Planning & Environment!Planning & Environment
Making an Application

Application Form for Full Plans or Building Notices
Regularisation Application Form
Demolition Application

Types of Applications
If your proposed building work requires Building Regulation Approval you have the choice of making one of two types of applications - FULL PLANS or BUILDING NOTICE.


Full Plans Application
This involves the submission of detailed plans and other relevant information, which is then checked to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations. If satisfactory an Approval Notice is issued.
Where the proposals are found to be unsatisfactory a Building Control Surveyor will endeavour to contact you in order that the plans can be amended.

In certain circumstances there may be no alternative but to reject the plans (i.e. where the plans indicate a contravention of the regulations, or contain insufficient information for assessment purposes).

Advantages of Full Plans Applications

  • a) You know that as long as the work is carried out in line with the approved plans, it will meet the regulations.
  • b) You can give approval notice to financial institutions, solicitors, and surveyors and so on when you are applying for loans or moving home.
  • c) As long as the work is carried out in line with the approved plans, and all the relevant inspections find the work is of a satisfactory standard, you can get a completion certificate.

Disadvantages of Full Plans Applications

  • a) It is expensive to prepare detailed plans.
  • b) You have to programme the work to allow enough time to prepare plans and for us to process them.

Building Notice
As an alternative to the Full Plans procedure, Building Notice allows for building work to be executed without the submission of detailed plans.

It is generally used when the type of building work is straight forward, and the persons responsible for the execution are conversant with the requirements of the regulations.
The work will be inspected as it proceeds, but you will not receive any official decision notice confirming that the proposals have been passed.

As part of the procedure a Building Control Surveyor may request further information to assist with the on-site assessment. This may include such items as structural design calculations, construction details, specification of materials etc.

Advantages of the Building Notice
  • a) you can save time and money by not having to prepare and submit detailed plans.
Disadvantage of the Building Notice
  • a) you don't have an approved plan to work to. Although our surveyor will try to prepare for possible problems, if the work does not meet the regulations, there may be a delay while the work is corrected.
  • b) Building estimates may not be accurate because full information about the design is not available

What We Ask You To Do For Us
  • Submit a Full Plans applications Building Notice at your earliest opportunity.
  • Give 48 hours notice of commencement.
  • Give 24 hours notice prior to the following stages of work:
  • Excavation for foundations.
  • Foundation concrete.
  • Damp Proof Course.
  • Before any material is laid over the site.
  • Drains Laid.
  • Drains after backfilling.
  • Give 5 days notice of occupation or completion.
Notice of these stages can be made by phone if you wish.
In return, we promise to advise you on the most appropriate type of submission (either Full Plans or a Building Notice), and respond to all submissions within 4 weeks from validation date and a decision will be made in most cases within 5 weeks.