Services

Building Regulations
Services

Put in place to ensure inhabitant safety once constructed, building regulations monitor features such as structural integrity, energy use, accessibility, sound insulation and safety throughout the course of a build – from design, throughout construction and applying to any post-build alterations. Offering Full Plan, Building Notice and Retrospective applications, our Architectural Technicians are well-versed in meeting these ever-updating regulations, no matter the nature of your build.

How we work
Where required, Cornwall Planning Group will produce construction drawings that extensively detail complex features such as the required dimensions, composition, profile, shape or position of a build. Regularly liaising with other professionals, including engineers, surveyors and consultants to gather useful information, our team is dedicated to ensuring interactions with planning and building control run issue-free.

Our experienced team of Architectural Technicians are well versed in building regulations. Proficient in submitting building work applications to building control, we offer a variety of services tailored to your individual build’s needs.

Additionally, we pride ourselves being able to convert Planning Drawings into detailed Building Regulations Drawings, required for and enhancing any full plan application - no matter whether we produced the initial document or not. Depending on the complexity and timeframe of your build, we offer the following:
Full Plans Application
Perfect for self-builds and extensions, our in-depth plans feature visualisations and come fully annotated, designed to acquire definitive project approval. Through our thorough understanding of your brief and vision, we’re diligent in making sure every standard is met; both the council’s and your own.
Building Notice Application
It is required to give building control 48 hours notice of your intention to start building work. Recommended for smaller, straightforward projects, our concise building notice applications provide the where and what of a build, avoiding any confusion across the board.
Retrospective Application
Also known as regularisation, these applications evaluate unauthorised work (work carried out without either of the above applications being submitted). We aim to minimise the potential risk associated with pre-existing builds, clearly conveying to the council how the build falls in line with regulation.
Basic Compliance Package
Any set of drawings we produce will be more than enough to get your project, literally, off the ground. Outlining specifications such as material considerations, structural plans, access, insulation, energy consumption and building use, our drawings are accessible to everyone involved in the building process; from complete novices to building control officers.
Detailed Level Working
or those who know exactly what they want and the most efficient build possible, we offer detailed drawings that feature all of the above, whilst creating comprehensive pricing totals and thoroughly explaining the specifics of your construction to builders.
As Built Retrospective Survey
Producing to-scale drawings of an already built development, these specifications are extremely useful when planning redevelopment on a property or performing retrospective applications.
Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) and Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)
It is widely recommended that a build’s SAP rating is assessed before any planning applications are submitted, to ensure that a property’s annual energy cost is as low as possible.

Headed by a country-leading assessor, our SAP team have been trained to a government standard to perform accurate SAP calculations, preventing costly redesigns and streamlining the planning process as a whole. These services are offered as a useful addition to our building plans - no one knows our designs like we do, allowing us to solve any problems that arise efficiently and effectively.

Alternatively, our team is just as experienced in overseeing assessments of externally sourced plans, existing buildings and barn conversions. We are flexible enough to approach each new build in a cost-effective way - even incorporating renewable technology, for instance - to further improve a plan’s EPC rating whilst meeting building regulations.

Through our administrative and practical knowledge in adhering to legal power conservation documents, our projects receive bespoke EPC ratings when builds are finalised.
Air Pressure Testing
Building Regulations require that an air pressure test (APT) is carried out on the majority of all newly built properties - especially new-dwelling houses, barn conversions and commercial buildings. Combatting air leakage and restriction, we ensure your build is building regulation compliant and energy efficient.

Offering a fast, reliable and thorough testing service across England and Wales, we are capable of joining a project at any point. Even in the developmental stage, we can perform accurate desktop calculations on an approved set of plans, preventing any unwanted surprises further along the building process.

Alternatively, bring us on board to head to the site ourselves for a full survey prior to an actual test - finely preparing your building through visual inspections and expert consultancy with your builders to solve any problems that arise. We’re ATTMA (The Air Tightness Testing & Measurement Association) certified, so you know you’re in safe hands.

As for the tests themselves, we use UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) calibrated equipment to perform an on-site air pressure test of the building envelope. This inspection of the exterior of the structure allows us to produce a detailed, illustrated test report that identifies any potential shortcomings, whilst suggesting solutions to ensure your build meets building regulations and is as cost-effective as possible.

Of course, these optimal results come when the APT is performed as part of a full plan application overseen by Cornwall Planning Group, so every aspect of your build compliments the impending tests. Upon completion, we will submit an Air Pressure Test Certificate to you, your builder and Building Control; meaning you don’t have to worry about a thing.
House Warranty Provider
All mortgage companies and property patrons will require a building warranty be produced - an insurance policy guaranteeing the standard of a given build.

Cornwall Planning Group offers both full package and commercial warranty services, gaining new or retrospective certification on the following buildings:

• New Builds
• Barn Conversions
• Commercial Buildings

Working closely with all on-site contractors, we ensure that all building regulations and compliance standards have been achieved to the highest level. In every case, we carry out additional site inspections to Building Control, conducting comprehensive surveys of intended works to fully reassure you on the quality of your build.

This service is provided in accordance with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and indemnifies clients with either a 6 or 10 year Professional Consultants Certificate (PCC) through Cornwall Planning Group.