Building Control
Now you know all about planning and how permission is obtained, you need to think about obtaining Building Regulations Approval for your project. Planning has made sure your proposal meets certain requirements but Building Control need to be sure that your design can actually be built.
What Is Building Control?
Building Control’s main role is to check plans and building work to ensure that the national Building Regulations are satisfied. They aim to provide a professional service with an objective and practical approach.
The Council provide Building Control services that are Quality Assured to ISO 9000:2000, the international quality standard, and work with other Local Authorities through the national Local Authority Building Control (LABC) network to deliver a co-ordinated Building Control service. They also work closely with other statutory bodies such as the Fire Service and various commercial partners, to add value to the service they provide.
In addition to the information contained in this handbook, you can also find Building Control information on the following web sites:
www.labc.uk.com
www.planningportal.co.uk
www.communities.gov.uk
What Are Building Regulations?
The national Building Regulations are the minimum standards which building work should satisfy. Guidance on how the regulations may be satisfied is contained in Approved Documents published by the Government. The Approved Documents also refer to British and European standards and many other documents published by authoritative bodies.
The explanatory Booklet, “Building Regulations”, published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) contains information about the Building Control process and other related matters.
The main purposes of the Building Regulations are to:
- Safeguard the health of safety of people around buildings.
- Conserve energy and reduce CO2 emissions.
- Provide for access and facilities for people in and around buildings including those with disabilities.
Examples of Work That Requires a Building Regulation Application
The majority of building work needs Building Regulation approval, including:
- The erection or extension of most buildings.
- Installing, extending or altering sanitary conveniences, washing facilities, bathrooms, both vented and unvented hot water storage systems, drainage and waste disposal systems (including drainage works associated with new sewer connections), and heat producing appliances such as oil, gas & solid fuel boilers.
- Most building work that affects either the physical structure or internal layout of a building, for example pulling down or putting up walls.
- The change of use of an existing building to a dwelling, flat, hotel, an institutional building such as a nursing home, or a public building.
- Building work that changes the number of dwellings a building contains, for example splitting a house into self-contained flats or turning two houses into one.
- Installing cavity wall insulation.
- Installing replacement windows.
- Stripping and replacing roof coverings and other surfaces – this can include work like re-plastering.
- Underpinning a building.
- Repairing a building in a way which does not exactly replace like with like.
If you are unsure if your proposal requires approval please contact your local council.