A demolition and material reuse checklist before works

Before anything comes off a building, settle four questions: whether the demolition itself needs prior approval or consent, what record of the building has to be made first, what hazardous material is present, and what you have committed to reuse or divert from landfill. Demolition of most buildings is permitted development under Part 11 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015, but the right is conditional on applying to the council for prior approval of the method of demolition and the proposed restoration of the site, and that application is routinely forgotten. A demolition and material reuse checklist starts there, because the rest of the sequence depends on it.

Once the roof is off, the audit cannot be done.

Establishing whether prior approval for demolition is needed

Four checks, in order.

Is the building listed, or in a conservation area. Demolition of a listed building needs listed building consent, and substantial demolition of an unlisted building in a conservation area needs planning permission, so Part 11 does not help in either case. Is the building a dwellinghouse or adjoining one, because Part 11 excludes some residential demolition from the permitted right. Is the building covered by an Article 4 direction removing the right. And does the volume or type fall within the exclusions in the class itself.

Where Part 11 does apply, the application is for prior approval of the method of demolition and the restoration of the site, and the council has a defined period to respond. Submit the method statement, the hoarding and site security arrangements, the traffic route and the restoration proposal.

Where demolition forms part of a wider redevelopment with full planning permission, the demolition is usually covered by that permission and the Part 11 route is unnecessary. Check the description of development on the decision notice. If it does not mention demolition, you may still need the prior approval.

Separately, the Building Act 1984 notice to the local authority building control body is a different requirement with its own notice period, and it applies regardless of the planning position.

Recording the building before anything is removed

Record first because the opportunity is one-way.

For a building of any historic interest, a written, drawn and photographic record to the appropriate level is often required by condition, and Historic Building Recording to Historic England levels 1 to 4 is the usual framework, with the level set by the significance of the building and agreed with the conservation officer. Level 1 is a basic visual record and level 4 is a full analytical record. Agree the level before commissioning, because the cost difference is substantial.

For an ordinary commercial building with no heritage interest, a measured survey and a photographic record still earn their place: as-built dimensions for the new design, evidence of pre-existing condition for party wall and boundary purposes, and a record of what was there for the reuse audit.

Record the services too. Positions of incoming mains, meter locations and the drainage layout under the slab are expensive to rediscover.

Surveying materials and their reuse potential

This is the pre-demolition audit, and it is a survey with quantities rather than a statement of intent.

Work through the building element by element and record, for each material stream, the approximate quantity, its condition, whether it can be reused in place, reused elsewhere, recycled or only disposed of, and any constraint such as contamination, fixings or coatings. The streams that repay attention:

• structural steel, which is often reusable after testing
• brick, where lime mortar makes reclamation viable and cement mortar usually does not
• roof slate and tile, structural timber and dimensional stone
• raised floor and ceiling systems, and mechanical plant
• hardcore from slabs and paving, the largest tonnage and the easiest to crush and reuse on site

Crushing on site avoids both the disposal cost and the import cost, and it needs space, a permit or exemption for the crusher, and a dust and noise plan. It is the single biggest win on most sites.

Where the scheme is in London or another authority with circular economy policy, a Circular Economy Statement will be required and the audit feeds it. A Pre-redevelopment Audit covers the same ground in product terms.

Asbestos and hazardous material identification

A refurbishment and demolition asbestos survey is required before demolition, and it is a different, more intrusive survey than a management survey.

The management survey assesses asbestos that will remain in place during normal occupation. The refurbishment and demolition survey is intended to locate all asbestos-containing materials, including those hidden in the structure, so it involves destructive inspection: lifting floors, opening ducts, breaking into risers. Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 the duty to manage sits with the person in control of the premises, and the survey has to be done by a competent surveyor, with licensed removal where the material requires it.

Other hazardous streams to identify at the same time: lead paint and lead flashing, polychlorinated biphenyls in old light fittings and sealants, refrigerants in plant, fluorescent tubes, fire-resistant panels, contaminated made ground beneath slabs, and underground storage tanks. Tanks are the classic late discovery, and finding one during demolition stops the programme.

Setting diversion targets and recording actuals

Commit to figures you can measure, then measure them.

The useful metrics are the percentage of non-hazardous demolition and construction waste diverted from landfill by weight, the percentage reused on site, and the tonnage of each material stream by destination. The statutory site waste management plan regime was revoked, so many councils secure the commitment by condition or by planning obligation instead, and the Site Waste Management Plan remains the document that carries it.

Set the target against the audit rather than against a round number. If the audit shows 1,800 tonnes of concrete and brick hardcore that can be crushed and used as sub-base, the diversion figure follows from the arithmetic and is defensible. A target of 95 per cent with no audit behind it is a number somebody will ask you to evidence.

Record actuals as the work proceeds, from weighbridge tickets and waste transfer notes, with the destination facility named. Retrospective reconstruction from invoices is unreliable and obvious.

Structural elements worth retaining

The largest carbon and cost saving is usually the thing you do not demolish.

Four elements are worth testing before a demolish-and-rebuild decision. Foundations and basement boxes, which can often carry a new frame with strengthening and avoid both demolition and new substructure. Frames, where steel can be reused in situ with a structural appraisal and concrete frames can accept new loads with local strengthening. Floor slabs, where a slab in sound condition saves a large volume of concrete. And facades, where retention changes the planning argument as well as the carbon figure.

A structural appraisal of what can be kept, done before the demolition scope is fixed, is the step that makes retention possible. Once the scope is set and the contractor is appointed on a demolish-all basis, retention becomes a variation nobody wants.

Reporting back against the commitments made

The condition will require a closing report, and the content is predictable.

Include the pre-demolition audit as the baseline, the asbestos survey and removal records, the recording report where one was required, weighbridge tickets and waste transfer notes summarised by stream and destination, the tonnage reused on site with the location it went into, the diversion percentage achieved against the target with an explanation of any shortfall, and the licence or exemption references for any on-site crushing.

Keep it proportionate. A 20-page report with a one-page summary table at the front is read. A box of tickets is not. The construction-phase controls that sit alongside this are in a construction management plan checklist for a tight site, and the pre-submission discipline in an internal quality check before anything leaves the office.

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.