Application Process Explained —
Building Regulations in England and Wales are set by Communities and Local Government (CLG). These are standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the safety and health of the people who use those buildings, and they apply to almost every building project.
Traditionally, only inspectors from the local authority were authorised to undertake building control. The Building Act 1984 opened up the market, allowing qualified companies in the private sector to fulfil this role in England and Wales.
ToP Building Control Ltd are one of these companies known as Approved Inspectors and licensed by the Construction Industry Council (licence number 172).
How it works
Contact us as soon as possible when you are considering building work: the earlier we are involved, the more value we can add to the project. Once appointed, we jointly notify the local authority of your intended building work on what is called an ‘Initial Notice’. Once this notice has been accepted by the local authority, the responsibility for plan checking and site inspection will be formally placed on us as the Approved Inspector instead of with the local authority.
We will then:
- Advise you on how the Building Regulations apply to your work
- Check your plans and report back any applicable comments
- Issue a plans approval certificate (if requested)
- Inspect the work as it progresses
- Issue a final certificate, when the work is completed and compliant
Working with you, not against you
We are commercially aware and believe effective building control is all about finding solutions, not problems. We follow the substantive requirements of the Regulations rather than taking a prescriptive approach, allowing you the flexibility to be creative yet still help you to achieve regulatory compliance. We understand innovation.
A consistent service, wherever you work in the country.
We are able to work with everyone, from domestic clients right through to the largest construction and infrastructure projects. We operate throughout the East Midlands, which means we offer real consistency of advice that does not change over borough or county borders.
A qualified team whose performance is monitored and regulated.
All Surveyors are CSCS Professionally qualified person card holders having passed the Construction Skills Managerial and Professional Health and Safety Test. Unlike Local Authority Building Control we are regulated and monitored by the Construction Industry Council and have had to prove we are competent before we were licensed to operate.
Our staff do at least 30 hours’ CPD every year to ensure we are completely up to date and you get a professional adviser with specialist expertise and proven ability.