4th
Apr 2014
Last week, whilst attending the LABC (Local Authority Building Control) conference, held in Nottingham, Stephen Williams MP the minister for communities, told the packed audience all new building work has got to achieve a higher standard of workmanship.
He then went on to explain that building control had already been proven to work by ensuring that the required standards were met and in fact had even saved developers both money and time.
He told the delegates about a visit to Bristol City Council's building control team and said: “The visit really showed me the vital role that you play and the importance of having a strong public sector building control service - to have staff with relevant experience and expertise to ensure that buildings will be safe and high performing.
“I have come to understand how much we should all value the important work undertaken by local authority building control bodies. It is incumbent on government to be mindful of how change can impact on these important services, in order to ensure they continue to be delivered effectively.”
Mr William's speech backed up his views that he had announced directly after the Housing Standards Review was published. The government has issued statements saying that those standards which remain, after many standards which were voluntary are to be dispensed with, must be included in building regulations.
It has already been suggested by the government that in the near future these types of schemes would become mandatory throughout the planning system. In light of this industry bodies, which includes the LABC, have urged the government to accept that all building standard controls to be part of the building regulations and not within the planning procedures, the government has agreed.
At the conference in reply to the minister's speech, LABC chief executive Paul Everall CBE, said: “Our members in local authority building control welcome this vote of confidence from the government in the work that we do. But the government also needs to recognise the extreme financial pressures local authorities are under.
"LABC will continue to press for improvements to the building control system which will lessen the administrative burden both on them and their customers.”
Richard Merrick of PIMS.co.uk says: " The type of regulation controls on building standards is a necessity and we applaud the fact that this should deliver higher quality homes into the by-to-let sector.
"However the question always is whether this will have an impact upon costs to the developer which could then be passed onto the buyer ?
"This could mean that new builds may see private landlords having to charge a higher rent than normally associated with those areas and types of property."
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