Building Control Newsletter

HELLO!

Welcome to our new look e-newsletter.  This new format will be published quarterly to keep you informed of the latest changes to the Building Regulations; related CPD events; current technical issues and lots of other useful information and advice. 

LABC AWARDS

On 12 June, the South West Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Building Excellence Awards were held in Plymouth.  These awards celebrate all that is good in the construction industry. The awards are not primarily based around aesthetics but instead look for other vital elements in the creation of excellent buildings; technical innovation, sustainability and high performance. We also seek the ‘X’ factor special working relationships that produce new or creative solutions.

The size of projects are not a primary concern in the judging process but instead they recognize excellence across all building projects such as kitchen extensions, new homes, schools, retail centres or specially commissioned high profile projects.

 A huge congratulations go to some of our Plymouth customers who were recognised in this years awards: 

Ian Hosking and Marc Soper of HSK Developments for Best Change of Use of an existing building or conversion. The former Thai Palace on Elliot Street. Highly Commended.  The Architect was Studio JB.

Westcountry Housing achieved Highly Commended for Best social or affordable new housing development for Honeyford Close. Contractor was Ryearch Ltd and Architect Rogers and Jones. 

The winner of the Best inclusive building went to The Endeavour Building, HMS Drake, Architects were Capita and the main contractors were Interserve, the clients were Help for Heroes.

And finally the winner of the LABC site supervisor of the year went to Andy Shepherd of Kier Construction.

We wish Andy Shepherd of Keir and Capita the best of luck at the National Awards which will be held in  London on 12 November, representing the South West.

All of our Building Control Surveyors are on the lookout for projects to be entered into next years awards so if you feel your development is worthy of nomination please speak to your Building Control Surveyor or you can self nominate via the LABC website. For more information please click on the link LABC Awards or email Naomi Cook. 

FREE CPD SESSIONS

We are pleased to announce that we will be restarting our CPD sessions.  The first one will be on 27th of August where there are limited places for an update on all Building Regulation changes that come into effect on 6th October 2015.  This will be held at the Hoiday Inn in Plymouth from 10am until 1.30pm and numbers are strictly limited. If you would like to reserve a place on this training event please email Christopher.berridge@plymouth.gov.uk or call 01752 304343.

On 2 September we will be restarting our popular morning slot from 8am -11am which will include breakfast. 

Steve Preston from Wilkinson Electrical will be presenting on Renewable and Alternative Energy Solutions. Covered within this presentation will be:

• Solar PV. Current feed in tariffs explained.  Is it too late? 
• Air Source Heat Pumps. Noisy, inefficient, expensive? All the myths explained. 
• Under Floor Heating. Screed, timber suspended, from below, retro fit overlay. Discussion on alternatives available.
• Wind Turbines. Small scale (up to 50KW). Could they be for you? 

 Invitations will be sent out nearer the date but if you wish to book your space now please email Christopher.berridge@plymouth.gov.uk  or call 01752 304343, but please be aware numbers are strictly limited in Plymouth Guildhall.

ESCONSULT

Did you know that we have an 'in house' team known as ESConsult who can provide a service that will help make the process of building easier? We provide a value for money, fast response service to anyone requiring any of the following services:

• SAPs and EPCs
• Water Useage Calculations
• SBEMs
• Air Pressure Tests
• Acoustic Testing

You can find an application and fee form for these services on our website.

GETTING TECHNICAL

Downlighters in rigid board insulated ceilings.

An increasingly common issue when rigid board insulation is provided in roofs within loft conversions or vaulted ceilings is the installation of downlighters. Traditional downlights necessitate a hole to be cut through the insulation which means that the vapour control layer is compromised, this creates a cold bridge effect and there will be drafts from the ventilated void which should be avoided. For more information click on the following link, manufacturers opinion however, other product manufacturers give similar guidance notes.

If downlights are required, constructing a warm deck roof will allow the void for the barrel of conventional rooflights to be captured avoiding a cold bridge detail.  Lighting technology is progressing so alternatively LED downlights that fit within 12mm plasterboard are available. 50mm deep assemblies are more commonly available which can be fitted if the ceiling is counterbattened to form a service void. One maunfacturers example can be found via the link Find out more however, there are many types of light on the market which guidance is provided for. Provisions would be required for the remote location of any driver units. Finally, consideration should be given to other options such as perimeter uplighting.

FOLLOW AND LIKE US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

You can now find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

By 'following' or 'liking' our pages you can receive up to date newsfeeds detailing projects that we are currently working on and useful information tips from the department.

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TELEPHONE APPLICATIONS

We now offer an ‘over the telephone’ application service.

This service ensures that your application is registered without delay and payment is made instantly by debit or credit card. 

Details we will need are:

• Applicant details
• Description of works
• Site address and location plan
• (For a Full Plans application) a copy of the drawings to be provided at a later stage 

You can make an application by contacting our Building Control Technical Support team on 01752 304343. 

MAKE AN APPLICATION

You can make an application in three ways: 

1. By telephone on 01752 304343
2. By downloading an application form and emailing it to Buildcon@plymouth.gov.uk
3. By calling into Ballard House, West Hoe Road, or our 1st Stop Shop, 71 New George Street and collecting application forms.  

View our Building Control web pages for more information.

HOW TO CONTACT US

We have a duty surveyor available to answer any questions you may have every day between 8.30am and 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am to 4.30pm on a Friday. They can be contacted on 01752 304343, by email or by dropping into Ballard House reception. Check out who is on call today by looking on our Twitter feed!

To ensure we can improve our service to you, we value any feedback you may be able to provide. A feedback form can be found on our website. We would appreciate you taking just a few minutes of your time to provide us with your comments.

UPDATE YOUR CONTACT DETAILS

We hope you find this email newsletter useful but if you want to unsubscribe please click on the link at the very bottom of the email.

If you have changed your contact details (phone number, office location, company name etc) please email us. 

If you wish us to update your details or provide us with any of your colleagues details please let us know your new details via any of the above.

... AND FINALLY

In Septembers edition of the e-newsletter please look out for other CPD events, staff profiles, our performance statistics and please bear with us while we are overhauling our current website content.

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter and we hope you have found it useful. Please spread the word to your colleagues and if you follow us on social media you will be provided with regular updates on useful information from Building Control.

FURTHER INFORMATION