Building regulations drawings in Barnet

Trees, roots and foundations in Barnet

The council records 718 tree preservation orders and 3,219 tree preservation zones. A tree near a new extension affects the foundation, since roots take water from clay soil and the depth of the foundation has to allow for that. It affects the planning side too, because protected trees limit what may be cut or dug.

So we ask early about trees on or beside your plot, ours and the neighbour's. The engineer sizes the foundations with them in mind, and the drawings show the depth, the compressible fill where needed and the trench position against the root zone. It is a small question at survey stage and an expensive one if it surfaces on site.

Listed houses and conservation areas in Barnet

Barnet has 16 conservation areas and 15 Article 4 directions, and Historic England lists 651 entries inside the borough. A listed house needs listed building consent for most changes, and that consent is separate from both planning permission and Building Regulations.

For these houses we draft the regulations package with the least intrusive solutions in view: insulation that does not hide original features, structural openings that keep original walls where possible, and fire protection that avoids new partitions across historic rooms. Building control can sometimes accept a reasoned alternative where the standard fix would harm the building, and we record the reasoning in the drawing notes.

Notices and timings once the drawings are in

A full plans application is decided within a set period: Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writing. Before work starts, Give notice of intention to start; work may start 2 days after the notice.

During the job, Notify commencement within 5 days after work is regarded as commenced. At the end, Notify completion within 5 days of completing the work. We list each of these in the handover pack, so your builder has the dates in one place.

How Barnet decides householder applications

Barnet decided 1,361 householder applications in its latest published year and granted 80.2 per cent. 95.1 per cent were decided within eight weeks or an agreed extension.

These are planning figures for a busy borough, and they do not measure building control. We note them because the planning decision starts the regulations work, so the timing record helps us plan, without promising any date.

The drawing set and its price

A Barnet set has foundation and ground-floor plans, upper floor and roof plans, structural and construction sections, drainage and a full specification, coordinated with the engineer. Building regulations drawings start at £845, VAT included, fixed before you commit.

A second chartered technologist checks every sheet before submission. If the council asks for changes, we redraw at no charge until approval. Approval lapses if work does not commence, and for an extension the rule is that Approval lapses unless work commences; for an extension, commencement means foundations, any basement and ground floor structure complete; other work, 15% of the work stated in the application.

Where a project combines a ground-floor extension with a loft, we draw both in one coordinated set when you ask. The steel that carries the new loft floor then lines up with the beams below it, and the stair, the fire protection and the insulation are shown once, in one place, instead of being repeated in two packages that can drift apart.

Other services in Barnet and neighbouring boroughs

Before this stage you may need planning drawings in Barnet or a Lawful Development Certificate in Barnet. For the next stage, see construction drawings in Barnet and SAP calculations in Barnet.

The whole borough is covered at architectural drawings in Barnet. Neighbouring councils with the same service include Hertsmere, Enfield and Camden.