1.2 Impact of current legislation and regulations (both national and internatio Flashcards
Can you tell me some of the legislation that impacts on the design operation and maintenance of buidlings ? ISSUED
Town and country Planning Act
Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002
Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) 1998
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998
Work at Height Regulations 2005
What do we mean by planning? (ISSUED)
The term ‘planning’ is a very broad one that typically refers to making plans for some sort of undertaking. This might involve; assessing needs, quantifying resources, defining goals, developing strategies, describing and allocating tasks and monitoring progress. For more information see: Plan.
However, in the construction industry, the term ‘planning’ can also refer to the process of obtaining planning permission, or the general subject of town and country planning.
- Business plan.
- Contingency plan.
- Cost plan.
- Environmental plan.
- Environmental scanning.
- Project execution plan.
- Project implementation plan.
- Project quality plan.
- Site waste management plan.
- Stakeholder management plan
What is the governing legislation for planning? (ISSUED)
Planning legislation supports UK planning policy and takes the form of Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments (SIs).
Acts of Parliament create a new law or change an existing law. An Act starts life as a Bill that is approved by both Houses of Parliament and is then given Royal Assent. The following are Acts of Parliament that constitute policy legislation:
SIs, also known as delegated, secondary or subordinate legislation, allow the UK government to alter or bring the provisions of an Act into force without needing Parliament to pass a new Act. For more information, see Statutory instruments.
Town and Country Planning Act 1947
Served as the foundation of the modern town and country planning system, establishing that planning permission was required for development, reorganising the planning authorities, and requiring the preparation of local development plans.
Civic Amenities Act 1967
The Civic Amenities Act was ‘An Act to make further provision for the protection and improvement of buildings of architectural or historic interest and of the character of areas of such interest; for the preservation and planting of trees; and for the orderly disposal of disused vehicles and equipment and other rubbish.’
Town and Country Planning Act 1968.
Brought effective protection to listed buildings for the first time and was the key to the conservation revolution.
Town and Country Planning Act 1990
This Act superseded the 1947 Act and made several changes, principally dividing planning into forward planning and development control, i.e. setting out the future strategy of the local authority and controlling the current development.
Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
8Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990
This Act consolidated certain enactments relating to special controls applicable in respect of areas and buildings of special architectural or historic significance.
Environmental Protection Act 1990
This Act consolidated certain enactments relating to special controls applicable in respect of hazardous substances.
Planning and Compensation Act 1991
This Act amended the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 by introducing the plan-led system. It also extended powers to acquire land that may be affected by carrying out public works and also, where applicable, to provide compensation.
Environment Act 1995
This Act established the Environment Agency, transferring to it powers over pollution control and the conservation and enhancement of natural resources and the environment.
Housing Act 1996
This Act aimed to make provision for housing, the rented sector, the administration of housing benefit, houses in multiple occupation, the allocation of housing accommodation, and so on.
Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
This Act was intended to improve public access to the countryside and registered common land. It aimed to do this while also recognising the legitimate interests of owners/ and managers of the land concerned.
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
This Act was an important part of the government’s planning policy reforms intended to speed up the planning process and ensure that applications were dealt with more efficiently. It makes provisions relating to spatial development, planning and compulsory purchase and establishes sustainable development as a key objective of the planning system.
Housing Act 2004
This Act replaced the housing fitness standard with the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
Planning Act 2008
This Act was introduced to reduce the amount of time taken for approving major infrastructure projects.
Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009
This Act aimed to bring communities and individuals closer to local decision-making, as well as providing for the greater involvement of local authorities in local and regional economic development.
Localism Act 2011
This Act set out a series of measures intended to transfer power from central government to local authorities and local communities. It intended ‘…to help people and their locally elected representatives to achieve their own ambitions.’
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013
This Act aimed to cut the costs of undertaking business in Britain, which it was hoped would enhance consumer and business confidence and assist with job creation in the private sector. It was believed that small, medium and micro businesses would benefit in particular from the Act.
Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013
This Act set out a series of reforms intended to reduce the red tape the government considered hampers business investment, new infrastructure and job creation. It was hoped that this would help the UK recover from recession and allow it to compete more effectively on the global stage.
