Do I need any kind of planning permission from council to remove ancient non-working cooker hood and cover/remove isolator switch + associated wiring?

[conanx]

Do I need planning permission or any kind of local council permission to remove a very old (non-functioning) cooker hood and the isolator switch associated with it? Isolator switch is currently in kitchen cupboard above non-functioning hood and I want to remove the cupboard and put shelving instead, so would like to remove/cover up the isolator switch and wires to old cooker hood.

Also, when I hire an electrician to do this, do they need to have specific qualifications etc?

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Jurassicspark]

Any registered electrician will be able to do it.

Where is the FCU supplied from?

You can just remove the hood and replace the FCU with a blanking plate.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Is this a council house?

 

[conanx]

Any registered electrician will be able to do it.

Where is the FCU supplied from?

You can just remove the hood and replace the FCU with a blanking plate.

Thanks for your reply. I'm just a layperson so don't know what it is. The cooker hood just connects to a wall (not outside). So, I don't need any kind of planning permission as asking google gives lots of different responses.

 

[conanx]

Is this a council house?

No, just a bog standard flat in a block of 1920s/30s flats.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

No, just a bog standard flat in a block of 1920s/30s flats.

Then it is nothing to do with the council, planning, or etc., but it is not a good idea to simply remove it, without replacing it with another.

 

[conanx]

Then it is nothing to do with the council, planning, or etc., but it is not a good idea to simply remove it, without replacing it with another.

I don't want an extractor fan or cooker hood, I just want to put up some shelves in place of the old cabinets but the isolation switch is there. Can I not just cover up the isolation switch/get it removed (is there a legal requirement to have an extractor fan above a cooker? - its not on an outside wall and I have a window right next to it)?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I don't want an extractor fan or cooker hood, I just want to put up some shelves in place of the old cabinets but the isolation switch is there. Can I not just cover up the isolation switch/get it removed (is there a legal requirement to have an extractor fan above a cooker? - its not on an outside wall and I have a window right next to it)?

It is your choice, but an extracting hood, drastically reduces the damage to decorations, limits the moisture, and mould in the home.

 

[conanx]

It is your choice, but an extracting hood, drastically reduces the damage to decorations, limits the moisture, and mould in the home.

Ok. Will think about it.

 

[jj4091]

A couple of thoughts. If it is not on an outside wall does that mean it is not vented to the outside. If that is so it means it is probably a recirculating one which most people consider useless and a waste of time. Is the cooker gas or electric, if gas and it is by an opening window it is probably not complying with regulations covering the instalation. If electric be careful there are no curtains or window coverings that could be blown into a dangerous position. As Jurassicspark says either disconnect and insulate the cables to the FCU and fit a faceplate or have it removed completely. It would not be a good idea to just cover it up as it may cause confusion in the event of future fault finding or testing of any electrical problem.

 

[Ragnar_AT]

The FCU seems to be in a pattress box, so unless there‘s a back box behind it you might as well keep the FCU (fused switch in the cupboard). Removing the cable that feeds the FCU could be tricky in a flat.

 

[ericmark]

As long as the owner says OK, no problem. FCU is a fused connection unit can also have a switch and/or light.

It does surprise me, we need to register any additions to electrics in kitchens (In Wales no England) but not to remove.

There are rules on ventilation, Part F of building regulations. See page 5, also page 8, and this

does seem to say must be an extractor, you can hunt through the document the same as me. It is for new builds, but it would depend on when your flat was new, and what regulations there were back then.
We are told we must have an extractor in the bathroom, mine has never worked since moving in, and because the shower once the door is closed only has a small gap above the door into the rest of the room, never found we needed a fan.
The kitchen does have a hood with ducting to the outside, but with an induction hob, the kitchen does not get super hot or humid, if cooking with gas, then would be very different, burning gas produced water. But the regulations do not say different extraction rates needed for gas and electric.
The big question is who would know? For me not to repair the shower extractor is very different to ripping it out. And when we were looking to put my mother in an OAP home, and rent out her house to pay for it, we realised how much work was needed to bring it up to scratch, so we sold it, as it turned out after her death, but during my life I have worked away a lot, and often considered renting out our home.
To put it all back again is a real pain.

 

[JohnW2]

There are rules on ventilation, Part F of building regulations. See page 5, also page 8, and this ...

As always, you appear to be quoting the guidance which appears in Approved Document F. There are no explicit "rules" about ventilation requirements in Part F of the Building Regs .

 

[ericmark]

I found when dealing with LABC inspectors, if you wanted the completion certificate you do as you are told, and I had to fit an extractor to the wet room even when it had opening windows, and the rules at that time said if the windows opened, you did not need them. He said that if the windows were opened, people could see into the wet room, so we would not open the windows, so fan fitted, once the completion certificate issued the fan was turned off.