Planning, Design & Building Control for Developers and Investors

Discharge of planning conditions

Review and collation of planning and listed building consents and their conditions, preparation and submission of discharge of conditions applications, and liaison with planning and conservation officers and specialist consultants.

Plan and design alterations

Amendments to approved plans and layouts, key details for kitchens and bathrooms, and drawings for non-material or minor material changes where required, giving you an updated, coordinated drawing set.

Mechanical and electrical (M&E) layouts

Mechanical, electrical and plumbing layouts, coordinated with installers and specialist contractors, ready for pricing and installation.

Building control compliance

Building regulations compliance information and specification, coordination of the structural engineer and specialist information, and building control submission support and responses to technical queries.

Higher-risk listed buildings

Higher-risk building rules are not only for modern tower blocks. A tall Victorian or Georgian building divided into flats can reach 18 metres or seven storeys, and under the Building Safety Act that makes it a higher-risk building. Work to it then needs approval from the Building Safety Regulator, not local building control, and cannot start until that approval is granted. Bringing an attic back into use or adding a mansard can take a period building over the threshold.

In a listed building, fire safety has to be achieved without losing the historic fabric that listed building consent protects, such as original plasterwork and staircases. We agree the approach with the conservation officer early, so the fire strategy and the consent work together.

River Bee Design can act on the owner’s behalf: checking whether a listed or period building is likely to be higher-risk, registering it with the Building Safety Regulator, and coordinating the Gateway 2 building control application with the architect, fire engineer and contractor. Regulator decisions often take longer than ordinary building control, so we build that time into your programme from the outset.

Before you commit

A property’s development potential should be understood before significant money is committed. We can assess planning feasibility, conversion and extension potential, change of use and heritage constraints, including before you buy.

Our founder, Marcella Bingley, has hands-on development building experience in London, Hampshire and Berkshire, so she is well versed in the colourful language of a building site!