Infrastructure Act 2015
This Act introduced new measures intended ‘…to make it easier, quicker and simpler to get Britain building’.
Housing and Planning Act 2016
This Act was introduced as part of what the then-Prime Minister David Cameron described as a “national crusade to get homes built”. It included new powers to overrule councils considered reluctant to build homes, and to enable Whitehall to engage with local communities directly to allocate land for new building and force housing schemes through the planning system.
Key Building Regulations
- Construction (Design and management) regulations 2015
- Health and Safety work act 1974
- Public buildings:
- The equality Act 2010
- Regulatory reform (fire safety) order 2005
- Private Buildings:
- Approved Documents
- Fire engineer strategy to comply with British standards 9999
Additional Planning Legislation
- Town and Country Planning act 1990
- Planning (listed building and conservation areas) act 1990
- Section 106 of the Town and country planning act 1990
- Community Infrastructure Levy regulations 2013
- TPO - Forestry Act 1967
- Conservation of Habitat and Species regulations 2010
- Party wall act 1996
What does the Country Town and Planning Act cover? (ISSUED)
1944 Act
The Ministry of Town and Country Planning was established in February 1943.
The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 is sometimes referred to as the ‘Blitz and Blight Act’, as it drew together the issues of post-war reconstruction and the demolition of slums. This followed pressure from Birmingham’s city surveyor, Herbert Manzoni, and others, who feared that new planning powers would otherwise not enable them to solve the range of problems which extended far beyond the damage itself. Ref Bombing and rebuilding.
The Act allowed local authorities to compulsorily acquire bomb-damaged areas for redevelopment and created a fund of £300 million to compensate owners for the loss of development rights. Ref https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/post-war-policy.htm
1947 Act
The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 formed the basis for much of the contemporary planning system. It was intended as a response to the post-Second World War need for large-scale rebuilding and planning of towns and cities, as well as to help reorganise industry.
The 1947 Act democratised the use of land, controlling it and requiring planning permission to be granted prior to development beginning. The significance of the Act lay in the fact that by establishing the requirement for planning permission, the right to develop land was no longer a given of ownership.
This meant that local authorities, which were reorganised from 1,400 to 145, had to prepare a comprehensive local plan which set out detailed policies and proposals for the use and development of land within their area. Permitted development rights were granted to sectors such as agriculture which exempted them from some planning controls.
Wide-ranging powers were given to local authorities, including:
Approval of planning proposals.
Redevelopment of land.
Compulsory purchase orders to buy land and lease to new developers.
Powers to control outdoor advertising.
Powers to preserve woodland or buildings of architectural/historic interest.
The latter power was the beginning of the listed building process, which provide protections to certain historic buildings.
Town and Country Planning Act 1968.
Brought effective protection to listed buildings for the first time and was the key to the conservation revolution.
1990 Act
The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 superseded the 1947 Act and made several changes, principally dividing planning into forward planning and development control, i.e. setting out the future strategy of the local authority, and controlling the current development.
This principle was amended by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991, which introduced the plan-led system, meaning that development plans should be determined in line with planning applications.
Part 3 of the Act places all significant development decisions by private landowners in public ownership, which was seen as being necessary to prevent development taking place that was against the will or best interests of the community.
Section 102 enables a Notice to be issued ordering the discontinuing use, or alteration or removal of buildings or works. A local planning authority (LPA) can issue a Notice if they consider it is in the interests of the proper planning of their area, including being in the interests of amenity. For more information, see Section 102.
Section 106 allows for the setting in place of planning agreements or planning obligations that developers must meet in order to secure planning permission. The purpose of Section 106 is to offset the costs (social, infrastructural, economic, etc.) entailed with the development going ahead. This can take the form of a provision for social or affordable housing, or a contribution towards the provision of better local infrastructure. For more information, see Section 106 contributions.
Sections 137-171 relate to the landowner’s right to require purchase of interests, i.e. interests affected by planning decisions or orders. Known as property blight, this involves the reduction in marketability and value of land as a result of a public sector decision. For more information, see Property blight.
Section 215 enables an LPA to serve a notice if they judge the condition of land or buildings to be harmful to the area. A typical application of a Section 215 notice is to require the tidying up of waste and detritus on open land. For more information, see Section 215.
