(Local Councils) To receive a presentation from the Building Control Manager of Epping Forest District Council, on the functions and responsibilities of the Council’s Building Control Service, in relation to the construction and extension of buildings.
Minutes:
The Committee received a presentation from the Building Control Manager, J Dixon, who had worked for the Council for 32 years. He had a team of professionals and a technical support team. Building control (BC) was not planning and did not involve neighbour consultations, but was about how the structure was put together. Statutory legislation, the Building Act 1984, gave the Council the power to enforce minimum regulations, but it was not perfect. The building regulations in 1976 were contained in a small document until they were replaced in 2010 by a new set of regulations accompanied by a range of approved documents.
BC covered many areas including to ensure that the structure was sound, was waterproof and would not fall down. In addition to the planning requirements, it covered health and safety around buildings, the conservation of fuel, and the establishment of a disabled access. It was also to do with design features and would involve the developer or architect. The Council’s building surveyors assessed building structures but this could also include small alterations, such as load bearing roofs or door replacements. The onus was on the builder / developer to show BC how they were achieving compliance. The process would ideally involve BC at the outset with a set of plans that the structure should be built to, during construction and after. The issuing of a Building Notice was a formal exercise, charges were levied and the consultation might involve other authorities, such as Essex County Fire and Rescue Service. Within 48 hours of a BC submission, the application would be processed and most inspections were attended on the date requested.
The deregulation of the BC profession in 1985 allowed the establishment of private practices. The National House-Building Council (NHBC) was the first such practice to provide construction warranty and took much of the business, so market competition was intense. In response to this, local authorities formed the Local Authority Building Control (LABC) to deliver BC expertise through local authorities. The Council’s BC team had successfully grown its share of the business through partnership working, by using the LABC’s Partnership Agreement and had increased its partnerships from 6 to 60. This had been achieved through BC meeting and exceeding its targets, maintaining service delivery, and through dedicated training and development. The BC Manager was confident that his teams could maintain the Council’s current market share of 62 per cent. There was the potential for real growth in the BC area and the Council’s BC was a Centre of Excellence.
A question and answer session followed from members.
Councillor S Jackman asked about the Grenfell Tower disaster that seemed to be an example of lax BC, to which the BC Manager replied it was inadvisable of him to comment on this because the Grenfell Public Inquiry had yet to publish its report.
County Councillor V Metcalfe had found the BC presentation fascinating but asked how BC was enforced and how did individuals know they needed to apply for BC certification. The BC Manager replied that the lay person did not always know about BC. It was a service like an other and the BC team was there to answer any questions. There was a lot of non-conformance but the more experienced the builder, the more they would apply. Councillor C Whitbread added that in his experience when a person moved house this is when it came to light. He continued that he had received first class advice from BC last year.
Councillor C C Pond asked about dangerous structures when buildings built decades ago had fallen into disrepair, to which the BC Manager said that most callouts were for incidents that had happened rather than for dilapidated buildings.
Chigwell Parish Council Clerk A Belgrave asked how building regulations applied to buildings that predated statutory legislation. The BC Manager replied that building regulations applied to any building being done presently, it was not retrospective, and a Building Notice would be issued. However, any amendments carried out to a building that ‘triggered’ building regulations would mean that a BC surveyor would have to come back.
Councillor J H Whitehouse asked if BC had run publicity campaigns aimed at ordinary residents, to which the BC Manager replied that the service was advertised to local residents and correspondence had been sent out that explained the BC service area the Council provided. Many recommendations were from personal recommendations, but further investment in publicity aimed at contractors / private industry was probably the best option.
Councillor D Wixley asked about the 1985 deregulation of the industry to allow private BC practices. The BC Manager replied that the introduction of competition was for the better and had raised their game. It was interesting to see how the investment in public health for private profit had evolved, so it would be interesting to see how the BC sector developed.
Epping Town Councillor, D Baird, asked how BC tied into the planning process. The BC Manager replied that BC surveyors were involved in aspects that could trigger planning applications and that they did consult with each other, but in private practice it was not in the planner’s interest to do this.
The Chairman thanked J Dixon for addressing the meeting.