Liverpool City Council - building control

The Building Control system exists to make sure that buildings are properly designed and built for the health, safety, welfare and convenience of people using them.

See our Customer Charter.

We generally operate as a two-stage process; referred to as the Full Plans application. 

The first stage (known as the plan stage) is where the Plan Examination team carefully check plans to make sure that all necessary information is shown; and that it complies fully with the Building Regulations. 

Wherever possible; applicants can make changes (if required) before either an approval, conditional approval or rejection is given. 

The second stage (inspection stage) starts when work begins on site after which a number of site visits are made to check that the work goes ahead in accordance with the plan. 

For more simple works there is a different application. This is called the Building Notice application and is where no plans are submitted and is usually used for small domestic applications

Is Building Regulations approval the same as planning permission?

Building Regulations approval is not the same as getting planning permission for your work. 

Similarly; receiving any planning permission which your work may need is not the same as taking action to make sure that it complies with the Building Regulations.

You can learn more about the difference between Planning Permission and Building Regulations here. 

Do I need Building Regulation Approval?

To find out whether Building regulation approval is required; go to the Planning Wizard.

Find out how the Regulations might apply to various types of building work  by going to an interactive house 

What are the Building Regulations?

The Building Regulations apply to building work in England & Wales and set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the safety and health for people in or about those buildings.

The current Building Regulations were introduced in 2001 and have been updated several times. The principal areas covered by the regulations are:

• Structural stability; will the building safely carry anticipated loadings or will it fall down? 
• Fire precautions; both controlling the materials used according to the degree of risk and making sure that buildings could be evacuated without loss of life in the event of a fire. 
• The prevention of dampness and condensation in buildings. 
• Sound resistance of walls and floors between dwellings. 
• Ventilation of habitable rooms and unheated voids. 
• Hygiene, sanitary appliances and drainage. 
• Heating appliances including the safe discharge of flue gasses. 
• Stairways, ramps and vehicle barriers. 
• Conservation of fuel and power. Is the building properly insulated etc. 
• Access to and use of buildings. 
• The safe positioning of glazing in windows and doors etc. 
• Electrical safety in dwellings.
• Other Building Control Work              

Dangerous Structures/Premises Open to Unauthorised Access

Building Control provide a 24 hour service, working with the police and emergency services to remove danger.   

Demolitions

Building Control must be informed before a building is demolished.

Once the notice has been given; we will issue a counter notice which will specify various conditions relating to the method of demolition proposed and to the general health and safety of the public.

Customer Satisfaction Survey

A Customer Satisfaction Survey was carried out in March 2007 by an independent marketing company (Murray Consultancy). The objective of this survey was to measure customer satisfaction with the Liverpool City Council's Building Control Service. Related objectives included:

1) Identifying mechanism for obtaining appropriate information and documentation
2) Evaluating the ease in understanding:
          o Application forms
          o Scale of charges
3) Measuring satisfaction with Liverpool Direct's Call Centre, and Building Control office staff and inspectorate across a number of dimensions
4) Comparing and contrasting responses by type of applicant
5) Comparing and contrasting 2007 results with the previous Customer Satisfaction Survey carried out in 2005
Summary of Findings

Contact Us

In Person:
By visiting our ground floor reception at:
Millennium House, 60 Victoria Street, Liverpool L1 6JF
(Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 4.45pm, Friday 8.30am to 4.15pm)

By Phone:
0151 233 3021

By Fax:
0151 233 4510

By email
building.control@liverpool.gov.uk

By Letter:
Liverpool City Council
Building Control
Municipal Buildings Dale Street, Liverpool, L1 2DH

Key Staff:
Building Control Manager
Keith Bold (keith.bold@liverpool.gov.uk)
Field Control City Centre
Steve White (steve.white@liverpool.gov.uk)
Field Control North
Greg Allen (greg.allen@liverpool.gov.uk)
Field Control South
Paul Fitzgerald (paul.fitzgerald@liverpool.gov.uk)
Plan Examination/Structural Engineers
Andrew Brookfield (andrew.brookfield@liverpool.gov.uk)
Business Support/Quality Assurance
Gill Bell (gill.bell@liverpool.gov.uk)