News
Building Control Approved Documents
(29 February 2008)
The regulations cover all aspects of construction including foundations, insulation, energy conservation and means of escape, and are constantly reviewed.
There are a number of guidance documents referred to as 'Approved Documents' that contain practical ways and explanations of how to comply with the functional requirements of the Building Regulations. These 'Approved Documents' are separated into 14 parts:
- Structural stability (Part A) - will the building safely carry anticipated loadings
- Fire Precautions (Part B) - both controlling the materials used according to the degree of risk and making sure that buildings can be evacuated without loss of life
- The prevention of dampness (Part C) - water penetrations and condensation in buildings
- Toxic substances (Part D)
- Sound resistance (Part E) of walls and floors between dwellings
- Ventilation (Part F) of habitable rooms and unheated voids
- Hygiene (Part G) - sanitary appliances and drainage
- Drainage and waste disposal (Part H) - meeting health and environmental standards
- Heating appliances (Part J) - including the safe discharge of flue gases
- Stairways (Part K) - ramps and vehicle barriers
- Conservation of fuel and power (Part L) - is the building properly insulated and built to minimise environmental damage
- Access (Part M) to buildings and facilities for disabled people
- The safe positioning of glazing (Part N) in windows and doors etc
- Electrical safety (Part P)
To view the documents in pdf format, visit the Approved Documents page of the Planning Portal website.
Bridgend County Borough Council Now Enabled for Electronic Submissions
(05 February 2008)
Submit-a-Plan is pleased to announce that Bridgend County Borough Council has recently enabled the electronic receipt of applications from the Submit-a-Plan National Building Control Portal. The move from a postal only listing on the portal to enabling electronic submissions continues to support the move towards electronic working.
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Other Local Authorities making the move from postal to electronic submissions that are due to be enabled shortly are;
- Warrington Borough Council
Coventry City Council Now Enabled for Electronic Submissions
(05 February 2008)
Submit-a-Plan is pleased to announce that Coventry City Council has recently enabled the electronic receipt of applications from the Submit-a-Plan National Building Control Portal. The move from a postal only listing on the portal to enabling electronic submissions continues to support the move towards electronic working.
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“The LABC Submit-a-Plan Portal enables us to offer a modern electronic application service to our customers”
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Steve Davies, Building Control Manager, Coventry City Council
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Other Local Authorities making the move from postal to electronic submissions that are due to be enabled shortly are;
- Warrington Borough Council
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint With Submit-a-Plan
(23 January 2008)
With every electronic submission you make on Submit-a-Plan you are helping to reduce your Carbon Footprint.
This is because applications that are submitted electronically are sent directly to the Local Authority removing the requirement to print and post the applications which require additional energy.
The Environmental Impact of Postal Applications
- Over 190,000 kg of paper is used every year making postal applications.
- Over £1.3 Million is spent annually on printing and posting applications.
- Equivalent CO2 is produced to running 179 cars for a year.
- Every paper based application produces equivalent CO2 emissions as leaving a TV on for over 7 hours or lighting a house for 27 days.
If the Authority that you want to send an electronic application to only accepts them by post then please let us know so that we can inform them of the requests. You may also want to contact them directly.
Full environmental details are available on request.
North Shropshire Now Enabled for Electronic Submissions
(05 February 2008)
Submit-a-Plan is pleased to announce that North Shropshire District Council has recently enabled the electronic receipt of applications from the Submit-a-Plan National Building Control Portal. The move from a postal only listing on the portal to enabling electronic submissions continues to support the move towards electronic working.
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“Our Building Control Team were keen to help build on the national coverage of the LABC Submit-a-Plan Portal…. The benefits to our customers are tremendous and really mark us out from the services approved inspectors can provide.”
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Peter Armitage, Head of Building Control, North Shropshire District Council .
Other Local Authorities making the move from postal to electronic submissions that are due to be enabled shortly are;
Fenland’s Largest Architectural Practice Streamlines Building Control Applications
(05 February 2008)
Fenland’s Largest Architectural Practice Streamlines Building Control Applications By Applying Online
Nigel Lowe is Senior Technician at Peter Humphrey Associates, Fenland’s largest architectural practice. The practice undertake all types of building projects including new build, conversions, extensions and refurbishments both in the domestic and commercial fields.
