Fire, Structural and Basements – Page 8

Structural appraisal for rooftop solar on an existing roof

Part 14 permitted development says nothing about whether the roof can carry the array. Here is how to appraise an existing roof, where ballast and wind uplift bite, and what evidence to keep.

The three building safety gateways and where planning sits

Only Gateway One sits in the planning system. Here is what each of the three building safety gateways decides, the definitions that differ between them, and how change control links planning to building control.

Adding storeys under Class AA: structural feasibility first

Prior approval for additional storeys does not test structural capacity. Appraise the frame, the foundations and the escape route before the price is agreed, not after.

Dissolution features: chalk, gypsum and unstable ground

Solution pipes, sinkholes and gypsum collapse are localised hazards that a borehole grid will miss. Here is how to investigate them, and why the drainage strategy has to change.

When a geotechnical investigation is needed for planning

Most small schemes need no ground investigation for planning. Mining legacy, made ground, sloping sites, shrinkable clay and infiltration drainage are the triggers that change that.

Basement spoil removal and construction traffic control

The objection to a basement is the lorries. Calculate the spoil volume, convert it to movements, agree the route and offer the condition before the objections arrive.

Party wall procedure against planning for basements

Planning and party wall are separate regimes with separate rights. Permission does not authorise excavation, and section 6 notices need at least a month before work starts.

Hydrogeology for a basement: screening the flow path

Basement screening is a groundwater question first. Unknown counts as yes, so each screening answer needs a cited source and every scoped pathway needs measured data.

Second staircase rules and their planning consequences

A single extra protected stair changes core area, unit mix, daylight results and the viability case the section 106 package rested on. Consented unstarted schemes feel it most.

How the Health and Safety Executive consults at Gateway One

The Executive cannot refuse an application, but a response saying the fire statement lacks the information to assess the design will stop a recommendation to approve.

Which buildings need a fire statement at Gateway One

Article 9A of the DMPO 2015 requires a fire statement where development involves a relevant building. Both the use limb and the height limb have to be met.

Fire, Structural and Basements6 min read

Demolition asbestos surveys and the planning submission

A refurbishment and demolition survey sits between planning permission and the start of work. Here is where its findings appear in the application and how they move the programme.

1 October 2026Read article →

Temporary works and tree protection on tight sites

The footprint gets tested against the root protection area at design stage. The crane base, the scaffold and the cabins arrive later and land wherever there is space.

Sleeping accommodation below ground in planning policy

Basement bedrooms are consentable with the right evidence on daylight, outlook and escape. The refusal reason, when it comes, is usually one sentence about living conditions.

Fire evidence for a building just below the threshold

Article 9A only bites at 18 metres or seven storeys. Below that line the duty falls away but the questions do not, so the skill is answering proportionately.

Safe egress from habitable basement rooms

A habitable basement needs a way out that works when the stair is smoke logged and when the light well is filling. Here is how policy and detailing interact.

Crane oversailing and third party land

A planning permission grants no rights over a neighbour's airspace. This covers the oversail licence, its terms, the programme risk and how to design the need out.

Cellar conversion or new basement excavation

One project needs no planning application and a few weeks. The other brings Class A arguments, party wall notices, a basement impact assessment and the highly vulnerable flood classification.

Chimney removal and stability in conservation areas

Stack removal is usually a roof alteration rather than demolition, but Article 4 directions, gable restraint and the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 all reach the same job on different tests.

Airspace development above flats: the evidence pack

Airspace schemes above occupied blocks need fire, structural, daylight and logistics evidence assembled together. What the pack contains and the order to build it in.

Roof extensions and structural capacity evidence

Airspace schemes stand or fall on the structural appraisal. What the report has to cover, the intrusive surveys behind it, and the design responses when capacity runs out.

Vibration from construction near listed buildings

Guide values for cosmetic damage were written for ordinary buildings. Here is how trigger levels, monitoring and condition surveys are set for historic fabric.

Retaining walls and boundary ownership in applications

A retained level change on a boundary raises planning, ownership and structural questions at once. Here is how to answer all three before the drawings are finished.

Fire, Structural and Basements6 min read

Underpinning and basements in a terraced house

A basement under a terrace has to answer questions about the neighbours' houses first. Shared party walls, constrained access and continuous ground make the engineering and the planning case harder than on a detached site.