowledge and professionalism is unparalleled.

I run a roofing company and I often come across David's surveys when clients ask us to quote for work highlighted by David. David's surveys are exceptionally descriptive and I can often quote work from the survey directly without seeing the property.
I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Witcombe Surveying and Conservation to home buyers in the future, David is a exceptional surveyor and provides an excellent service.

Nadine Keats

13:13 29 Mar 22

David's homebuyer's report was exceptionally thorough and detailed and gave us very clear instructions as to what we needed to follow up on. He was recommended to us by several people and for good reason!

Felicity Scott

11:44 01 Feb 22

I would highly recommend David's services. Calm, thorough, professional, patient - he went above and beyond to satisfy all of our requirements. As first-time buyers we felt like were in safe hands. The property we are purchasing is Grade II listed and David was very knowledgeable and clear in his advice, he really knows his stuff! We wouldn't hesitate to use his services again.

lance prebble

17:38 10 Nov 21

The Best of the Best, a thorough professional. David did 2 full surveys for us on semi commercial properties his analysis and recommendations enabled us to sort the wheat from the chaff and make the right choice.

Most definately the right man for the job! Thanks David.

Paul Player

14:37 29 Sep 21

I have used Witcombe surveying for my house and also and issue with my beach hut.
They were superb in every respect and I would recommend them highly.

David Ardron

09:15 27 Sep 21

House purchase - full structural survey

As probably your single largest investment in life, it's important to know all you can about your potential new home. As a result we cannot recommend David Witcombe of Witcombe Surveying and Conservation enough. His obvious experience and wealth of knowledge produced an extremely comprehensive and detailed report (more than we expected), which you can easily understand. The report really opens your eyes to all issues (large or small), allowing you to make a fully informed decision. Not only that, David is keen to discuss any issues and help you find realistic solutions. The survey report has been invaluable in our purchase process - which hasn't concluded yet ! We are very appreciative of David's continued assistance in our journey. We would definitely recommend Witcombe Surveying and Conservation. Again, our thanks.

Director

Aicha Witcombe

Aicha obtained a BA in Creative Media in 2009 following many years in Events Management including a wedding planner at a hotel and general manager of Hastings Pier.

Following the period of studying for her degree she was a Business Development Manager for St James’ Place, Wealth Managers and ran highly successful social media campaigns for high end restaurants. As a director of Witcombe Surveying and Conservation Ltd, Aicha manages all marketing campaigns and is office general manager.

Much of Aicha’s time is spent with their children Bea and Belle. Other interests include arts and crafts, often designing and making her own merchandise, road trips throughout Europe and the southern states of America and good quality restaurants.