There is much confusion among home-owners as to what Planning Permission actually is and what the difference is between Planning and Building Regulations Approval…

This article should help you understand the difference between these two very important pieces of legislation.

Planning Permission is the formal approval you must obtain from your local council when building work is to be commenced that will result in

“a change of use of a building or it’s land, a change in it’s appearance, changes in the highway access or changes to the local environment”

In basic terms, your local planning department are not concerned with how structurally sound your extension is…. or how thick your insulation is going to be…. or what colour your wallpaper is going to be. They are there to decide what sort of impact your new building is going to have on it’s surroundings. This may include aesthetics (ie. What style windows you are planning to use, what colour bricks you will use, what roof shape you have chosen or how the building adjoins to your existing home). This may also include access issues (ie. Whether you will need a new driveway and how this would affect the existing highway). The planners will also want to know if any trees are likely to be affected by your new proposal and this could impact their decision to let you proceed with the work. These are just a few examples to give you a feel of what is going through your local planner’s head as he flicks through your drawings and application forms.

Not all new buildings need planning permission. There are now certain types and sizes of buildings that come under the ‘Permitted Development’ regulations. To find out if you need planning permission, just call your local council or visit the PlanningPortal website for more information.

To get Planning Permission for a new extension or addition to your home, your local authority will need an array of Architectural drawings, a pack of completed forms and a marked OS map to show the location of the new development.

ArkiPlan.co.uk’s experienced Architectural Technicians can produce all the relevant CAD plans on your behalf, complete all the relevant forms and liaise with your local planning authority to ensure your application has the best chance of being approved.  If you think you may need Planning Approval, please get in touch

The Building Regulations are a set of documents that apply to England & Wales and set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the health and safety of people in and around them.

In short… this is where the government want to see that your extension is not going to harm you, your family and possibly even innocent by-standers (!). As issues are recognised as crucially important to the construction industry they will occasionally be added to the Building Regulations to ensure that all new buildings in England & Wales are built with this in mind. For example, disabled access and energy performance provisions are now required to be addressed before your building can be signed off as ‘Building Regulation Compliant’.
The Building Regulations outline specific areas that your building work should comply with. These include…

• Part A – Structure
• Part B – Fire safety
• Part C – Site preparation and resistance to moisture
• Part D – Toxic substances
• Part E – Resistance to the passage of sound
• Part F – Ventilation
• Part G – Sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiency
• Part H – Drainage and waste disposal
• Part J – Combustion appliances and fuel storage systems
• Part K – Protection from falling, collision and impact
• Part L – Conservation of fuel and power
• Part M – Access to and use of buildings
• Part N – Glazing – safety in relation to impact, opening and cleaning
• Part P – Electrical safety

To help us understand how to meet these requirements, the government publish a set of documents called the Approved Documents. The information contained in these show how to construct a compliant building but they do not not necessarily have to be followed. Each specific Building Control department will decide whether your specific project is deemed to be complaint with each section.

Building Regulations Approval must be sought after Planning Permission has been granted (if required) and can be applied for in two ways…

The applicant can issue a ‘Building Notice’ which lets the council know that the building work has begun. The council then liaise with the client and visit the site at regular intervals to ensure the work is being carried out in accordance with the Regulations. This method is risky unless you are fully aware of the Building Regulation requirements as you could be told to re-build, re-arrange or remove parts of the building, resulting in lost time and increased costs.

The safest option is to apply using a ‘Full Plans Submission’. This involves submitting detailed drawings of the proposed works and a material specification, detailing in full how each part of the building complies with the Regulations. The local authority will then, most likely, approve the application based on the drawings or normally approve the application with ‘conditions’ that must be met.

We at ArkiPlan.co.uk are extremely knowledgeable of the current Building Regulations and all existing construction techniques.
If you require Building Regulations plans, we will be happy to produce the relevant drawings, create a personalised material specification and liaise with your local Building Control department to ensure your new extension complies, therefore ensuring that building work can commence as soon as possible. If you think you may need Building Regulation approval, please get in touch

So….Still don’t know if you need Planning or Building Regulation Approval?
Click here to visit the government’s PlanningPortal website to find out or call your local council to discuss your project.

We understand if you have many questions about the application process for both Planning and Building Regulations. If you want to ask us anything about the difference between Planning and Building Regulations, please do not hesitate to get in touch

Until next time,

ArkiPlan.co.uk