Building Control Newsletter

HELLO AGAIN!

Welcome to the 2nd edition of our Building Control e-newsletter. 

If you missed our first edition, this 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. 

NEW SITE INSPECTION AREAS.

From Monday 2 November 2015, the Building Control Team will now work in two districts in the EAST and WEST of the city. 

The current Building Control surveyors who currently work in six districts will now work either side of the dividing line which is approximately from our offices at Ballard House in Millbay along North Hill into Mutley and out to Tavistock road via Mannadon.  This will allow greater continuity between customers and surveyors. 

Please see below for the new EAST / WEST split.  More information on  how to contact the surveyors will be published in the next few weeks on our social media sites.  For the meantime please contact them as usual via the methods described below.

STAFF PROFILE - GUY COOPER

The customers who follow us on social media regularly will be aware that we have introduced staff profiles onto our Facebook and Twitter feeds. This is to keep you up to date with the Building Control staff and so that people are aware who is covering the daily 'counter' advice service that we offer.

The next series of e-newsletters will also include these profiles and will give information on the individual roles and responsibilities and direct contact for members of the team.

Guy Cooper, Building Control Manager

Guy has worked for Plymouth City Council Building Control for 13 years after graduating from the University of Plymouth after studying Building Surveying and the Environment. Prior to this, Guy worked in Leicestershire as a bricklayer constructing new homes and a variety of commercial projects such as hospital buildings, bridges, Leicester and Nottingham University expansions and later went on to develop his skills in all types of roofing techniques.

Guy lives in East Cornwall and enjoys spending time with his children. In his spare time he likes cycling, gig rowing, kayaking, running (badly), sea swimming and eating Cornish pasties! Guy is a volunteer for the RNLI and is an active crewman on the Looe lifeboat, is a sea safety advisor in the local area and is training to be a member of the sea safety educational team.

Guy now oversees the running of the Building Control Office in Plymouth and works on strategic Building Control projects. He still gets involved with some projects from time to time when the need arises so you may still see him out on site occasionally.

If you would like to contact Guy for any Building Regulation matters, his direct number is 01752 305531 or via e mail at guy.cooper@plymouth.gov.uk

LABC AWARDS

Don't forget the deadline for submitting the LABC awards is fast approaching. 

If you have or know of any projects that are worthy of nomination for an award please let your surveyor on site know or contact naomi.cook@plymouth.gov.uk or alternatively you can always nominate the project yourself by visiting the LABC website.  

FREE CPD SESSIONS

Our next CPD event is being held on 12 November 2015. It is our popular morning slot from 8am -11am which will include breakfast. 

Tim Bevan from Durisol UK will be presenting on Durisol products. Covered within this presentation will be:

• History of Durisol.
• Manufacturing process.
• How to build.
• Credentials.
• Q & A session.

To avoid disappointment please book your space now by emailing 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

Updates to the Building Regulations 2015 

1 October was the implementation date for the latest changes to the Approved Documents. 

Notable changes include some levels of performance being dictated by the Planning Policy and approval, optional levels of performance and regional variations. 

Approved Document M	The most significant changes are to Approved Document M. It is now split into two volumes with volume one relating to dwellings and there being three distinct performance standards. Planning policy determines the standard. The required standard to achieve is stated in the Local Plan and will be specifically mentioned in the planning approval. The requirement from Document M is then implemented during the plan and site inspection process by Building Control.
Document Q	Approved Document Q is a brand new volume dealing with security to the external envelope of the building.
Approved Document H	The changes to Approved Document H are minor. The provisions for rainwater drainage now include alterations to make it compatible with the new Document M and makes reference to guidance for bin storage.
Approved Document G	Within the new Approved Document G, planning policy can dictate reduced water usage requirements, however in accordance with variable regional requirements there is no statistical justification for a reduction so the water usage requirement for Plymouth remains at 125 litres per person per day.
	Watch Richard Twine (Head of LABC Guidance) talk through the main changes of the Building Regulation Updates 2015.

For more information on these changes speak to your local Building Control officer or view the Planning Portal website.

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.

  Follow us on Twitter

  Like us on Facebook

  Follow us on Instagram

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 our next edition of the e-newsletter please look out for other CPD events, staff profiles, another technical topic, 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