Building Regulations Application - Guidance Notes

These notes are for general guidance only; particulars regarding the deposit of plans are contained in Regulation 13 of the Building Regulations 2010.

Building Notice or Full Plans Applications?

A Building Notice does not involve the passing or rejection of plans and is intended to enable certain small domestic works.

Building Notices cannot be used:

• For work which will be built close to or over the top of rain water and foul drains shown on the 'map of sewers'.
• Where a new building will front onto a private street.
• Work where the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) order applies

A Full Plans application can be used for domestic work but must always be used for any commercial work and also works in the common parts of buildings containing flats and houses of multiple occupation.

We will check your plans, consult and appropriate authorities and notify you when they have been granted.

Client, Principal Contractor, Principal Designer?

The Building Regulations set out by the duty holder roles for persons and organisations who undertake any building work to which the building regulations apply, these are:

• A Client is a person for whom the project is carried out
• A Domestic Client is the same as the Client, but not for the furtherance of a business activity
• A Principal Designer is any person who carries out, manages or controls work during the design phase
• A Contractor is any person who carries out, manages or controls work during the construction phase

Your duties

For full details please visit GOV.UK - The Building Regulations 2010.

The Client must

• Make suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring a project to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations.
• Ensure that these arrangements are maintained throughout the life of the project.
• Take all reasonable steps to ensure any designers or contractors appointed are competent to carry put the work for which they are appointed.

The Principal Designer must

• Have the competence, knowledge, skills and behaviour to carry out the work they are engaged to do.
• Plan, manage and monitor design work so that if the building work were carried, it would comply with the Building Regulations.
• Provide sufficient information about the building's design, construction and maintenance to allow the Client, other designers and contractors to comply with the Building Regulation.
• Liaise with the Principal Contractor and share information relevant to the building work.

The Principal Contractor must

• Have the competence, knowledge, skills and behaviour to carry out the work they are engaged to do.
• Plan, manage and monitor the building work so as to comply with the Building Regulations.
• Cooperate with the Client and Designer to the extent necessary to ensure that the project would comply with the Building Regulations.
• Ensure the building work they are carrying out complies with the Building Regulations.
• Provide each works under their control with appropriate supervision, information and instruction to ensure the building work complies with the Building Regulations.

ALL appropriate duty holders will be required to sign a Notice of Completion prior to Building Control issuing a Completion Certificate at the end of a project.

Submitting your application

Please describe the work you will be undertaking, avoiding vague terms such as 'general alterations.'

The total building control fee must be paid shortly after the application is submitted. In most cases we will phone you to take a card payment within a day or two of receiving the application.

Electrical installations and wiring must be designed and installed in accordance with Part P of the building regulations.

The simplest method of compliance is to have the electrical work carried out by a person (or firm) that is registered with a Competent Persons Self-Certification Scheme, who will issue certificates of compliance to the owner on completion.

Any structural calculations submitted by a Charted Structural Engineer may not be subject to checking by the Council.

Please remember to notify us when you commence works.

Your application is valid for three years from the date the Building Notice was given to the local authority or from the date a Full Plans was granted, after which it will automatically lapse if the building work has not commenced.

Associated required documents

• Where the proposed work includes the erection of a new building or extension, this notice shall be accompanied by a block plan to a scale of not less than 1:1250 showing the following:
• The size and the position of the building, or the building as extended and its relationship to the adjoining boundaries.
• The boundaries of the curtilage of the building, or the building as extended, and the size, position and use of every other building or proposed building within that curtilage.
• The width and position of any street on or within the boundaries of the curtilage of the building or the building as extended.
• The provision to be made for the drainage of the building.
• Since 26 December2022, it has been a requirement f the Building Regulations to submit details of the infrastructure and connectivity for electronic communications for all new dwellings. We will not be able to accept any Building Control applications without an attached connectivity plan.

Approved Document R Volume 1: Physical infrastructure and network connection for new dwellings (publishing.service.gov.uk), provides more information on the requirements and provides a model connectivity plan at Part A.