July 2007
Len Cornell
Len Cornell retired from the City of London District Surveyor’s
Office at the end of June. He has played an important role in
London building control through its many changes over the
years.
As a member of various committees of both the British Standards
Institution and the London District Surveyors’ Association, his
contribution to the profession is well recognised.
We are sure that you will join us in wishing Len a well
deserved, long and happy retirement.
Approved Document Part B, Fire Safety
Approved Document B, Fire Safety, has been revised and comes
into force on 6 April 2007.
The Approved Document has been split into two volumes: Volume 1
deals with dwellinghouses and Volume 2 deals with buildings other
than dwellinghouses and will replace the 2000 edition.
Some of the main changes to Approved Document B are:
A new regulation will ensure that owners, occupiers and/or
employers meet their statutory duties under the Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order 2005. Other changes to the previous version
include new guidance on the management of properties, certification
schemes, smoke alarms in flats, the provision of galleries and
inner inner rooms, means of escape (including an option of
providing sprinklers instead of alternative escape routes in
certain dwellinghouses and flats), cavity barriers, ventilation
systems and fire safety information. Means of escape for disabled
people has been incorporated in the general guidance on means of
escape. There is also new guidance applicable to small premises.
There are new requirements for compartment walls and
compartmentation, sprinklers in blocks of flats exceeding 30m,
concealed spaces and firefighting shafts.
A full list of the changes to Approved Document B, Volumes 1 and
2 is available at
Planning
Portal.
May 2007
Opportunities to join our staff
Along with other local authorities within the Greater London
area we are looking to recruit enthusiastic individuals with an
interest in surveying, engineering or construction to join our
office. With the rate of development currently taking place within
the City and the distinctive landmark buildings being proposed now
is a great time to join a vibrant office with opportunities for
advancement.
If you feel that you have something to offer and this
opportunity is of interest you are invited to attend a Graduate
Open Day which is being held in the Marketing Suite at the City of
London on 24 April. Full details of the event are available on the
LDSA
microsite.
How to Apply for the Open Day
In order to find out more about the exciting careers on offer
with LDSA and to book a place on the Open Day, please contact
Gaelle Blake of Hays Recruitment on 0207 259 8767 or email
gaelle.blake@Hays.com.
January 2007
Building Control applications received
Building Regulations applications made since 1986
can now be viewed online.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 comes into force
on 1 October 2006. The Fire Precautions Act 1971 will be repealed
from this date and the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations
1997 will also cease to exist. Owners and occupiers of buildings to
which the Order applies should be aware that, in particular, Part 2
Fire Safety Duties imposes various responsibilities on them. The
Order will be enforced by the London Fire Brigade. Further
information can be viewed at
London Fire Brigade.
October 2006
One London Wall wins Built In Quality Award
The London District Surveyors’ Association has recognised One
London Wall in the LDSA Built In Quality Awards for 2006. The
building took first place in the Best Large Commercial category at
the recent awards ceremony. Foster and Partners designed the
triangular glass office block and it was built by Sir Robert
McAlpine, working closely with the District Surveyor’s Office. One
of the reasons given for this win was the spirit of cooperation and
teamwork fostered by all members of the team. One London Wall has
been entered for the Local Authority Building Control National
Built In Quality Awards, to be held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on
19 October.
New Department name - continued high quality service
From I July the City of London District Surveyor’s Office now
come under the umbrella of the Department of Environmental
Services. Our address and phone numbers remain unchanged.
Crystal Mark awarded for our application forms
Our building notice, full plans, regularisation and section 20
application forms have each been awarded the Crystal Mark by the
Plain English Campaign. The forms are available online or from our
office by phoning 020 7332 1000.
July 2006
Revised Building Regulations charges
On 1 April a new set of charges for Building Regulations plans
approvals and site inspections were introduced. This was part of
our regular review of charges and we have taken into account the
revised scope of Building Regulations requirements, the resources
required for the various cost of works bands and the complexity of
the different work categories. The intention is to ensure that all
jobs are appropriately serviced regardless of size, scope or
category.
The lowest cost bands have the greatest percentage increase
since they have been identified as an area where due account of the
resources involved needs to be more accurately reflected by the
charge for the service. This effect reduces as the cost of works
increases.
It is recognised that there is a reduced scope of work, and
hence involvement, associated with larger internal alterations in
floor layouts and therefore a reduction factor has been introduced
for work in this category in cost bands above £100,000.
Revised Section 20 charges
Revised charges for the approval and inspection work associated
with Section 20 of the London Building Acts (Amendment) Act, 1939
come into effect on 3 June 2006. Details of the new charges are
shown on the Charges page of this website. They are also shown on
the relevant application forms.
Customer surveys
We carry out regular customer surveys to assess our performance
in meeting client needs as well as striving to improve our level of
service. Each survey is targeted at a particular sector of our
customer base to ensure that all areas are considered.
