Steve Evans BSc(Hons) MBA C.Build.E FCABE
Senior Area Technical Manager
National House Building Council (NHBC)
The infamous line “its Building Regs, but not as we know it” was delivered by an official from the DCLG at a recent NHBC Building for Tomorrow Event, and referred to the imminent publication of the consultation into the Housing Standards Review. That was in March of this year and imminently actually meant September. If only my wife would accept this when it came to timescales for DIY, “Yes dear, I will do it imminently…”
The consultation itself is a “Technical Consultation” only in that the concept of these standards a) being set, and b) being put into building regulations is not up for debate. What is up for comment is the details of how the system will operate and the actual technical details proposed in the amended, and in one case, new Approved Documents. So what will the system under consultation actually mean to professionals in the planning and building control professions?
In a nutshell, this brave new world will allow planners to select “optional” standards in respect of Access and Water for new homes built in their area. In order to do so, the planners will need to demonstrate that there is both a local need and that the setting of such a requirement will not make development unviable in their area. This needs to be done through the local plan process. Where the planning authority wishes to select an optional requirement it must only select those written in the building regulations. The Code for Sustainable Homes will be wound down from the date of publication of the documents in the Spring of 2015 and the new system will come into being in Autumn 2015.
Additionally there is also a new standard “Part Q – Security” which the government is proposing to be mandatory for all new homes as well as amendments to Part H6 – Solid Waste storage which proposes to tackle “bin blight”.
When a local need and viability can be demonstrated and set as a planning condition it will be for the building control body, public or private sector, to enforce the increased requirement through the building control system, presumably informing the LPA when it has completed the dwellings so that the condition can be discharged.
There is also a Nationally Described Space Standard, which again the planning authority needs to select based on local need and viability through the local plan process. However, this will remain outside of the building regulations with responsibility for the planners to enforce, although the government are interested to know if there may be a role for building control to play ensuring it is done consistently.
The consultation closes on 7th November 2015 and I would urge all planning and building control professionals to not only read it, but actively contribute to the consultation responses of your professional body or employer. It will be up to us to ensure that the system works and that the additional layers do not lead to dissatisfaction and most of all, delays in the construction process. ■
