Terms and Conditions

1. Terms and Conditions Overview

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of the website located at https://piran-geoscience.site/ ("Website") and the provision of geoscience and engineering consultancy services by PIRAN GEOSCIENCE LTD ("Piran Geoscience", "we", "us", or "our"). Piran Geoscience is a company registered in England and Wales with its registered office at 4 The Old Nursery, Malpas, Truro, England, TR1 1GS.

The Website is intended to present our specialist capabilities in geological surveying, geotechnical assessments, environmental impact studies, subsurface modelling, site investigation, and scientific advisory services for infrastructure, energy, and construction projects. It is designed for use by prospective and existing clients, collaborators, and other professional stakeholders seeking information regarding our services.

These Terms apply to: (a) all visitors and users of the Website; and (b) all clients and counterparties engaging Piran Geoscience to provide consultancy services under proposals, offers, or instructions that reference or incorporate these Terms. They operate in conjunction with, and are supplemented by, any proposal, scope of work, fee agreement, appointment, or contract entered into with you (collectively, "Engagement Terms"). In the event of any conflict between these Terms and the Engagement Terms, the Engagement Terms will prevail in respect of the relevant project or services.

2. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing, browsing, or using the Website, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and all applicable laws and regulations. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Website.

By commissioning Piran Geoscience to provide consultancy services, including but not limited to accepting a proposal, issuing a purchase order, signing an appointment, instructing us in writing, or otherwise authorising us to commence work, you are deemed to accept these Terms as part of the contractual framework governing the provision of such services, unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing.

If you are using the Website or commissioning services on behalf of a company, partnership, public body, or other organisation, you represent and warrant that you are authorised to bind that organisation to these Terms and that the organisation accepts and agrees to be bound by them.

You are responsible for ensuring that all persons who access the Website through your internet connection are aware of these Terms and any other applicable policies (including our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy) and that they comply with them.

3. Modification of Terms

Piran Geoscience reserves the right to revise, update, or otherwise modify these Terms at any time to reflect changes in law, regulatory guidance, industry practice, or our operational requirements.

We will indicate the date of the latest revision at the top of this page, and we may, where appropriate, provide additional notice of material changes by means such as a Website banner, prominent notice, or direct communication to clients with active engagements.

Any changes to these Terms will become effective upon being posted on the Website, unless a later effective date is stated. By continuing to use the Website or by continuing to engage us to provide services after the updated Terms have been posted or notified, you are deemed to accept and agree to the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Website and, where applicable, discuss alternative contractual arrangements with us before continuing or commissioning further services.

4. Service Provision

4.1 Nature and scope of services

Piran Geoscience provides specialist geoscience and engineering consultancy services, including without limitation:

• geological and geomorphological surveying, mapping, and interpretation;
• geotechnical assessments, ground risk evaluation, and design input;
• environmental and geo-environmental investigations and impact studies;
• subsurface and structural modelling, data integration, and interpretation;
• site investigation planning, supervision, logging, and reporting; and
• scientific and technical advisory services for infrastructure, energy, and construction projects.

The precise scope, deliverables, assumptions, exclusions, programme, and fees for any given commission will be set out in the relevant Engagement Terms. No statement on the Website should be construed as a binding offer, warranty, or guarantee of availability, performance, or outcome.

4.2 Professional standards and deliverables

We will perform our services with reasonable skill, care, and diligence, in accordance with generally accepted professional standards for specialist geoscience and engineering consultancy in the United Kingdom at the time of performance. Unless explicitly stated otherwise in the Engagement Terms, our duty of care is owed solely to the client named in those terms and not to any third party or stakeholder who may subsequently rely on or obtain access to our deliverables.

Our deliverables may include technical reports, drawings, figures, cross-sections, models, datasets, and advisory memoranda. Deliverables are prepared on the basis of information, site conditions, data, and constraints known to us at the time of preparation and may be subject to inherent uncertainty associated with ground conditions and subsurface interpretation. We do not warrant that our deliverables will be free from all error or that they will predict all ground conditions, behaviours, or project outcomes.

