Advice please: Building Inspector vs Planning Department

[zappastix]

Hi

We have P.P. to extend our roof with the inclusion of a dormer.

In addition, a 3 meter x 1.5 meter porch.

This coming week we are starting on the footings, I would like to
extend the 1.5 meters to 2 meters.

When I asked the building inspector if that would be OK he said
that it is not my department and basically he wasn't interested
(he wasn't the easiest guy to speak with).

This building project is my first, so I haven't got a clue where I stand.


MY QUESTION

When the extension and porch are finished, am I right in saying that it
is the building inspector who will sign the project off?

If so, do the planning department make any visits after the project is signed off?

I am concerned that if I do extend by an extra half meter, the council could demand
that we pull the porch down.

Just so you know, when I spoke to the manager of Building Control
regarding application to be made of 'no effect' he told me that the footings for the porch
would not be able to be taken into account.

He told me that we would have to fit C16 joists in the hallway so that
my application could continue.

We did this (Triple C16 joists - M12 bolts - bolted x 3 @ centre thirds with barbed
washers in between joists and finished off with 2 washers nut and locking nut).

When the BI visited he said that was not enough.

So we dug two 12" square holes to expose the footings. The BI was happy with that
so he said now there is no time limit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does this mean that because building control were not interested in the porch, that the
half a meter that I want to add should be OK?

Appreciate any help or guidance you can provide.

Many thanks,

Stephen

 

[Blagard]

I think you may have already opened a can of worms. It is not uncommon in my opinion for departments to clue each other in when a problem seems to be arising. Your planning department may now well be watching to see what you do.

No doubt others used to dealing with planning approvals will advise on what you should do if you still want to do something bigger than you have permission to build.

The Building Control officer is principly interested in your building work complying with the building regulations, it matters not to him if you have permission or not because it is not his department. He is certainly not in a position to advise you on planning matters.

 

[noseall]

The only thing that building control and planning have in common is they may occupy the same building.

They do not however communicate.

Making the porch bigger is a planning issue as far as the size impact of development is concerned. You will need to submit a drawing as an amendment or indeed as a new application. You are correct in thinking you may have to tear it down regardless of whether it conforms to building regulations, should you go ahead and build it bigger without P.P.

However, it may mean that the regulations drawing is now useless as the joist sizes etc, have increased and it is also a building control issue too.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Aye what noseall said, just to add though, its pointless getting the advice/opinion of anyone at Building Control other than the inspector dealing with your job.

 

[^woody^]

.... he said that it is not my department and basically he wasn't interested
(he wasn't the easiest guy to speak with).

He is certainly not in a position to advise you on planning matters.

No that not the case

He is an officer of the council, and it matters not which department he works for, and what he actually knows (although in this instance a BCO would be expected to know at least the basics of planning law).

There is a legal concept known as "constructive notice", and this means that "the council" will be deemed to have knowledge of an event when any one of their officers sees, knows about, or even would be expected to know about an event. Similarly the officer should give accurate advice or instruction

So in this instance, the BCO has to "be interested" and has to advise ... even if that advice is "don't build any different to your approved plans, and you need to contact the planning office"

It will not absolve the OP of building contrary to his planning permission, but it will open up a potential claim of negligence or maladministration against the BCO/council for failing to advise and take proper action

As for the OP, generally its the planners who tell you what you can build (including dimensions), and building control tell you how you must build it

Building control will inspect at various stages and finally "sign off" the work as conforming to the relevant Building Regulations, and not as conforming to planning regulations or anything else

IIRC, a percentage (10%?) of random works may be checked by the planners, but it may be just a cursory visual check not a detailed measure. I'm not sure if this is a regulatory requirement or if just certain councils do it for certain reasons

 

[Blagard]

He is an officer of the council, and it matters not which department he works for, and what he actually knows (although in this instance a BCO would be expected to know at least the basics of planning law).

There is a legal concept known as "constructive notice", and this means that "the council" will be deemed to have knowledge of an event when any one of their officers sees, knows about, or even would be expected to know about an event. Similarly the officer should give accurate advice or instruction

So in this instance, the BCO has to "be interested" and has to advise ... even if that advice is "don't build any different to your approved plans, and you need to contact the planning office"

Well that's really interesting - I would think you have picked that up from some case law. I would be interested to read that if you have any reference.

Having served as an officer of the council a long time ago, there was never any training on that matter. Of course the common sense reply to such queries then, was to try and point people in the right direction. I did so as a matter of courtesy, not because I had been made aware of any legal obligation to do so.

 

[zappastix]

Thanks guys.

I'll stick to 1.5 meters - we do not have the time now to deal with the council, as the nights are drawing in and we need to button this up to make it water tight asap.

Most helpful.

 

[^woody^]

Well that's really interesting - I would think you have picked that up from some case law. I would be interested to read that if you have any reference.

The legal concept is " constructive notice ", and details should be widely available on the net.

It can be quite onerous in terms of what a person/organisation would be expected to have knowledge of when either visiting or just dealing with anything as part of their profession or employment

The actual application will depend on each individual situation, but it can be either advantageous or detrimental to any case where knowledge of a problem or situation can make or break a claim - particularly a claim of negligence.