Sections 226-246 relate to the acquisition and appropriation of land for public and planning purposes, as well as the extinguishment of certain rights.
Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012
The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 consolidate the changes made to the 2004 (Local Development) Regulations and the amendments made to them into a single document. In addition, the regulations incorporate the changes made by the Localism Act 2011.
The Localism Act sets out a series of measures intended to transfer power from central government to local authorities and local communities. It is intended ‘…to help people and their locally elected representatives to achieve their own ambitions.’
Compared to the 2004 Regulations, one of the main changes is that local planning authorities are responsible for publishing their planning activity online for communities to view as soon as possible. Monitoring reports are also to be made publicly available.
The 2012 regulations also prescribe that additional bodies are subject to the ‘duty to co-operate’ under Section 110 of the Localism Act. The views of local enterprise partnerships should also be held in regard by local planning authorities.
Can you tell me how the Country Town & planning Act impacts on time and cost of a construction project?
Increases length if project if planning is required or yet to be determiend.
Planning permission can be the greatest risk on a construction project.
Certain amount of sunk costs if project is rejected.
Who would provide information to the planning and building services departments
WIP
Do we need a Planning Supervisor for domestic renovation works?
The Regulations require that a CDM co-ordinator is appointed on projects that last more than 30 days or involve 500 person-days of construction work. A project should not progress beyond ‘preliminary design’ without the appointment of a CDM co-ordinator. Concept design is considered to be beyond ‘preliminary design’ and may therefore require the appointment of a CDM co-ordinator.
When do you require a planning supervisor? Does it apply to every project?
The Regulations require that a CDM co-ordinator is appointed on projects that last more than 30 days or involve 500 person-days of construction work. A project should not progress beyond ‘preliminary design’ without the appointment of a CDM co-ordinator. Concept design is considered to be beyond ‘preliminary design’ and may therefore require the appointment of a CDM co-ordinator.
What do we mean by permitted developments? Can you give some examples?
Permitted Development (PD) grants rights to enable homeowners to undertake certain types of work without the need to apply for planning permission. There are many innovative opportunities whereby PD rights can bring significant benefits to anyone who wants to undertake a project to improve their existing home or is looking to maximise the potential of a new investment.
Types of Permitted Development Rights
Householder PD rights fall into different categories depending on the work being planned. These are:
Class A – Extensions (enlargement, improvement or alteration)
This allows a householder to build a single-storey side extension up to half the width of the existing dwelling; a single-storey rear extension up to 4m in length for a detached dwelling and 3m long for a semi or a terrace house; and, in certain circumstances, 3m two-storey rear extensions.
The changes that took effect on 30 May 2019 now make permanent the decision that larger single-storey rear extensions of up to 8m (6m for semi or terrace) are permissible under Class A — but do require prior notification (see ‘Lawful Development Certificates are key’).
Class B – Additions to the roof
This allows for rear dormers and hip-to-gable extensions as long as the additional volume created does not exceed 50m3 (40m3 for semis and terraced homes).
Class C – Other alterations to the roof
Class D – Porches
Class E – Buildings etc. (outbuildings)
This allows for an outbuilding to be erected within a residential curtilage as long as it is sited behind the principal (often the front) elevation, does not cover more than 50% of the curtilage and is not more than 3m in height (4m for a dual-pitched roof; 2.5m where within 2m of a boundary).
There are also specific regulations relating to Hard Surfaces (Class F), Chimneys & Flues (Class G) and Microwave antennas (Class H).
What procedures would you follow in transforming an office building into residential units?
NRM01
7. Work to existing buildings
1 Minor demolition
and alteration
works
2 Repairs to
existing services
3 Damp-proof
courses/fungus and
beetle eradication
4 Facade retention
5 Cleaning existing
surfaces
What do we mean by conditional planning? Can you give some examples? (ISSUED)
As an alternative to outright refusal, the planning authority can grant permission subject to one or more conditions. It must advise you of the specific reasons for imposing the conditions. An example could be that a site has restricted access with only one entrance and the authority will only allow the development if two are provided. Planning conditions sometimes limit the use or occupation of land or premises to a named person or company. Before you sell or let a building, or land which is subject to such conditional permission, you must make a further application to the local planning authority to remove the condition.
