Which Standards & Approvals apply to construction?

There are a wide variety of standards, approvals, and statutory processes that can apply to a construction project, and it is important to take specific professional advice for each project.

Typically private residential project will require Planning Approval, Building Control Approval, and will be subject to the Construction Design & Management (CDM) Regulations. Party Wall procedures, approvals from utility companies, and Estate and/or Freeholder approvals may also be required in certain circumstances. There are a great number of other protections, constraints, standards and approvals that can apply to building projects. These include ecology, flood risk, arboriculture, security, access, build-over, passive house, EnerPhit, easements, covenants, licensing, sites of special scientific interest, areas of outstanding natural beauty, listed monuments, and many more.

Each standard, approval and statutory process will need to be dealt with at a particular stage in the overall project process. Some require multiple or ongoing review, while others can be dealt with at a specific point in the project programme. Your Project Manager and design team will be able to advise on when each process should be carried out, but the diagram gives a general indication of when some of the most common statutory processes tend to occur during a typically project process.