PLEASE NOTE: Essential maintenance is being carried out to the planning, building control and local land charges database for the week commencing 12 April 2021 through to 16 April 2021. During this time there will be no public or staff access to any records held within this database, and it will not be possible to carry out any of the following tasks via the Arun website: Research planning and building control history View any planning applications, plans, agreements, tree preservation orders or competent persons data Submit building control applications Submit planning application comments Report any planning compliance issues If you have an urgent building control inspection during this period, you will need to know the exact reference number, site location, and nature of the works before making contact with building control. However, you are advised to book inspections before or after the week commencing 12 April 2021. All other aspects of planning, building control and local land charges will be limited during this week and you are strongly advised to contact the individual departments before 12 April 2021 for specific restrictions during this time. The publicity and consultation period for all planning applications that fall over this week will be extended by a further week to ensure no one is disadvantaged.

 

Following Government’s latest lockdown restrictions Arun District Council Building Control have updated their Covid 19 inspection policy as at 5^th January 2021 to reflect the continuation of Construction works across the district.

We will carry out all inspections on unoccupied properties or where the work can be seen from outside without having to go through an occupied building.

For other inspections these will be assessed on a case by case basis and you may be asked to complete an Access Declaration. You will be advised of this when you book your inspection.

Central to these latest arrangements is still the continuing need to ensure social distancing for all parties involved with building projects and to limit access into occupied properties.

The full updated Inspection policy is available here: Building Control Inspection Policy updated January 2021

To recap, when you require a Building Control Inspection of your construction project, we are looking for your co-operation to do the following:

• Notify your inspection request in the normal manner (please email bldg.con@arun.gov.uk or call 01903 737756) by 5pm the day before the inspection is due (4.45pm on Fridays) but preferably at least 24 hours before you need a response from Building Control. It will be necessary for you to provide your telephone number so we can call you back if needed.
• When booking any inspection, you will be asked whether the site visit can take place without going into an occupied property. At the same time several questions about coronavirus matters will be asked.
• Due to an unprecedented number of Completion Inspection requests, we are asking that these are only booked for Monday – Wednesday. We are also trying to limit the number of inspections we carry out inside people’s homes. So, if the Completion Inspection is not required for a House Sale (or other financial reason) you may be asked to rebook.
• Whether the inspection is for an external or internal site visit will dictate whether a remote or actual visit is made, and you will be advised of this at the time you book. If the former, you will be asked to submit photographs and/or video clips of the work you wish to be inspected to bldg.con@arun.gov.uk (please remember to quote the site address, your Building Control reference and also your telephone number). Do not take photos instead of booking an inspection or speaking to a member of Building Control. 
• Finally, please ensure you avoid trying to contact individual officers directly - even if they have dealt with you on a previous occasion. Officers may become ill in the future or be unavailable and your request may not be dealt with in time.

These continue to be unusual times and whilst we always welcome having the opportunity to provide advice on site, you can still continue to contact Building Control for guidance, information or assistance by phone or email (see above contact details).

As an aside to how we intend to conduct inspections for the duration, these latest arrangements will not affect how we administer new Building Regulation applications. As normal, new applications should be submitted online by following this link:  https://www.arun.gov.uk/make-an-application 

Any impact on this policy following updated Government advice as we move into Autumn will be published on this page.

Finally, if you require any further information or assurance regarding your Building Control project, please call our Contact Centre on 01903 737756 or email at bldg.con@arun.gov.uk

Jim Henn,

Building Control Manager