Why Building Control?

• I only need Planning Permission!!!
• Why choose us?
• What are the Building Regulations?
• Approved Documents
• Revisions 6 April 2006
• What we do?

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I Only Need Planning Permission !!!!!!

The Planning Service draws Development Control, Building Control and Planning Policy together to form a coherent seamless service.

Most people are aware that if they wish to construct or alter a building, they will need permission from someone. However, there are two quite seperate areas, Planning Permission and Building Control Permission.

These functions are often confused and misunderstood by the general public. The rules governing both are completely different. Building Control Permission is not the same as Planning Permission. It is strongly emphasised that advice is sought from both a Planning Officer and Building Control Surveyor during the early stages of design.

Whilst Planning Permission relates to the aesthetic and environmental aspects of new building construction.

Building Control is concerned with public health and safety. It is a public protection service that ensures that building works satisfy the minimum standards required by the Building Regulations.

Visual Guide for Householders

The Planning Portal (national planning web site) have designed an interactive visual guide to help you decide whether you need either or both a Building Regulation Application and a Planning Application at: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/hhg/houseguide.html

The Planning Portal web site also provides further important advice and guidance on the two seperate procedures for obtaining Planning Permission and Building Control Permission (Building Regulation approval) at http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/.

Why choose us?

The Royal Borough's Building Control Consultancy also undertakes a range of other duties to protect the public and maintain a safe built environment, this includes the control of dangerous structures, building demolition works, advising on public entertainment licences and safety at sports grounds. The Building Control Consultancy is there to help you to comply with national legislation, as well as make building easier and better.

Quality Assurance

RBWM Building Control Consultancy strives to operate a quality management system to protect all its customers. It has achieved accreditation under ISO 9001 from the BSI since 1995. It has recently achieved recognition under ISO:9001:2000.

We continually strive to improve every aspect of our service. If you have any comments or suggestions about how we may further improve our service to our customers, please feel free to email them to us at: building.control@rbwm.gov.uk

Alternatively, please ring Roger Paine, the Building Control Consultancy Manager on 01628 796880.      

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Charter Mark

In addition to its Quality Management System, RBWM Building Control Consultancy is commited to the principles of Charter Mark by showing a clear customer focus and a commitment to continuous business improvements. Charter Mark also involves a commitment to excellent service, flexibility, choice and value for money.

The service was delighted to achieve the award and a double first, the first Building Control service in Berkshire to be awarded Charter Mark status and the first of the Borough's services to achieve the award under the new criteria set in 2004.

This was rewarded by the government's award for public service excellence in January 2005

The Benefits of having 'Building Control'

Local Authority Building Control gives a safeguard for everyone :

• House owners have the assurance that where works come under the scope of the Building Regulations, it is constructed correctly because the work has been inspected by the Authority's Building Control Surveyors.
• House buyers have confidence, knowing that the building work has been approved and the site work will have been regularly and thoroughly inspected by fully trained surveyors, who act independently of any commercial interest.
• Builders are given a flexible, professional and technically sound local service which is tailored to their needs.
• Solicitors can advise their clients with confidence, knowing that houses they are conveying have been thoroughly inspected by an impartial expert.
• Banks and Building Societies appreciate the added security that only LABC can give.
• Workers can feel secure that new buildings have been built with health and safety in mind.

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What are the Building Regulations?

Building Regulations are national standards which apply to all types of buildings, from multi million pound commercial developments to an extension to your home. The Regulations cover the health, safety and welfare of people in and around buildings, the conservation of fuel and power, misuse or contamination of water and the access and use of buildings.

What are the technical requirements of the Building Regulations?

The Building Regulations are supported by Approved Documents. These provide guidance to meet the requirements, however, there are other methods which may be adopted, if these are being considered, please discuss them with us before the design is finalised.

