Budgeting a demolition prior notification

A demolition prior notification is among the least expensive applications in the planning system and one of the easiest to get wrong in sequence. Part 11 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order grants permission for the demolition of a building, subject to the condition that the developer first applies to the local planning authority for a determination as to whether prior approval is required for the method of demolition and the proposed restoration of the site. The application fee is small and fixed by the national fee regulations. The cost sits in the asbestos survey, the utility disconnections and the building control notice that runs alongside it.

Two separate regimes apply at once, and confusing them is the usual reason a demolition slips by a month.

When demolition needs prior notification

Part 11 covers demolition generally, with exclusions that matter more than the right itself.

The right does not extend to demolishing a listed building, which needs listed building consent. It does not cover the demolition of an unlisted building in a conservation area, which is relevant demolition requiring planning permission, and carrying it out without permission is a criminal offence rather than a breach to be regularised. Scheduled monuments have their own consent regime.

There is also an anti-neglect limitation. Where a building has been rendered unsafe or uninhabitable by the action or inaction of a person with an interest in the land, and it would be practicable to secure safety by works of repair or temporary support, the right is not available. That provision exists to stop owners demolishing by dereliction, and authorities do rely on it.

Where demolition forms part of a project requiring environmental impact assessment, permitted development is unavailable, so the screening position has to be settled first. The cost of that step is covered in environmental impact assessment screening and scoping request costs.

Smaller structures fall outside the notification requirement altogether. Walls, gates and fences below the heights stated in the Order can usually be taken down without any application, and the Order sets out which.

What the method statement has to cover

The authority is determining whether it needs to approve the method, so the submitted description has to be specific enough for that judgement to be made.

Set out, as a minimum:

• the sequence of demolition, building by building and element by element
• the plant to be used and where it will stand
• how the structure will be brought down, and whether any part will be taken down by hand
• dust suppression, noise control and working hours
• hoarding and site security
• protection of retained structures, boundary walls and party walls
• highway cleanliness and wheel washing
• traffic routeing for removal of material

Where a party wall is involved, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 runs in parallel with its own notice periods, and the engineering details of support and weatherproofing have to match what the surveyors agree.

Most of this material is the same content as a construction management plan, and on a site where demolition leads into construction it is sensible to prepare one document and submit extracts, with the construction management plan carrying the full version for the later condition.

Site restoration details

Restoration is the half of the notification applicants skimp on, and it is where officers ask questions.

The authority wants to know what the site will look like after demolition and for how long. That means the extent of slab and foundation removal, the treatment of voids and basements, the levels the site will be left at, the surface and boundary treatment, security fencing, drainage during the interim period, and arrangements for weed and vermin control if the site will stand for months.

Say how long the interim condition will last. A site left as compacted hardcore behind a hoarding for six weeks is a different proposition from one left for three years, and an honest answer gets a better reception than silence.

Where the site will stand open for any length of time, consider the ecological consequence. Bare ground colonises quickly, and a site left for two seasons can acquire features that complicate the later application.

Conservation areas and listed buildings

The separate regime for designated heritage assets is worth restating because the consequences are criminal rather than civil.

Demolishing an unlisted building in a conservation area without planning permission for relevant demolition is an offence. The application needs to address the contribution the building makes to the character and appearance of the area, which is a heritage judgement, and authorities usually expect a replacement scheme to be settled before they will accept the loss. A heritage statement assessing significance and the effect of total loss is the document that carries that argument.

For a listed building, consent is needed for demolition in whole or in part, including internal elements, and the threshold for granting it is high. Partial demolition behind a retained facade is still demolition of part of a listed building.

Budget for this as a full application timeline rather than a 28 day notification. It is a different project.

Building control notice and the counter-notice risk

Section 80 of the Building Act 1984 requires notice of intended demolition to be given to the local authority, with copies to statutory undertakers, the fire authority and the occupiers of adjoining buildings. The authority then has a period in which it can serve a counter-notice under section 81 imposing requirements on how the work is done.

Those requirements are where unbudgeted cost appears. A counter-notice can require shoring and support of adjacent buildings, weatherproofing of exposed surfaces, sealing of sewers and drains, removal of rubbish and material, disconnection of services and making good of adjacent premises. On a terraced or abutting site the shoring and weatherproofing obligations can exceed the demolition contract itself.

Serve the section 80 notice early. The periods for the planning determination and the building control notice can run concurrently, and running them in series wastes weeks.

Asbestos, waste and the audit

An asbestos refurbishment and demolition survey is required before demolition, and it is intrusive by nature, which means access, making good and sometimes temporary works. Licensed removal has to be carried out by a licensed contractor with advance notification to the regulator, and the clearance certificate is a hold point before demolition can proceed.

Do not let the survey be the last thing commissioned. An unexpected finding, particularly sprayed coating or insulation board in concealed locations, can add weeks and a substantial sum.

Waste is the other budget line. Demolition generates the largest waste stream most projects will ever produce, and the economics now favour recovery: crushing concrete for reuse as fill on site avoids both disposal cost and import cost. A pre-redevelopment audit identifies what can be reclaimed or recycled before anything is knocked down, and on a larger building the salvage value of steel, brick and fittings is real money rather than a sustainability gesture.

Hazardous materials each carry their own disposal route, from asbestos and fluorescent tubes to refrigerant gases, tanks and contaminated soils. Where the ground is suspect, the demolition phase is also the opportunity to investigate, and sequencing that properly is the point of budgeting ground investigation on a brownfield plot around the demolition rather than after it.

Programme and what it all costs

An illustrative sequence for a detached commercial building outside a conservation area.

1. Commission the asbestos survey and the pre-demolition audit. Weeks, and the survey may need access arrangements.
2. Request service disconnection quotations from each undertaker. This is the critical path item and should be first, not last.
3. Serve the section 80 notice on the local authority with copies to the statutory bodies and adjoining occupiers.
4. Submit the Part 11 prior approval application with the method and restoration details, having displayed the site notice the Order requires.
5. Wait out the determination period and any counter-notice period, in parallel.
6. Appoint the contractor against a scope that includes the counter-notice requirements, the asbestos removal and the waste recovery strategy.

The planning fee is the smallest number in that list by a wide margin. Budget instead for the survey, the disconnections, the shoring and weatherproofing a counter-notice may require, and the interim site security for however long the plot stands empty.

This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.