Fire, Structural and Basements – Page 5

Tall building fire design and what planning controls

Gateway One asks for design intent, but the application locks in massing, core position and material palette. The six decisions that are far dearer to revisit after permission.

Basement lightwells and neighbour amenity

A front lightwell on a house fronting a highway falls outside householder permitted development. What officers look at, and the four constraints that fix the size before design begins.

Ground gas risk and protection measures in conditions

Ground gas conditions cost little to agree and a great deal to discharge late. The sequence from monitoring rounds to a verified protection system, and the four programming failures that cause delay.

Geotechnical assessment on a sloping site

Slope turns a bearing capacity question into a stability question. The investigation has to cover ground you are not building on, and the drainage strategy becomes a stability measure.

Structural condition and the Class Q barn test

The rebuilding limitation in Class Q decides most barn conversion refusals. A structural appraisal must conclude that conversion is achievable, with every work item mapped to an operation the Order allows.

Underpinning a neighbouring property: the consents needed

Strengthening a neighbour's foundations usually needs no planning permission. What it does need is a party wall notice with the method attached, building control approval, and compliance with any conditioned method statement.

Fire, Structural and Basements6 min read

Party wall procedure against planning permission

Planning permission and a party wall award answer different questions, and neither covers the other. Permitted development work still triggers party wall notices, and excavation near a neighbour's footings catches most extensions.

Writing a fire statement section by section

Article 9A of the Development Management Procedure Order requires a fire statement on the published form for relevant development. Here is what each part has to say and why statements get returned.

Shoring a party wall during conversion works

Temporary support to a party wall is notifiable work under section 2 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. The notice periods, the award and the condition survey all sit outside planning, and they drive the programme.

Fire access for sites served by a private drive

The 45 metre rule, a 3.7 metre clear width, a 3.1 metre gateway and a turning facility on any dead end over 20 metres. Check these before fixing the house position.

Spoil removal from a basement dig and highway impact

A small residential basement generates hundreds of cubic metres of bulked clay and dozens of lorry movements. Put the calculation and the logistics in the application, not in a later condition.

Balcony design and combustibility at planning stage

On a relevant building above the regulation 7 threshold, a balcony is a specified attachment. Timber decking, soffits and handrails all change, and so does the elevation.

Refuse and cycle store fire separation in a block

Refuse stores must be separated by fire-resisting construction and kept out of protected stairways, while carrying distances pull them towards the entrance. Cycle stores now raise the same question.

Evacuation provision for wheelchair users at planning stage

Evacuation lifts need a shaft, a protected lobby and a power route; refuges need clear floor area in the core. Both are fixed by the planning drawings, not by building control.

Escape windows and their effect on elevations

Four numbers in Approved Document B set the minimum opening and maximum cill height. On a period elevation they conflict with sash proportions and with Part K guarding.

Made ground and shallow foundations on a brownfield plot

On a small brownfield plot the depth and variability of the fill decide the foundation. Why differential settlement is the design driver, and how to brief one investigation for both ground and contamination.

Removing internal walls in a conversion

Section 55(2)(a) puts internal works outside planning control, so the real controls are building regulations, listed building consent and party wall notice. What each one needs.

Retaining walls and permitted development limits

The wall may be permitted development. The excavation behind it usually is not. How heights are measured, why sections decide these cases, and what the Party Wall Act adds.

Fire, Structural and Basements6 min read

Basement pumped drainage and non return protection

A basement below the level of the public sewer needs a sump, a pump and protection against surcharge. What Approved Document H expects, and what the council and the sewerage undertaker each want to see.

Gates, barriers and fire service access

Designing out crime and fire appliance access pull in opposite directions at a gated entrance. How to reconcile them on one drawing and keep it working after handover.

Shoring and stability where a neighbour objects

A neighbour's fear of cracking is mostly a party wall matter, unless the development plan has a stability policy. What the council can control and what it cannot.

Geotechnical investigation scope for a small site

A proportionate ground investigation answers six questions about a small site. How to specify the holes, the depths and the laboratory schedule before asking for a quotation.

Facade retention schemes and their consent trail

Holding a facade in the air while the building behind it goes needs more than one consent. What each approval covers, how monitoring triggers are set, and what to submit.