Each document contains :

• general guidance on the performance expected of materials and building work in order to comply with each of the requirements of the Building Regulations; and
• practical examples and solutions on how to achieve compliance for some of the more common building situations

The technical requirements of the Building Regulations cover all aspects of construction. They are divided into 14 topics or parts, which are categorised under the following headings. For convenience we have included a link to each document on the Planning Portal web site :-


Part A: Structural safety deals with the structural stability of a building, which includes elements of construction such as foundations, walls, floors, roofs and structural framework e.g. beams and columns.


Part B: Fire safety is concerned with the fire safety arrangements to protect the fabric of the building, and people in and around the building. It includes provisions in respect of fire spread within a building and from one building to another. Issues such as means of escape for people from the building and access and facilities for the fire service are also included.


Part C: Site preparation and damp proofing requires certain precautions to be taken in the construction of a building, to ensure that it can resist penetration of the weather and dampness from the ground. It also deals with the effects of building on land which contains contaminants such as methane gas.


Part D: Toxic substances deals with ensuring that cavity wall insulation is properly installed.


Part E: Sound proofing relates to standards of sound insulating construction for walls, floors and stairs between flats, maisonettes, houses and 'rooms for residential purposes' to resist levels of impact and airborne sound.


Part F: Ventilation requires adequate ventilation to be provided to supply air for the use of people within the building. It also aims to prevent the accumulation of pollutants such as steam from bathrooms and kitchens, which are hazardous to the health of those people. This part also includes measures for limiting potentially harmful condensation within roof spaces and voids.


Part G: Hygiene covers minimum standards for the provision of sanitary conveniences, washing facilities and bathrooms or showers including the provision of an adequate supply of hot and cold water to these appliances. It also deals with the installation of unvented hot water systems.


Part H: Drainage and waste disposal is concerned with buildings being provided with adequate above and below ground drainage systems to convey both foul and surface water to suitable means of disposal such as a sewer, tank, cesspool or other treatment plant, or, in the case of rainwater, to a soakaway. Also covered are provisions for adequate storage facilities for refuse.


Part J: Heating appliances relates to the installation of solid fuel, gas and oil fired heating appliances. It also sets down the performance requirements in respect of the appliances, chimneys, flues and combustion air so that they do not cause a danger to the building or the health and safety of occupants.


Part K: Stairs, ramps, and protection from collision, impact and falling. These requirements cover the design of stairs, ladders, ramps and their guarding to ensure that they offer safe passage to people between different levels in and around a building. They also deal with safety measures in respect of the provision of guarding to the edge of floors, balconies and similar places to prevent falling, the provision of barriers along vehicle access routes and in vehicle parks, and protection from collision with open windows. 


Part L: Conservation of fuel and power lays down reasonable standards of thermal insulation to limit heat loss from buildings and conserve fuel and power. The insulation requirements are in respect of walls, roofs and floors and permits maximum areas of glazing. The document also covers heating controls and insulation for heating and hot water services.


Part M: Access to and use of buildings deals with access for people into and within both domestic and non-domestic buildings. The requirements should apply to both newly erected buildings and extensions to existing buildings. As well as this, the requirements should also include the provision of suitable sanitary conveniences and spectator seating in stadia and auditoria to which the public are admitted. New housing developments should also comply with minimum standards.


Part N: Safety glazing, covers the impact, opening and cleaning of glazing in 'critical locations' where glass breaking could cause injury to people. Additional measures also cover the provision of permanent means of marking large interrupted areas of glazing so that their presence is apparent.


Part P: Electrical Safety lays down the requirements for fixed electrical installations in dwellings. The requirements apply where an installation is newly provided, extended or altered. Extended or altered installations are defined as the provision of a new circuit or any works in special locations i.e. bathroom or kitchen. The requirements apply in dwellings, common access areas in blocks of flats, shared facilities in blocks of flats and external fixed electrical installations i.e. gardens, sheds or detached garages.

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Approved Documents

These documents provide helpful technical advice and practical guidance to illustrate how you can comply with the Building Regulation requirements.