Download the latest summary of responses
PDF (241kb)
March 2006
Revised Building Regulations charges
The legal notification relating to these changes is as follows:
In accordance with Regulation 12(2) of the Building (Local
Authority Charges) Regulations 1998, notice is given that the
Common Council of the City of London Corporation has revised the
Building Regulations Charges Scheme No.1 1999 (Amended). These
charges are in connection with the performance of the City of
London’s functions relating to Building Regulations. These
amendments will come into effect on 1 April 2006.
A copy of the document showing the adjusted charges is available
for inspection from Monday to Friday between the hours of 9.00am
and 5.00pm at the offices of:
The District Surveyor
Department of Technical Services
Guildhall
London
EC2P 2EJ
As from 1 April a new set of charges for Building Regulations plans
approvals and site inspections will be in place. As part of our
regular review of charges we have taken into account the revised
scope of Building Regulations requirements, the resources required
for the various cost of works bands and the complexity of the
different work categories. The intention is to ensure that all jobs
are appropriately serviced regardless of size, scope or
category.
The lowest cost bands have the greatest percentage increase since
they have been identified as an area where due account of the
resources involved needs to be more accurately reflected by the
charge for the service. This effect reduces as the cost of works
increases.
It is recognised that there is a reduced scope of work, and hence
involvement, associated with larger internal alterations in floor
layouts and therefore a reduction factor has been introduced for
work in this category in cost bands above £100,000.
Revised Section 20 charges
It is also proposed to revise our charges that cover the
approval and inspection work associated with Section 20 of the
London Building Acts (Amendment) Act, 1939 and details will be
published shortly.
Customer surveys
We carry out regular customer surveys to assess our performance
in meeting client needs as well as striving to improve our level of
service. Each survey is targeted at a particular sector of our
customer base to ensure that all areas are considered.
Download the latest summary of responses
PDF (204kb)
Building regulations
Consultation papers affecting the Building Regulations are
regularly issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM).
The current papers are
available online.
September 2005
LDSA Built In Quality Awards 2005
The Awards Ceremony for the LDSA Built In Quality Awards for
2005 was held in the City Marketing Suite on 18 May 2005. 30 St
Mary Axe (Swiss Re) won the Innovation Award and the refurbishment
and part rebuilding of 7-15 Fleet Street, EC4 was highly commended
in the Small Commercial category. We would like to add our
congratulations to all those involved in these two City schemes
Partnership
We are pleased to announce that we have entered into a
partnership agreement with the City of London office of King
Sturge, the international property consultants. We are confident
that this partnership will prove mutually beneficial. If you would
like to know more about this scheme and how it could assist you,
please contact our Marketing Manager, Chris Elms on 020 7332
1954.
June 2005
Investors in people
We are pleased to announce that the Department of Technical
Services, of which we are part, has been assessed and judged to
meet the Investors in People standard.
Local Authority Building Control
LABC is the body responsible for promoting building control on
behalf of local authorities nationwide. They produce a periodic
magazine with useful articles and contacts called
Sitelines.
Brochure
We are pleased to announce the publication of a brochure which
gives information about us and the services we provide. Hard copies
are available on request or you can
download the Building Control brochure here
(1.7mb)
Customer surveys
We carry out regular customer surveys to assess our performance
in meeting client needs as well as striving to improve our level of
service. Each survey is targeted at a particular sector of our
customer base to ensure that all areas are considered.
Download the latest summary of
responses PDF (64.8kb)
Should you be interested in taking part in future surveys, which
may be conducted via email, please
send us your details.
January 2005
Partnership
We are pleased to announce that Sidell Gibson Architects have
entered into the Partner Authority Scheme with us. We are confident
that this partnership will prove mutually beneficial. If you would
like to know more about this scheme and how it could assist you,
please contact our Marketing Manager, Chris Elms on 020 7332 1954.
Office reorganisation
We have recently reorganised our office into three
multi-disciplinary teams to best address the needs of our
customers.
Details of the teams’ membership can be found by clicking here.
Chris Elms has taken on the role of our Marketing Manager and he
will be interested to receive enquiries from anyone wishing to
discuss our service and ways that we can best work together
Investors in people
We have embarked on a course of action to become recognised as
Investors in People by April 2005.
Charges
From 1 June 2004 our charges have been amended to reflect better
the resources that we dedicate to schemes.Prior to making your
application you are encouraged to discuss the makeup of the cost of
the work with one of the senior management team who will be happy
to advise you on the relevant items to be included and the
resultant charge.
Details of our latest charges can be viewed by clicking
here.
June 2004
Customer surveys
We carry out regular customer surveys to assess our performance
in meeting client needs as well as striving to improve our level of
service. Each survey is targeted at a particular sector of our
customer base to ensure that all areas are considered.
