Building Officials - England & Wales

England & Wales

In England and Wales building control bodies (BCB) may be of two primary forms, either established under Local Authority control or private bodies (Approved Inspectors). Applicants wishing to carry out work controlled under the Building Act have the choice to select either the local Building Control or an Approved Inspector. However, where local legislation is prevalent the Approved Inspector will be charged with liaising with the relevant local authority body for the necessary approvals.

The Secretary of State issues guidance in support of the Building Regulations in the form of Approved Documents which are not mandatory. The Building Regulations are functional and therefore designers are free to offer alternative solutions to satisfying the functional requirements. The burden of proof is then placed on the designers to demonstrate that the alternative solution proposed offers a level of performance which satisfies the intent of the functional requirement. There is nothing in the Regulations which imposes a duty on the applicant under those circumstances to use the guidance as a benchmark of performance, although this is of course a route often taken as a way of demonstrating that an alternative approach is of an acceptable standard.

Appeals against decisions made by BCBs are to the Secretary of State who will make a determination after considering all of the facts of a particular case.