top of page

How Can We Help You With Building Regulations & Planning Permission?

Below are details and links concerning planning & Building Regulations ! , however it is our pleasure / part of our professional service to make the planning and building regulation process as simple and easy as possible for you ! .

1st of all reviewing the lastest planning permitted development rights , to confirm if planning permission is required for your project ( a visit from a council planning officer can also be organsied to confirm the situation ) .

If planning permission is required for your project we can both organsie a very good value / quality local architect & also provide our own free of charge input / advice to help obtain planning permission as smoothly as possible.

Then either via the building notice route or working with your architects diagrams we will manage all the building regulation inspection stages ( from pre site inspection to obtaining the essential completion certificate )

With many years experience dealing with the local council officers the process is very easy / smooth ! 

What are building regulations?

A legal set of requirements throughout England and Wales under which all building work must be conducted. Your local authority Building Control Department or an independent authorised inspection company is responsible for ensuring that high standards are maintained and any work we complete is carried out in accordance with the latest regulations, covering areas from Part A (Structural safety) to Part R - (Electronic communications) , for > details on building regulations please click on this link BUILDING REGULATIONS

Will my Project need building regulations approval?

Most Extensions , Garage & Loft Conversions & Sunrooms require Building Regulation Approval . Conservatories & porches normally do not require building regulation approval .

Obtaining approval / a building regulation completion certificate is essential and will be requested if you ever sell your house .

What do I need to do?

You have two options , both of which lead to completion to the latest Building regulation Standards & a completion certificate ; both routes have the same council fee :

A full plans submission if you have architects diagrams ! ; the diagrams are submitted to the Building Control Dept by your architect and after approx 4 weeks the council either approve your plans or suggest adjustments ! ; this is usually the route taken for larger( £50k + ) / more complex projects ! . As the builder i then liase with the Council Building Officer throughout your build & obtain a completion certificate for you .

Simpler projects are more efficiently routed via the Building Notice route , a simple one page form is submitted to the council at least a week before we start and as the builder i then liase with the Council Building Officer throughout your build & obtain a completion certificate for you .

The council fees are the same for both routes; please search on line  at " Central Bedfordshire Planning " , " North Herts Council planning " , "South Cambridgeshire planning " or your local  council if different for local planning fees 

Will my project require planning permission?

If you already have plans this is perfectly OK! we are highly experienced at working with plans from various architects and sources. We will review them as part of the initial meeting & quotation process and if any errors or suggestions come to light, we will highlight these to you at the earliest possible stage! (It is our experience that architects quite often re-use text/parts of diagrams from other projects and not uncommon for there to be numerous errors.)

With the recent changes to planning regulations in many cases clients who want to convert their garage / loft or build an extension / sunroom no longer require planning permission. As a highly experienced builder we can build small extensions/sunrooms without architect diagrams if the customer wishes to save the cost of an architect! You will still have a detailed quotation outlining size and specifications of the project.

As part of our quality service we will communicate with the local planning department on your behalf to verify that planning permission is not required and we will submit a building notice to the council/arrange all the necessary inspections to obtain building regulation approval .

Of course, if you would still prefer to have full architect diagrams this is no problem and is once more included in our basic service. We will liaise with the architect and obtain full building regulation approval.

If you need help sourcing an architect we can help with this and recommend some very good value for money local architects. We also have local contacts in relation to specialist services like structural engineers, damp proofing etc

For more information : Government's online Planning portal or Central Bedfordshire Council , South Cambridgeshire or North Herts Council

Removal of Permitted Development Rights?

The Council may have removed some of these Permitted Development Rights for certain dwellings e.g. in newer housing developments, in Conservation Areas etc . This will require you to submit a planning application for developments which normally would not need one, however you will not be required to pay a fee. You can check with the Local Planning Authority to find out if your house is affected by this or if you have a copy it will say in the original planning permission when your house was built !. Again we will help you check this as required .

< HOME      < PREVIOUS PAGE      NEXT PAGE>      CONTACT US>

bottom of page