Download the current summary of
responses (74kb)
Should you be interested in taking part in future surveys, which
may be conducted via email, please
send us your details.
Partnership
We have recently joined the national partnership scheme for
local authority building control (LABC). This allows us to offer a
plans approval service to you for developments that you intend to
construct anywhere in England and Wales. You will achieve
consistency of interpretation by forming a partnership with us that
will be enhanced by the allocation of your business to one of our
multi-disciplined teams. The site inspections, of the previously
agreed details, will be carried out by the local authority in whose
area the work is situated. If you are interested in finding out
more about the scheme and how it could work for you, please contact
one of
our senior management team.
Personnel changes
As a result of Ken Buckett moving to pastures anew Bill Welch
has been promoted to become the Team Leader of our Central North
team. Our best wishes go to Ken in his new venture and
congratulations to Bill. Information on team personnel together
with contact details can be viewed from our
building control areas page.
New charges
On 1 January 2004 we will be introducing charges to cover the
approval and inspection work associated with Section 20 of the
London Building Acts (Amendment) Act 1939. This control (over and
above the Building Regulations) covers certain fire precautions in
buildings of excess height or volume in the Inner London
region.
Any work on these buildings which affects the fire precautions,
will require the deposit of information to us (together with the
appropriate charge) no later than the time at which the application
is made under the Building Regulations.
By introducing these charges, as well as covering our costs, we
are aligning ourselves with other London boroughs both in the
ability to charge and the level of the charge. It is our intention
to reduce the charge for applications that we are also dealing with
under the Building Regulations in recognition of the overlap.
Download the details of these
charges (10kb)
Building regulations
Consultation papers affecting the Building Regulations are
regularly issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM).
The current papers are
available online.
Now available on the ODPM website is the new
Approved Document M - Access to and Use of
Buildings (2004 edition). It will take effect from 1 May
2004. There are significant changes which may affect the way you
approach your project.
Part L - Possible future standards:
The latest standard for the conservation of fuel and power, as set
by the current Approved Documents L1 & L2, is the first of four
stages of proposed improvements that the government intends to
introduce in the period up to around 2008. The ODPM's paper,
published in October 2003, indicates the intention to tighten up
efficiency standards for all new buildings, refurbishments and
improvements in the second stage.
Local Authority Building Control
LABC is the body responsible for promoting building control on
behalf of local authorities nationwide. They produce a periodic
magazine with useful articles and contacts called
Sitelines.
January 2004
Changes to Parts B & E of the Building Regulations
Amendments have been made to the Building Regulations which can
be viewed below.
Part B (with effect from 1
March 2003)
A book of amendments to Approved Document B has been published
by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
(ODPM).
The only change in the new Part B is in paragraph B2 (Internal
fire spread (Linings)). Revised wording has been introduced to take
account of the new European reaction to fire test procedures. The
Approved Document for Part B has been supplemented by this book of
amendments. The new Part B takes effect on 1 March 2003.
Part E (with effect from 1
July 2003)
This edition of Approved Document E – Resistance to the passage
of sound, replaces
the 1992 edition. The main changes are:
E1 - Protection against sound from other parts of the building
and adjoining buildings
(a) This Requirement now includes rooms for residential purposes
as well as dwelling-houses
and flats. “Room for residential purposes” means a room, or suite
of rooms, which is not a dwelling-house or flat and which is used
by one or more persons to live and sleep in, including rooms in
hotels, hostels, boarding houses, halls of residence and
residential homes but not including rooms in hospitals, or other
similar establishments, used for patient accommodation.
(b) Performance standards are given for walls, floors and stairs
having a separating function,
in new buildings and buildings formed by change of use. Site
testing of sound insulation is intended on a sampling basis.
E2 Protection against sound within a dwelling-house etc
(c) This is a new requirement that sets standards for the sound
insulation of walls and floors in dwelling-houses, flats and rooms
for residential purposes. Site testing is not intended.
E3 Reverberation in the common internal parts of buildings
containing flats or rooms
for residential purposes.
(d) This is a new Requirement to control reverberation in the
common parts of buildings
containing flats or rooms for residential purposes. Site testing is
not intended. E4 Acoustic conditions in schools
(e) All new school buildings are now controlled under the
Building Regulations, and this Requirement covers the sound
insulation, reverberation time and indoor ambient noise
levels. Guidance on meeting the Requirement is given in Building
Bulletin 93, to be published by the Department for Education and
Skills (DfES) in 2003.
Part C - Site
preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture
Part C of the Building Regulations is under review for
amendment. The consultation paper for this exercise can be accessed
at the above link with responses due to be returned to the ODPM by
10th March 2003.
The Government has set up a design advice service to aid
developers and designers achieve energy efficient buildings. The
service includes free consultation for new build and refurbishment
projects with a floor area of 500m² or above it can be accessed at
the Design Advice website.