NEWS, PLANNING
Permitted Development
What are Permitted Development Rights?
You can make certain types of minor changes to your house without needing to apply for planning permission. These are called “permitted development rights”. The rights come from a general planning permission granted by Parliament. Permitted development rights which apply to many common projects for houses do not apply to flats, maisonettes or other buildings.
Permitted Development Rights 2014
The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment and Consequential Provisions) (England) Order 2014 came into effect from 6th April 2014.
The new legislation widens permitted development for Part 3 change of use to new areas, including farm buildings to dwelling houses and shops (A1 use) and financial/professional services premises (A2 uses) to dwelling houses. However, as with the 2013 GPDO, the Prior Approval regime applies to most of the permitted development, and this has been extended to include design/appearance considerations in some cases.
Publication Reference:
http://www.wealden.gov.uk/Wealden/
Residents/Planning_and_Building_Control
/Planning_Development_Management/
Planning_Advice/Planning_Permitted_
Development_Rights.aspx
NEWS, ECO BUILD
Sustainable Building Design
Ecobuild has joined forces with NBS to deliver free Building Information Modelling (BIM) training for every level – from the technical and granular, through to the basics for those just starting out.
Taking place at the 2015 event (3rd to 5th March, ExCeL London) Ecobuild will work with the NBS team (www.thenbs.com), to up-skill the entire BIM chain, including architects, designers, engineers, surveyors and facilities managers with a three-day seminar programme.
The Government’s Construction Strategy and its requirement for ‘fully collaborative 3D BIM as a minimum by 2016 is fast approaching, yet there is still considerable disparity in understanding of what BIM means and a lack of good implementation case studies. As the first live event to provide free BIM education for all, Ecobuild will help to address this knowledge gap.
Ian Chapman, Director of the NBS National BIM Library and Director of buildSMART UK commented, “Our latest National BIM Report showed that awareness of BIM is now nearly universal in the UK at 95%. The challenge, however, is the lack of confidence the industry has in implementing it. According to our research, lack of in-house expertise is one of the biggest barriers to successful adoption.”
He went on to add, “Cross discipline adoption and ownership of BIM is only going to be achieved through better understanding and training. At Ecobuild 2015 we will be in the final countdown to the government mandate on BIM. The industry has a lot to do to be ready.”
Publication Reference:
http://www.ecobuild.co.uk/page.cfm/
action=Press/libID=1/lib
EntryID=578/listID=4
NEWS, BUILDING REGULATIONS
New Part L Update, 2014
Following the consultation documents, DCLG will shortly release the new Approved Documents to support Part L changes, which become effective from 6 April 2014.
Existing dwellings
There is good news for existing homeowners, as there are no proposed changes to energy efficiency standards for works on existing dwellings. Other than some minor modifications to aid clarity and provide flexibility, loft conversions and extensions can continue to use the standards detailed in the 2010 edition of Part L.
New housing
The proposed changes are equivalent to a 6% improvement, and concentrate on performance of the fabric.
The recipe for compliance will be essentially a Target Fabric Energy Efficiency (TFEE) rate coupled with a Target CO2 Emission Rate (TER).
In addition, an ‘elemental recipe’ approach will be included, which in itself will provide a compliant solution. It may not be the most cost effective for everyone but it might make the task of compliance easier for some buildings. DCLG stress this is not a return to a more prescriptive approach, more a robust starting point for compliance.
As part of the commitment to take a sensible cost effective step towards zero carbon homes in 2016 existing fuel factors will be retained in line with the current requirements and there are some relaxed requirements for fabric performance for detached dwellings
Non-domestic buildings
An aggregate 9% CO2 target uplift is proposed, with more onerous targets set for building types such as schools, offices and hotels. Again the focus will be on improving fabric performance and tightening controls on items like chillers and lighting, although for lighting there will be the option of using the Lighting Energy Numeric Indicator as a method of demonstrating compliance.
Publication Reference:
http://www.aedisgroup.co.uk/
preview-part-l-updates-201
NEWS, ARCHITECTURE
Architecture Press
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is launching two new and innovative building contracts next month (5 November). Designed to be used in conjunction with RIBA’s Architect’s Appointment Agreements for Small Projects (domestic and concise forms); the new contracts are fully aligned with the RIBA Plan of Work 2013.
The new contracts have been designed in response to feedback from RIBA members calling for improvement and innovation within the building contracts currently available.
The RIBA Domestic Building Contract provides a simple, comprehensive and legally appropriate contract solution for all types of non-commercial work, including renovations, extensions, maintenance and new buildings. The contract is endorsed by the Home Owners Alliance.
The RIBA Concise Building Contract provides a complete contract solution to cover small scale commercial building projects of a standard and straightforward nature.
The new RIBA Building Contracts form part of a move towards a holistic suite of project contracts that can be prepared and stored digitally and are more relevant and focused around the needs of those undertaking smaller projects – a more intelligent and flexible suite of documents that are easier to use, yet reduce risks to both parties and the project overall. The RIBA is also working on updating the suite of RIBA Agreements, to be available as an online tool.
Publication Reference:
http://www.architecture.com/RIBA
/Contactus/NewsAndPress/
PressReleases/2014/
RIBAtolaunchnewrangeofbuilding
contracts.aspx