4.3 Client obligations

The client is responsible for:

• providing timely, complete, and accurate information, instructions, and data necessary for us to perform the services;
• ensuring that all relevant consents, access rights, permits, and approvals for site works or investigations are obtained and maintained, unless we have expressly agreed in writing to secure such consents on the client’s behalf;
• ensuring the health, safety, and security arrangements at client-controlled sites are suitable and comply with applicable health and safety legislation and guidance;
• reviewing our deliverables promptly and notifying us of any concerns or required clarifications within the timescales set out in the Engagement Terms; and
• using our services and deliverables only for the purposes and within the limitations set out in the Engagement Terms and in accordance with these Terms.

4.4 Reliance and limitations

Unless expressly stated otherwise in the Engagement Terms, our services and deliverables are provided for the sole internal use and benefit of the client for the specific project and purpose described in the Engagement Terms. They must not be disclosed to, relied upon by, or used by any third party without our prior written consent and, where applicable, execution of a collateral warranty or reliance letter on terms acceptable to us.

Our services are advisory in nature and do not constitute project management, construction supervision, or the assumption of any duty to control, direct, or manage the work of contractors or other third parties. We are not responsible for the acts, omissions, workmanship, or services of any third party, including but not limited to contractors, suppliers, laboratory providers, or other consultants.

4.5 Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate the provision of services where permitted under the Engagement Terms, including for non-payment of fees, material breach by the client, or circumstances beyond our reasonable control. In such cases, the client will remain liable for all fees, expenses, and charges incurred up to the date of suspension or termination, together with any reasonable demobilisation or close-out costs.

5. Intellectual Property Rights

5.1 Ownership

Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, all intellectual property rights ("IPR"), including copyright, database rights, design rights, and rights in software, reports, data models, diagrams, images, and any other materials arising out of or in connection with the Website or the provision of our services, are and shall remain the exclusive property of Piran Geoscience or its licensors.

This includes, without limitation, all textual content, technical analyses, methodologies, drawings, graphics, photographs, videos, charts, cross-sections, terrain models, digital subsurface models, workflows, and templates featured on the Website or produced in the course of our engagements.

5.2 Licence to use deliverables

Subject to full payment of all sums properly due to us under the applicable Engagement Terms, we grant the client a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free licence to use the deliverables we supply solely for the purposes of the project and for the duration stated in the Engagement Terms. Unless otherwise agreed, this licence does not permit:

• use of the deliverables on other projects or sites;
• reproduction or distribution of the deliverables to third parties, except as reasonably required for the project (for example, to regulators or contractors), and then only on a non-reliance basis; or
• modification, reverse engineering, or creation of derivative works based on our proprietary tools, models, or methodologies.

5.3 Website content and permitted use

The content of the Website is provided for general information only. You may view, download, and print reasonable extracts from the Website for your own internal, non-commercial use and for the purpose of evaluating or engaging our services, provided that:

• no documents or graphics are modified in any way;
• no copyright or proprietary notices are removed; and
• our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of the content is always acknowledged.

You must not use any part of the content on our Website for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors.

5.4 Prohibited uses and infringement

You must not, without our prior written consent:

• copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, or exploit any portion of the Website or our deliverables for commercial gain or for use on other projects;
• scrape, mine, or systematically extract data or content from the Website;
• use any trademarks, logos, or branding of Piran Geoscience in a way that suggests endorsement or association without our permission; or
• remove, obscure, or alter any proprietary notices, watermarks, or disclaimers.

We reserve all rights to take appropriate action in respect of any infringement or unauthorised use of our IPR.

6. Limitation of Liability

6.1 No exclusion of mandatory rights

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

6.2 Website and information

The content on the Website is provided for general information only and does not constitute professional advice, a detailed design, or a substitute for site-specific assessment. While we endeavour to ensure that information on the Website is accurate and up to date, we make no representations, warranties, or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the Website or any content on it is complete, reliable, error-free, or suitable for any particular purpose.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we exclude all liability arising out of or in connection with:

• your use of, or inability to use, the Website; and
• your reliance on any content displayed on the Website.

6.3 Consultancy services

Subject to section 6.1 and unless expressly stated otherwise in the Engagement Terms, our aggregate liability to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, arising out of or in connection with any project or engagement shall be limited to the lower of: (a) the amount of professional indemnity insurance cover actually available to respond to the relevant claim; and (b) a sum equal to the fees payable to us for the relevant services (excluding VAT and reimbursable expenses), up to a maximum cap specified in the Engagement Terms.

