The forms below are available for download. Please contact the office directly for a fee for works over £100,000. (0191) 433 3146.
Building control applications
This is a brief guide to making an application within the Borough of Gateshead under the Building Regulations 2000.
Making an application under the Building Regulations - which type?
There are two types of application you can choose when making a Building Regulation submission:-
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Full Plans Application
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Building Notice Submission Form
Full Plans application may be submitted for any building work, but must be submitted for buildings to which the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (commonly known as the 'RRO') will apply. The RRO applies to all buildings apart from single family dwellings and the interior of individual flats.
This type of application allows you to have your plans checked by our surveyors and approved as complying with the Building Regulations. This gives you two things:-
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A set of approved plans to build from and near immunity from enforcement action if you build in accordance with those plans.
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A greater certainty of the final building costs.
There are other advantages to making a Full Plans Application as our staff can advise on the following:-
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Design and layout.
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Structural design and local ground conditions.
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Fire safety and engineering.
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Energy conservation and sound transmission.
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Access and facilities for people with disabilities
A Full Plans Application should be accompanied by two full sets of plans AND a plan fee.
Note: - For works to which the RRO will apply a further set of floor plans is needed.
We aim to give you a decision on your application within the statutory time limit of five weeks, although more complex proposals can take up to two months. If you provide sufficient detail at the time of the application the process can take a lot less.
Many applicants now provide a compliance statement in addition to the traditional drawings. This written document describes how each part of the technical requirements is to be complied with and can help us to interpret your proposals better than some drawings can.
We are happy to deal with complex proposals using a 'staged approval' approach. We can agree the methodology and timescales with you at a pre-application meeting.
If you need advice or assistance ask for a pre-application consultation with one of our Building Control surveyors.
Building Notice
We suggest that for any building work which affects the layout of a building you should submit a full plans application, but if you are certain that you do not require formal approval of plans, and the building is not affected by the RRO, you have the option of choosing to submit a Building Notice.
As plans are not formally approved, our surveyors will concentrate their checking of the Regulations at site inspections. However, you lose the assurance of building in accordance with approved plans and there may be delays to your project if work is found not to comply.
A Building Notice should be accompanied by the appropriate fee. If you do not send plans with the Building Notice and we decide we need them to determine if the work is likely to comply with the regulations, we will require some to be provided. This may be the case where a change in layout of any building is proposed. We will attempt to comment on your drawings in the same timescales as for Full Plans Applications.
Site Inspections
It is not clear to everybody the purpose of our site inspections. Many householders believe that we check the quality of their builder's work. Some builders believe we will tell them exactly what materials they should use. And some architects think we will act as a clerk of works and check everything the builder has done but none of these are true.
We will try to be helpful on site and give advice when we can, although our principal role is to ensure the building owner, through the builder, complies with the Building Regulations. The number of times we visit site will vary and depends on a number of factors.
Early stages of the work (i.e. foundations, dpcs and underground drainage) must be notified to us, particularly where the work will be concealed following inspection. We also encourage you to notify us when other works, such as fire stopping, structural members and insulating materials may be inspected before being covered over.
In some cases we will want to witness, or even carry out tests to ensure that systems work. It is always advisable to have preliminary tests undertaken before we arrive, as delays will occur if a test fails.
Completion Certificates
It is our policy to issue a Completion Certificate (providing that all the relevant fees have been paid) as soon as a satisfactory final inspection has been made and the work has been found to comply with the Regulations.
This certificate is a very important document when a property is to be sold. We usually send the certificate to the owner identified on the application form, but can send it to others upon request.