Until recently, submitting application forms for Building Control Applications was a laborious and time consuming process. Each application previously required completed application forms and drawings to be prepared together with packaging and posting. The whole process could take several hours. With the large numbers of applications that Peter Humphreys Associates completes every month this equated to a significant amount of unproductive time.
Nigel Lowe was introduced to the LABC Submit-a-Plan Portal for electronic Building Control applications by Nick Seaton, Building Control Manager at Fenland District Council after going live with the system.
Nigel comments: “Since being introduced to the LABC Submit-a-Plan Portal we have not looked back. I have recommended that everybody in the company uses it, an application can now be completed in less than ten minutes; this is a much more efficient process. Not only that, because www.submit-a-plan.com is a National LABC portal it means which ever authority we need to submit an application to we complete the same standard forms, this makes the process easier and faster for us. We have been using the Planning Portal for electronic Planning applications and I was pleased to be informed that the details from applications made on www.planningportal.gov.uk will be available on the LABC Submit-a-Plan Portal ready for a Building Control application. This means no double inputting of information, the applications will virtually complete themselves.”
Nick Seaton , Building Control Manager at Fenland District Council comments:
“…we knew that electronic applications were the way forward, and our customer feed back proves it. We made a conscious decision from the start of the project not just to install a system, but to embrace technology and new methods of working for the benefit of our customers…”
Fenland District Council now receives 23% of Full Plan Applications electronically though the LABC Submit-a-Plan Portal in less than a year since going live.
Weekly Maintenance Schedule
(12 March 2008)
Weekly product and server maintenance is scheduled to occur every Wednesday at 23:00hrs.
The next maintenance window is scheduled for Wednesday 19th March 2008 at 23:00hrs.
It is anticipated that SaP & DoL will be unavaliable for a maximum of 30 minutes while this maintenance is in progress.
Resolution Data Management would like to apologise for any inconvienience this may cause.
Kevin Bramwell Designs On Using Submit-a-Plan
(04 October 2007)
Kevin Bramwell reports that it “really is very easy to use and once you have created one application from then on it is plain sailing greatly improving the Building Control experience. Not only is the initial application quicker but also amendments can go back and forward electronically meaning in some cases approval can be agreed the same day.
In fact I deal with two other authorities Cannock and Litchfield in the same way and would highly recommend that anyone creating information on a CAD system will find it much easier and more convenient to submit applications using Submit-a-Plan than the traditional paper in the post method. We have had no problems to date and will be growing our usage to speed up our processes and in turn offer a quick service to our clients.
I almost forgot to mention that the service is completely free of charge! Why would you not utilise this service?”
New Submit-a-Plan Portal Boosts Application Numbers
(26 September 2007)
Following the recent launch of the new Submit-a-Plan Portal Resolution Data Management is pleased to announce a surge in application numbers since the new site went live on 4th June 2007.
In the first two months after the launch of the new Submit-a-Plan portal application numbers increased over 200% compared to the previous two months.
As well as a fresh look the new Submit-a-Plan Portal boasts lots of new functionality to make Building Control applications even easier!!!
New enhancements for applicants include:
- All Local Authorities enabled for electronic or postal submissions
- New forms
- New online application management
- New fast document application submission
- Option to use map to select Local Authority
- Ability to save part complete applications
- View drawings before submitting
- Plus much more…
Applications Rocket Over 700% In Two Years
(30 August 2007)
The demand for electronic Building Control Applications continues to increase as more applicants go online to reap the financial, convenience and environmental benefits of an electronic submission service. In the past two years alone application numbers have increased a massive 709% when comparing the first two months of the new Submit-a-Plan Portal going launched live to the same period in 2005.
Scheduled Weekly Maintenance Window
(07 January 2008)
Weekly product and server maintenance is scheduled to occur every Wednesday at 23:00hrs.
The next maintenance window is scheduled for Wednesday 9th January 2008 at 23:00hrs.
It is anticipated that SaP & DoL will be unavaliable for a maximum of 30 minutes while this maintenance is in progress.
Resolution Data Management would like to apologise for any inconvienience this may cause.