We will not be liable for:

• any loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of business, loss of contracts, or loss of opportunity;
• any loss of anticipated savings, loss of or corruption to data, or loss of goodwill; or
• any indirect, consequential, or special losses or damages,

in each case whether or not such loss was foreseeable, and even if we have been advised of the possibility of such loss.

6.4 Ground conditions and inherent uncertainty

You acknowledge that ground conditions and subsurface characteristics are inherently variable and can rarely be known with complete certainty, even with extensive investigation. Our advice and interpretations are based on sampling, observations, and data that may be limited in spatial and temporal coverage. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we shall not be liable for any losses arising from latent or unforeseeable conditions, changes in conditions after our investigations, or from the extrapolation of localised data to wider areas beyond the limits stated in our deliverables.

6.5 Third-party services and links

Where the Website contains links to other sites, resources, or tools provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. Such links should not be interpreted as approval by us of those linked websites or of the information you may obtain from them. We have no control over the content or availability of those sites and accept no responsibility or liability for them.

7. User Obligations and Conduct

When using the Website or communicating with Piran Geoscience via online forms, email, live chat, or other digital channels, you agree to:

• use the Website only for lawful purposes and in a manner consistent with applicable laws, regulations, and professional standards;
• ensure that any information you provide is accurate, current, and not misleading;
• respect the confidentiality and proprietary nature of any non-public information you may receive from us; and
• refrain from submitting any content that is defamatory, offensive, discriminatory, infringing, or otherwise inappropriate.

You must not:

• attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Website, the server on which it is stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to it;
• introduce viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful;
• attack the Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack; or
• use any automated system, software, or device to access, crawl, or index the Website for purposes unrelated to legitimate search engine indexing, performance monitoring, or accessibility testing.

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion and without prior notice, to restrict or block access to the Website, remove or refuse any content you submit, and take any other action we deem appropriate where we reasonably believe that you have failed to comply with these Terms or have otherwise engaged in improper or unlawful conduct.

8. Confidentiality and Data Protection

8.1 Confidential information

In the course of providing our services, the parties may exchange confidential or commercially sensitive information, including but not limited to technical data, project documentation, designs, reports, operational details, and financial information ("Confidential Information"). Each party undertakes to:

• treat the other party’s Confidential Information as strictly confidential;
• use the Confidential Information solely for the purposes of the relevant engagement; and
• not disclose the Confidential Information to any third party except to those of its employees, officers, consultants, or subcontractors who need to know it for the purposes of the engagement and who are bound by confidentiality obligations no less stringent than those set out in these Terms.

The obligations in this section do not apply to information that is or becomes publicly available other than through a breach of these Terms, is lawfully received from a third party without restriction, is independently developed without reference to the Confidential Information, or is required to be disclosed by law, regulation, or a competent authority.

8.2 Personal data and UK data protection law

Piran Geoscience processes personal data in accordance with applicable UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our Privacy Policy explains the categories of personal data we collect via the Website and in the course of our business, the purposes for which we use it, the lawful bases we rely on, and your rights as a data subject.

Where we act as a data controller, we determine the purposes and means of processing personal data. Where we act as a data processor on behalf of a client, the parties will enter into appropriate data processing terms that comply with applicable legislation.

8.3 Security and data handling

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal data and project information from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, you acknowledge that no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is entirely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

You are responsible for maintaining adequate security over your own systems and for ensuring that any data you transmit to us is sent securely and in compliance with any classification or handling rules that apply within your organisation or under applicable regulations.

9. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

9.1 Governing law

These Terms, any Engagement Terms, and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with them, the Website, or our services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

9.2 Jurisdiction

Subject to any specific dispute resolution provisions in the relevant Engagement Terms, the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with these Terms, the Website, or the provision of our services.

9.3 Escalation and resolution

We are committed to resolving concerns promptly and professionally. If you have any issue or dispute relating to our services or these Terms, you should first notify us in writing, providing reasonable details of the matter. The parties will then seek to resolve the issue in good faith through discussions between appropriately senior representatives.

Where appropriate and if both parties agree, disputes may be referred to mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution before formal legal proceedings are initiated. This does not prevent either party from seeking urgent interim relief from a competent court where necessary to protect its rights.