Common misconception re Local Authority Planning and Building Control Departments

harryhound

As you are not a qualified installer, you are not FENSA qualified, so have a to PAY the local authority probably more than the extra you would have have paid a FENSA member to install the window.
Does the window look anything like the others in the building?
Could you pretend that it is a "repair" not a replacement?

With both the ground landlord, and the local authority, on your case, it looks like you have got yourself into a legal muddle.
Does the builder still have the paperwork to "prove" that the window meets the latest set of regulations?

Those thinking of re-tiling their roof or re-rendering their walls need to realise that building control regulations apply to those activities too these days.

gunslingerOK

Thanks for the feedback Harry.

I cannot answer all of your queries immediately as this is not my flat but that of a friend who asked for my advice after they received the letter from the leasehold management company.

I am attempting to get all the details delicately since they would prefer to stick their head in the sand and ignore the issue.

What I would love to be able to do was present them with a plan of action, involving whatever steps are necessary, in a way that does not frighten them.

If no paperwork is forthcoming from the builder, would the council come around and inspect, or would they insist on it being redone?

auroraborealis

In my experience, what matters most to clients is timings. Planning permission takes at least eight weeks. The Local Authority can ask you to withdraw your application or advise you that it will be refused at the eleventh hour, i.e. a few days before the eight week period is up. Then a re-submission (usually free if the first was withdrawn) has to be made - another eight weeks. If any permission is sought and refused and you wish to appeal then that's another six months to a year. Building regulations approval is now provided either by the Local Authority or by an approved inspector, which is a private company who has been approved to provide this service. The benefit of submitting your proposals via the full plans submission route which normally takes five weeks, over the building notice route, normally a couple of days before work starting on site, is that you will have ironed out and agreed any problems with Building Control before you start on site. Via the building notice route, the inspector may not agree with your proposal & the repercussions of having to change/add things can be costly time and moneywise. The benefit of using an approved inspector can be that they might be contacted via a mobile phone number more easily with site queries. Lastly Party Walls require a mention because they have procedures and time periods which need to be adhered to by law and it can be very costly depending on how many neighbours your building work will affect and how involved negotiations can become. See Party Walls explanatory booklet : world wide web communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/partywall (this is supposed to be the URL to the government booklet on Party Walls)
The golden rule is good communication with your neighbours before you start any work or submit a planning application & with the local authority planning department & building control body so you are clear about what is required and how long it can take.

harryhound

Channel 4 "Restoration Man" is being repeated at 10:55 (AM) on Thursdays.

I missed some of these programmes, when originally shown, they are presented by architect George Clarke.
This week featured the project of a business man adn his partner and 4 teenage daughters.
He had bought what a daughter described as "a corrugated shed in a field", but underneath was a cruck frame farmhouse from the early 1600's; abandoned for 30 years.

It wasn't even listed.

He invested a small fortune creating what looked like a typical cob thatched farmhouse, in the teeth of opposition from the planning department.

Then came George's attempt to get permission for an extension.

In common with current thinking the extension was not to be built onto the original historical building, but was to be place alongside it; as though it had been a barn to the original farmhouse.

The planning department did not want a pastiche of the original vernacular, but something more modern looking (with a reduced hight roof line relative to the farm house).

This addition would cost considerably more than the value it added to the site as a whole; so we are not talking rapacious property developer here.

The planning committee promptly voted down the latter design.

It was not clear if the owner had managed to seduce the committee into a "site visit", where I feel the whole family pulling together might have got it through.
I think this is probably where the applicant went wrong - if the girls had written to everyone of the planning committee members saying they wanted their own bedroom each; that might have swung it.

There are a lot of owners of historic buildings who feel that English Heritage and the planning system are conspiring to turn our heritage into slum clearance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruck
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-restoration-man

astefesig

I have many rooms in my house wired with it and its fantastic. Ive had to go through some hoops in the past with X10 to get my Harmony to work with it. Im looking forward to getting the Insteon IR Receiver.

keystone

astefesig wrote: »

I have many rooms in my house wired with it and its fantastic. Ive had to go through some hoops in the past with X10 to get my Harmony to work with it. Im looking forward to getting the Insteon IR Receiver.

I have no idea what you are talking about so here's a bunny with a pancake on its head.



Cheers

auroraborealis

Completely random response! Fantastic!:beer::rotfl:

derogatoryboy

Hi there, hope you can help.

I live in a 1930's semi. My neighbours have extended their kitchen to the side by building to the rear of their attached garage.
They told me the work didn't need planning permission.
I'd like to do the same but 2 builders have told me it needs planning permission.
I contacted my council but they want a planning submission to see if it needs permission.
Do i need to hire an architect for these plans?

planning_officer

If the Council has asked you to formally submit an application for a Lawful Development Certificate, then the plans need to be accurate, drawn to scale etc - you can do them yourself if you know what you are doing, or get an architect to do them. If you can't do them yourself, an architectural technician would be cheaper than an architect, and just as competent. You can find a local one at: http://www.ciat.org.uk/en/members/find_a_practice/index.cfm

derogatoryboy

planning_officer wrote: »

If the Council has asked you to formally submit an application for a Lawful Development Certificate, then the plans need to be accurate, drawn to scale etc - you can do them yourself if you know what you are doing, or get an architect to do them. If you can't do them yourself, an architectural technician would be cheaper than an architect, and just as competent.

that's a great help, thanks a lot.

i've looked at the government's online planning portal and it's confirmed that my extension won't need planning permission.

however the issue of building regs permission has been raised. i'm unsure what i need to do here.
would the architectural technician's drawings suffice for the building regs? and at what point do i need to contact them?