What you need to know: Building & Planning Regulations

Getting started on a project? Unfortunately, before you can get on with the hands on work you will need to consider current building and planning regulations relevant to your project. They cover aspects of the build such as environmental regulations, health and safety and the disruption it may cause to your neighbours.

You will need to submit your plans to the appropriate regulatory bodies to be signed off before getting started (or get started at your own risk).

Planning Permission

To meet planning permission requirements you will need to consider the location, what the project will be used for and also how this will fit in with other buildings in the vicinity. This will include considerations for safety such as obstructing views from the road and also whether the project will be an eyesore.

If the buildings in your area all follow a certain style then it is likely you will have to follow this. Listed buildings will need to meet a lot of requirements if you are looking to make any alterations as they fall under conservation regulations.

Building Regulations

The requirements for the building itself cover the specifics of your build such as materials to be used and the safety standards of the blueprint. Regulations are changing so you now also need to take the energy efficiency and insulation of the build into account.

To save yourself a headache further down the line, it is always worth checking in with your Local Authority to find out the procedure you will need to go through and what is applicable to you. If you are employing someone to complete the work, keep an eye on the project as it goes also to ensure the build is still meeting the regulations set out.

If you have any questions about your upcoming project, feel free to get in touch and we can offer expert advice to help out.