Demolition prior notification and the cost of getting it wrong

Demolish a building without the prior approval that Part 11 of the General Permitted Development Order 2015 requires and the planning consequence is usually modest. The expensive consequences sit elsewhere: a criminal offence if the building was in a conservation area, a building control counter-notice imposing works you have already made impossible, a lost community infrastructure levy offset worth more than the demolition contract, and a fallback position you can no longer rely on at appeal.

The demolition prior approval part 11 route itself is quick and inexpensive. The cost of getting it wrong runs into six figures on a scheme of any size.

When demolition needs prior approval

Demolition is development, because building operations include demolition. Part 11 of Schedule 2 to the Order grants permitted development rights for it, subject to conditions.

The practical structure is this. Demolition of most buildings is permitted, but where the demolition is not urgent the developer must first apply to the local planning authority for prior approval of the method of demolition and of any proposed restoration of the site. A site notice has to be displayed. Small structures are outside the requirement altogether: a building with a cubic content not exceeding 50 cubic metres, and gates, fences, walls and other means of enclosure, subject to the separate controls that apply in conservation areas.

The rights do not extend to a listed building, a scheduled monument, or a building whose demolition is relevant demolition in a conservation area. Nor do they apply where the building has been rendered unsafe by the action or inaction of someone with an interest in the land, which closes off the demolish-by-neglect route.

The application is for the method, not the principle. The authority is not deciding whether the building should go.

What the notification has to contain

Keep it short and specific. What normally satisfies an authority:

• A site plan identifying the building and the land, with the extent of demolition marked.
• A description of the building and its construction.
• The proposed sequence and method, including whether machine or hand demolition, and the plant to be used.
• Protection of adjoining structures, the highway and any retained trees.
• Dust and noise control measures and the working hours proposed.
• Waste arrangements, which is where a Site Waste Management Plan or a Pre-redevelopment Audit does useful work by identifying what can be reclaimed before anything is broken.
• The proposed restoration of the site: what the cleared site will look like, how it will be secured, and the surface treatment.

Restoration is the part most often left blank, and it is the part authorities condition. A cleared site that sits behind hoarding for two years in a town centre is a planning issue, and saying what happens to it answers the question before it is asked.

Conservation areas and where permission is needed

This is the serious one. Demolition of an unlisted building in a conservation area is relevant demolition, and it requires planning permission. Carrying out relevant demolition without permission is a criminal offence, and the penalties on conviction include imprisonment as well as a fine.

Relevant demolition catches more than whole buildings. Substantial demolition of part of a building can count, and boundary walls above the stated heights are separately controlled in conservation areas. Where the building is listed, listed building consent is required for demolition or partial demolition, and the offence provisions are similar.

If there is any doubt about whether a structure is within a conservation area boundary, or whether it is curtilage-listed, establish it in writing before the contractor arrives. An email from the conservation officer costs nothing and an unlawful demolition cannot be undone.

Building control notification in parallel

Separately from planning, the Building Act 1984 requires notice to be given to the local authority of an intention to demolish, with at least six weeks before work begins for the buildings the Act covers. It is an offence to begin demolition without having given that notice.

The authority may then serve a counter-notice imposing requirements: shoring or otherwise supporting adjacent buildings, weatherproofing exposed surfaces, sealing sewers and drains, removing rubbish, disconnecting services, and making good the ground.

The sequencing trap is obvious once stated. A counter-notice requiring the weatherproofing of an adjoining flank wall is straightforward before demolition and difficult afterwards. Give the notice early and read the counter-notice before the machines are booked.

Party wall, asbestos and construction duties

Three parallel regimes run alongside, and none of them is a planning matter.

The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 requires notice to adjoining owners, with different notice periods for works to a party structure and for excavation near a neighbouring building. Demolition that exposes or removes part of a party wall engages it. An adjoining owner who dissents triggers the surveyor procedure, and the timetable for that is the thing most likely to delay a start on site.

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 require a refurbishment and demolition survey before demolition, licensed contractors for licensed work, and advance notification to the Health and Safety Executive for that work. A survey found to be inadequate once the building is opened up stops the job.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 impose client duties, and a notifiable project requires notification to the executive. Demolition has its own provisions in those Regulations, because of the structural stability risks.

Starting without approval and what it costs

The planning consequence of demolishing without prior approval, outside a conservation area, is that unauthorised development has taken place. In practice authorities rarely pursue it hard once the building is gone, because there is no remedy that helps.

The costs that do bite are these.

A lost levy offset. Where the community infrastructure levy applies, the floorspace of an existing building can be deducted from the chargeable amount only where that building meets the in-use test in the levy regulations, which looks at lawful use for a continuous period within the years before permission is granted. Demolish first and the building may not exist at the relevant date, so the deduction can be lost. On a scheme of any size it is the most expensive of these mistakes by a wide margin.

A lost fallback. A building that still stands supports an argument about what could lawfully be done with it, which can carry weight in an appeal. Demolish it and the argument goes.

A lost baseline. Existing floorspace matters to policies on the loss of employment or retail floorspace, to daylight assessments that compare against the existing envelope, and to heritage arguments about the contribution the building made.

And a retrospective scramble on the parallel duties: an asbestos survey that should have preceded the work, a party wall dispute with no notice served, a building control counter-notice arriving late. The cost of retrospective development covers the broader pattern.

A sequence that keeps the programme intact

1. Confirm conservation area, listed and curtilage status in writing.
2. Commission the asbestos refurbishment and demolition survey.
3. Commission the reclamation and waste audit while the building is intact.
4. Serve the Building Act notice, and allow for the six week period plus a counter-notice.
5. Serve party wall notices, and allow time for dissent and the surveyor procedure.
6. Apply for prior approval of the method and restoration under Part 11, or for planning permission where the building is in a conservation area.
7. Only then confirm the contract and the Construction Management Plan.
8. Where the levy applies, check the in-use position before anything comes down.

See PlanScope pricing for the drafting side of the method statement and waste documents. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval. This is general guidance rather than legal advice, so check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.