Which reports for demolition and rebuild of one house

Knocking down a house and building a new one is a full planning application for a new dwelling, not a householder application, and that single classification decides most of what follows. The demolish and rebuild house reports package is larger than an extension pack, because the council is assessing a replacement dwelling on its merits and because biodiversity net gain rules apply to new dwellings in a way they do not apply to householder work.

Start with the policy that governs replacement dwellings in your area, because it usually sets a limit on how much bigger the new house can be.

Replacement dwelling policy and the size comparison

Outside designated areas, most local plans allow replacement of an existing dwelling subject to design, amenity and sometimes a limit on the increase in size. In the Green Belt the exception is narrower: the replacement must be in the same use and not materially larger than the one it replaces.

Materially larger has no fixed definition, and councils apply their own measure, usually a percentage increase in volume or floorspace. Establish which measure applies and produce a comparison schedule showing the existing and proposed volume, footprint and height, with the calculation method stated.

Three details recur in refusals. Height increase is scrutinised more heavily than footprint, because it affects the skyline and neighbouring outlook. Outbuildings included in the existing figure are usually excluded unless they are attached and lawful. And a dwelling demolished before permission is granted removes the baseline entirely, so never demolish first.

Where the existing dwelling has permitted development rights that could have been used, that fallback position can be a material consideration. Quantify it rather than mentioning it.

Demolition consent and what actually applies

Demolition of a dwellinghouse falls within the permitted development right for demolition, subject to a prior approval determination on the method of demolition and the proposed restoration of the site. Where the demolition and the replacement are both part of a single planning application, the council will normally treat the demolition as part of the development being permitted.

Conservation areas and listed buildings are different. Demolition of an unlisted building in a conservation area is relevant demolition needing planning permission in its own right, and demolition of a listed building needs listed building consent.

Two parallel obligations sit outside planning. A notice to the building control authority under section 80 of the Building Act 1984 is required before demolition, and the counter-notice can require shoring, drain sealing and making good the adjoining property. Where the property is a semi or a terrace, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 process applies to the shared wall, and it needs starting well before the machine arrives.

Pre-redevelopment audit and material reuse

A pre-redevelopment audit records what is in the building before it comes down: materials, quantities, condition and reuse or recycling potential. Some authorities require one as a validation item on larger schemes, and others ask for it through a circular economy policy.

On a single house it is not usually required, and it is still worth doing where the building contains reclaimable stock brick, slate, timber or stone. A pre-redevelopment audit also feeds the demolition method statement and the waste figures.

Salvaged material has a second use in the planning case. A replacement dwelling that reuses the original bricks or reinstates the original boundary wall reads better to a design officer than one that starts from nothing.

Asbestos, waste and the construction phase

Any building constructed before 2000 may contain asbestos, and a refurbishment and demolition survey under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 is required before demolition work starts. That survey is intrusive and it is not the same as a management survey. Commission it early, because a positive result changes both programme and cost.

Waste is handled through the demolition contractor's duty of care, with a materials schedule and consignment records. A Site Waste Management Plan is no longer a statutory requirement in England, and many councils still ask for one through policy on larger sites, so check the validation list.

Expect a construction management condition. On a tight suburban plot, the plan needs to cover hours, deliveries, wheel washing, dust suppression, hoarding and the parking of operatives' vehicles. Write it for the plot you have.

Biodiversity net gain on a garden plot

This is the item most self-builders miss. Householder development is exempt from mandatory biodiversity net gain. Demolition and replacement of a dwelling creates a new dwelling, so the exemption does not automatically apply.

Two other exemptions may. The de minimis exemption applies where the development affects less than a stated small area of onsite habitat and no priority habitat. The self-build and custom build exemption applies where the development consists of no more than nine dwellings on a site of no more than 0.5 hectares and meets the definition of self-build or custom housebuilding.

Where neither applies, the scheme needs a baseline habitat assessment using the statutory metric, a 10 per cent gain, and a biodiversity gain plan approved by the authority before development begins. The Environment Act 2021 regime expects the metric to be completed by a competent person, and a Biodiversity Net Gain Assessment drafted in advance is a starting point for that person rather than a substitute.

Protected species run alongside and are not exempt in any circumstances. An older house with a tiled roof, soffit gaps or a chimney is a candidate for bat roosts, and a Protected Species Survey with any licence work requires a suitably licensed ecologist under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. Emergence surveys run between May and September, so an autumn discovery means a spring start.

An illustrative document schedule

The following is illustrative and does not describe a real property. A 1960s detached bungalow on a 0.12 hectare plot in a suburban street, no designations, Flood Zone 1, two mature trees on the boundary, proposal to demolish and build a two-storey house.

One financial point closes the picture. Community Infrastructure Levy liability is calculated on net additional floorspace, and existing floorspace can usually be offset where the building has been in lawful use for a continuous period within the last few years. Check the authority's charging schedule and the in-use test before assuming the demolished floorspace counts, because the answer can be worth tens of thousands of pounds.

To check which documents your own plot needs, enter your postcode on PlanScope and answer the guided questions.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.

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