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The Building Control system is concerned with the statutory codes and standards that buildings are required to meet, as set out in the Building Regulations. These are separate from the planning system, and are generally focussed on standards of construction, performance and safety of the building for a given use. The regulations are very wide ranging, but key aspects include energy use & thermal performance, structural integrity, fire safety & escape, protection from falling, safety and hygiene of building services.
The regulations are administered by either an inspector from the local authority building control department, or by a registered building control approver from a private firm. For very small and simple packages of work the inspectors will simply visit site at key intervals to review work in progress, but for most projects they will first undertake a full review of construction documents produced by the architect, structural engineer, services engineers and any other relevant consultants and specialists.
The building regulations should be considered throughout all stages of a project, but an application will generally be submitted towards the end of Phase 2 when a full package of detail and technical information has been prepared. The inspection process will then continue during construction and the final certificate will only be issued when the works are complete.
