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    Building Regs Circular 032020

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    Đỗ Thành Khang
    The document provides guidance to building control bodies on applying building regulations when additional storeys are added to existing buildings through permitted development rights or planning applications. It notes that building regulations must be applied to both the new storeys and any work on the original building required to ensure compliance. Key areas that must be considered include means of escape, structural integrity including disproportionate collapse, energy efficiency, external wall construction, and sprinkler protection. Links to additional guidance documents are also provided.

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    Building Regs Circular 032020

    Uploaded by

    Đỗ Thành Khang
    19 views4 pages
    The document provides guidance to building control bodies on applying building regulations when additional storeys are added to existing buildings through permitted development rights or planning applications. It notes that building regulations must be applied to both the new storeys and any work on the original building required to ensure compliance. Key areas that must be considered include means of escape, structural integrity including disproportionate collapse, energy efficiency, external wall construction, and sprinkler protection. Links to additional guidance documents are also provided.

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    The document provides guidance to building control bodies on applying building regulations when additional storeys are added to existing buildings through permitted development rights or planning applications. It notes that building regulations must be applied to both the new storeys and any work on the original building required to ensure compliance. Key areas that must be considered include means of escape, structural integrity including disproportionate collapse, energy efficiency, external wall construction, and sprinkler protection. Links to additional guidance documents are also provided.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    19 views4 pages

    Building Regs Circular 032020

    Uploaded by

    Đỗ Thành Khang
    The document provides guidance to building control bodies on applying building regulations when additional storeys are added to existing buildings through permitted development rights or planning applications. It notes that building regulations must be applied to both the new storeys and any work on the original building required to ensure compliance. Key areas that must be considered include means of escape, structural integrity including disproportionate collapse, energy efficiency, external wall construction, and sprinkler protection. Links to additional guidance documents are also provided.

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    10 August 2020

    To:

    The Chief Executive:


    Unitary, Metropolitan, District and London Borough Councils in England
    County and County Borough Councils in Wales
    The Town Clerk, City of London
    The Clerk, Council of the Isles of Scilly
    The Sub-Treasurer, Inner Temple
    The Under Treasurer, Middle Temple

    The Head of Building Control:


    Unitary, Metropolitan, District and London Borough Councils in England
    County and County Borough Councils in Wales
    City of London
    Council of the Isles of Scilly

    Approved Inspectors

    cc: The Chief Executive:


    County Councils in England
    National Park Authorities in England & Wales

    Chair: National Fire Chiefs Council

    Dear Sir or Madam

    The application of building regulations where additional storeys are provided to


    existing buildings

    1. I am writing to you further to new permitted development rights which are intended to
    encourage the provision of new homes through the construction of additional storeys
    on existing buildings including detached blocks of flats, certain commercial buildings
    and dwellinghouses. Details of the rights are set out in the Town and Country
    Planning (General Permitted Development and Miscellaneous Amendments)
    (England) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/632) and the Town and Country
    Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) (No 2) Order
    2020 (S.I. 2020/755).

    Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government


    2 Marsham St,
    Westminster,
    London
    SW1P 4DF
    2. The government hopes that these new permitted development rights will help to
    increase housing supply in England and increase densities by making effective use of
    existing buildings. Ministers wish to ensure that any development of additional storeys
    to create new homes on existing buildings, whether granted permission through a
    permitted development right or on a planning application, is carried out in accordance
    with the relevant building regulations requirements. I am writing therefore to remind
    building control bodies of some key provisions and guidance.

    3. The guidance in this Circular Letter applies to buildings and building work in England.

    Building Regulations 2010 – as amended

    4. Each case must be considered on its own merits, but it is likely that where additional
    storeys are added to an existing building, some work on the original part of the
    building will be necessary. This may not always be set out in the approved documents
    and building control bodies should consider carefully the application of the building
    regulations to these projects.

    5. The regulations pose a series of questions that must be considered, the first being
    whether the work is deemed to be controlled and notifiable. We cannot envisage a
    situation where the addition of new storeys to a building would not be notifiable
    building work, so the following questions then arise;

    • Regulation 4(1) - Does the work itself comply with the applicable requirements?

    Each requirement should be considered in turn and all of them must be met. In
    many cases, the existing building will need to be modified to allow the additional
    storeys to comply. For example, where escape routes from the new
    accommodation pass through the existing building, the full extent of the escape
    route should be addressed to ensure it satisfies B1.

    • Regulation 4(3) - Does the work result in the building, as a whole, being no less
    compliant?

    Each requirement should be considered and where necessary the existing building
    should be modified. For instance, the increased height of the building may result in
    a need to address requirement A3 & B3 for the entire building.

    • Regulations 5 & 6 - Are there requirements relating to material change of use?

    The regulations provide that where a change of use takes place, work must be
    carried out so that the building complies with the applicable requirements listed in
    regulation 6 (this includes a change to the number of dwellings in a building).
    Attention is drawn to regulations 6(2)(a) and 6(3) which relate to external wall
    construction.

    • Regulation 28 - Are there consequential requirements?

    Where the existing building has a useful floor area over 1000m 2 consequential
    improvements to the energy performance may be required. This requirement
    applies to the entire building and will therefore capture many medium to large sized
    buildings.
    Manual to the Building Regulations

    6. Your attention is drawn to the department’s publication, Manual to the Building


    Regulations which provides detailed advice on many of the matters set out in this
    circular. Paragraph A20 provides a useful summary of the provisions for material
    change of use.

    https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
    data/file/901517/Manual_to_building_regs_-_July_2020.pdf

    Disproportionate Collapse

    7. If an additional storey or storeys changes the consequence class of a building during


    the course of building work, it is likely to be less satisfactory in relation to A3 after the
    work, because the change in Consequence Class brings with it a requirement for a
    higher level of robustness measures for the building. The Building Control Alliance has
    published helpful advice on this issue in BCA Technical Guidance Note 21
    “REQUIREMENT A3 – DISPROPORTIONATE COLLAPSE”.

    http://buildingcontrolalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/BCA-GN-21-
    Disproportionate-Collapse-0-Dec-2014.pdf

    Sprinkler Protection

    8. A previous circular letter of 26 May 2020 addresses the provision of sprinklers in


    extensions which is equally relevant to upward extensions.

    https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
    data/file/887227/Approved_Document_B_May_2020_amendment_-
    _Circular_letter_2020.pdf

    External wall construction

    9. Answers to a number of frequently asked questions related to the application of


    regulation 7(2) questions on this which can be found here.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-amendment-regulations-2018-
    frequently-asked-questions/building-amendment-regulations-2018-frequently-asked-
    questions
    Enquiries
    Telephone enquiries on this Circular Letter should be addressed to Technical Policy
    Division on 0303 444 0000 and all e-mail enquiries to enquiries.br@communities.gov.uk.

    Yours faithfully

    F Kirwan

    Deputy Director
    Technical Policy Division
    Building Safety Portfolio

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