In general, conditions must be:
necessary;
relevant to planning;
relevant to the development to be permitted;
enforceable;
precise; and
reasonable in all other respects.
What is the difference between outline planning and full planning? (ISSUED)
When residential, commercial, retail or community developments are proposed, the planning regulations allow for an outline planning application to determine whether the principle of development is acceptable.
Outline planning applications must include sufficient detail for the local planning authority to evaluate the proposals including the scale and nature of the proposed development. This might included the number of units an indicative layout and approximant mix of rental and for sale units such as BCC Pool Farm.
This enables a landowner to get the assurance that development will be acceptable in principle without the cost of full detailed plans for the buildings proposed or full technical calculations for roads and drainage. It is helpful for the local planning authority if any potential technical constraints are addressed in principle. These may typically include issues such as ecology, landscape impacts, trees and flood risk/drainage, for which specialist reports may be needed.
Some local authorities may seek detailed plans before validating an outline application. This can be challenged by an Article 12 Notice on the basis that the additional details required do not meet the requirements of Article 34(6)(c) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 (the ‘DMPO’).
Once outline permission is granted this means that the local planning authority have granted planning permission and established the principle of development. Only the details can then be considered, known as Reserved Matters.
This gives some local planning decision makers difficulties with the outline process due to the level of uncertainty in the final details which they feel remains after they have granted the outline planning permission.
Following outline permission a reserved matter application must be submitted to get approval for the details of the approved scheme. This can be phased on a large development site.
The alternative is for a Full planning application to be submitted. This includes full details of access, layout of the site, siting of buildings with full plans and elevations of all buildings. Highway and drainage details are also required. This is always required for applications within a Conservation Area.
If the principle of development is unlikely to be an issue or the applicant proposes to carry out the development it is more cost effective and saves time overall to submit a full planning application in the first instance. However, when a landowner will be selling the site it is more difficult to justify the expense of a Full Application.
Explain what we mean by conservation areas. How does this impact on construction?
A conservation area is an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance (Section 69 of The 1990 Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act).
The main attributes that define the special character of an area are its physical appearance and history,
- Preservation and enhancement
- Minor works that would not normally need planning permission outside a conservation area may need planning permission in a conservation area.
- Control over demolition
- Control over trees
- Biodiversity
- Power to seek repair of unoccupied buildings in conservation areas
- Reduced permitted development rights
- Restrictions on outdoor advertisements
- Planning permission
- New development in conservation areas
- Repairs and maintenance
- Designation or alteration of conservation areas
Explain what we mean by listed buildings. How does this impact on construction?
A building is listed when it is of special architectural or historic interest considered to be of national importance and therefore worth protecting.
As the term implies, a listed building is actually added to a list: the National Heritage List for England. You can use this to discover whether your home is listed and if so, what grade it is.
You may also be able to find out what is particularly significant about the building. Some listing records are more detailed than others.
Listed buildings come in three categories of ‘significance’:
Grade I for buildings of the highest significance
Grade II* and
Grade II
Most listed building owners are likely to live in a Grade II building as these make up 92% of all listed buildings.
Listing means there will be extra control over what changes can be made to a building’s interior and exterior. Owners will need to apply for Listed Building Consent for most types of work that affect the ‘special architectural or historic interest’ of their home.?
Other attached structures and fixtures
Later extensions or additions
Pre-1948 buildings on land attached to the building. (In the planning system, the term ‘curtilage’ is used to describe this attached land.)
Historic Englanf for more information
What is a section 106 agreement? (ISSUED)
A Section 106 is a legal agreement between an applicant seeking planning permission and the local planning authority, which is used to mitigate the impact of a new home on the local community and its infrastructure. a new house will mean more cars on the roads and people putting a strain on the local community.
As such, Section 106 Agreements often require a financial contribution, made prior to the project starting. Unlike the Community Infrastructure Levy which is tariff-based, Section 106 is charged based on the specific needs of the local community and some councils use the number of bedrooms in the new home to decide what this charge should be. For example, a council might ask for a contribution to the local school for a new four-bedroom family house in an area with limited school places.
