When is Building Regulations consent required? When there is a proposal to carry out building works to a church building, it is important to determine whether Building Regulations approval would be required for the works. Building Regulations approval is separate from, and not to be confused with, planning permission. The Building Regulations exist to ensure that works are assessed against set standards for health, safety and environmental impacts.
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The standards required for Building Regulations are set out in a series of ‘Approved Documents’ for each respective element of works (e.g. structure, fire safety or disability access). These documents, applying
to all properties located in England and Wales, can be viewed and downloaded from the gov.uk website. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different Building Regulations, and information for these regulations can be found on each respective government website. It is important to note that some of the documents have separate sections for ‘dwellings’ and ‘buildings other than dwellings’, with works to church buildings falling into the latter. Even if the works that are being proposed to the church building appear to be minor in nature, the need for Building Regulations approval must be checked. You can do this by contacting your Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Department by telephone or email. Generally, each LABC will have a duty surveyor who can confirm whether approval would be needed, based on a summary of the works proposed to be undertaken.