Designing in accordance with the guidance in the Approved Documents, tends to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations, in the event of an alleged contravention. If the guidance in the Approved Documents has not been followed, it will be for the designer to demonstrate by other means that the requirements have been satisfied. The designer may wish to refer to documents such as the following :-

• British Standards
• British Standards Codes of Practice
• Agrement Certificates
• Building Research Establishment Digests

Approved Documents are produced by CLG and can be purchased from HMSO.

The documents can be viewed from the Planning Portal website.

Alternatively, they may be purchased from HMSO website at :- http://www.thestationeryoffice.com/

They can also be obtained from good booksellers or :-

The Stationary Office, PO Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GN

Telephone orders/ General enquiries :- 0870 600 5522

Fax orders :- 0870 600 5533

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Revisions April 6th 2006

The Regulations are continually updated and amended to reflect changes in construction practices and Government policies. 

From 6th April 2006, changes were made to Approved Documents F,L and P. Further minor amendments were made to Part P, Electrical Safety, Whilst major changes were made to Part F, Ventilation and Part L, Conservation of Fuel and Power. The major changes are featured on our What's New web page ( under Making an Application ). We have also included our technical guidance on Parts L and F for you to download below.

Previous changes back on 1st April 2005 also involved Approved Document L1, but dealt with revised guidance for the efficiency of hot water central heating gas and oil boilers installed in new and existing dwellings. From the 1st April, boilers were required to be of a condensing type with a SEDBUK efficiency of A or B, unless there are exceptional circumstances that make this impractical or too costly. The Approved Document has been revised to include the Condensing Boiler Installation Assessment Procdeure, which is to be used where it is expected to be impractical or too costly to install a condensing boiler.


Further revisions which were most recently introduced from 1st January 2005, included a new Approved Document P. This introduced significant controls for the first time on fixed electrical installations in dwellings, common areas in blocks of flats, shared facilities in blocks of flats and external fixed installations in gardens, or fixed externally to sheds or detached garages. We have produced guidance on the new requirements on our new Electrical Safety web page. We have also produced a guide to the alternative application processes, this is available from the web page or alternatively by contacting us.


Immediately prior to this, changes were made to Parts A and C on 1st December 2004. Part A changes included the need to consider disproportionate collapse on all buildings irrespective of the number of storeys. The technical content of the document was also reviewed and updated. The revised Part C was also extensively amended and the layout of the requirements changed.


Other recent changes have included in April 2002, substantial amendments to the guidance dealing with Parts H, J and L; further revisions were also made in July 2003 to cover increased standards in Part E; and most recently increasing the scope of the requirements of Part M in May 2004. Your local area Building Control Surveyor will be able to offer more help and advice on these and other anticipated future changes to the technical requirements.


There is a further review being undertaken by CLG in connection with proposed amendments to Part B. Details of the proposals and a summary of the responses received are available on the CLG web site at : http://www.communities.gov.uk. These amendments are expected to come into force in early 2007.

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What we do?

Building Control Surveyors work closely with their planning colleagues. The Surveyor's role is to make sure that building work is constructed in compliance with the technical Building Regulation requirements. To achieve this, they will examine proposed building plans for compliance with the legislation, and then inspect work on site to make sure the work is actually built to those standards.

Our job is to protect building owners, designers, quality builders and all building users by the following :

• Providing help and advice
• Taking action to ensure that contraventions of the Building Regulations are rectified
• Prosecuting cowboy builders who consistently breach the Building Regulations

All in a day's work !

As well as dealing with Building Regulations, Building Control Surveyors also undertake a range of other critical duties to protect the public including the control of dangerous structures, building demolition work, advising on public entertainment licences and safety at sports grounds.

Expertise

Our Surveyors are trained to a high technical standard and are professionally qualified to provide a competent level of assistance. They are generally members of the following professional bodies :-

Association of Building Engineers (http://www.abe.org.uk/)

Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (http://www.rics.org.uk/)

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