London
Building Compliance in Greenwich
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Greenwich full plans and construction evidence
Greenwich’s full plans guidance lists offices, shops, schools, flats and HMOs with communal areas among work needing a full plans application. It also identifies building over or within three metres of a public sewer. For these projects, prepare a coordinated technical package rather than assuming a building notice is the appropriate route. SAP calculations, SBEM calculations and U-value calculations can support the relevant energy and fabric elements.
The same Greenwich guidance says the council assesses plans and inspects as work proceeds, and may request revised as-built plans where construction changes. Keep insulation, glazing and building services specifications aligned with the calculations. Plan applicable air tightness testing, sound insulation testing and ventilation testing around the construction programme, with the required evidence agreed for the particular scheme.
Greenwich Policy E1: heat networks before final plant selection
Core Strategy Policy E1 requires an energy assessment for all major development proposals. It also sets a decentralised-energy requirement for development exceeding 500 square metres gross floor area or residential development of five or more units, with provisions where a network is unavailable or a site-wide network is shown to be unfeasible or unviable. These are distinct triggers: do not assume a scheme below the major-development threshold has no local energy-policy issue.
For a Greenwich scheme reaching those E1 thresholds, an energy statement should address network availability, the proposed heating approach and any connection infrastructure before plant space is fixed. Policy H5 separately calls for acceptable noise insulation through design and layout, including development vulnerable to transport noise and vibration. An environmental noise survey can inform the façade and ventilation design rather than leaving both to be resolved after layouts are agreed.
Greenwich policy alongside the London Plan 2021
Greenwich’s 2014 Core Strategy must be read alongside the London Plan, March 2021, Chapter 9. Policy SI 2 sets the net zero-carbon approach for major development, while SI 4 requires major proposals to demonstrate through an energy strategy how internal overheating and reliance on air conditioning will be reduced. London Plan Energy Assessments should therefore explain both the borough’s E1 response and the London-wide energy hierarchy.
For Greenwich housing, the London Plan’s heat-risk guidance identifies TM59 for domestic assessment and TM52 for non-domestic development. Commission TM59 and TM52 assessments while shading, glazing and opening areas can still change. Coordinate the model with the noise assessment: a cooling strategy dependent on open windows needs to be considered against the actual acoustic conditions, not developed as a separate design assumption.
Services in Greenwich
New homes and conversions
- Air tightness testing in Greenwich
- Sound insulation testing in Greenwich
- Ventilation testing in Greenwich
- MVHR commissioning in Greenwich
- SAP calculations in Greenwich
- Home energy model in Greenwich
- U-value calculations in Greenwich
- Thermal bridging calculations in Greenwich
- Condensation risk analysis in Greenwich
- Water calculations in Greenwich
- Background ventilation calculations in Greenwich
- Overheating assessments in Greenwich
- CIBSE TM59 and TM52 assessments in Greenwich
- Party wall and ceiling design in Greenwich
- Party floor design in Greenwich
- Regulation 25A reports in Greenwich
Commercial and public buildings
Existing buildings and refurbishment
Planning applications
Greenwich validation list: distinguish draft from adopted requirements
The official Local Validation Requirements List, December 2024 is explicitly labelled a public consultation draft. It proposes an Energy Statement / Strategy for “All major applications”, covering carbon reductions, overheating and decentralised energy. Treat this as evidence of the draft’s content, not confirmation of the current adopted checklist. Before submission, agree the applicable list with Greenwich and align the energy statement scope with the confirmed requirements.
That Greenwich draft also identifies noise-generating plant or activities, flue or ventilation extraction systems, and noise-sensitive proposals near existing noise or vibration sources as noise-assessment triggers. For extraction it additionally calls for a Ventilation/Extraction Statement. A noise survey and acoustic design can address equipment position and mitigation, but commissioning ventilation testing alone would not answer the draft’s planning-stage extraction requirement.
Greenwich rental licensing: check occupation and ward
Greenwich’s licensing guidance identifies mandatory HMO licensing for five or more people from two or more households sharing facilities. It also lists selective licensing in Woolwich Riverside, Woolwich Common, Shooters Hill, Plumstead Common and Plumstead Glyndon wards. Check the address and occupation pattern before planning a letting or conversion; the council says an HMO with an HMO licence does not also need a selective licence.
The January 2026 selective licence conditions require an EPC copy for occupiers and maintenance of water supplies. They also state that licensing does not confer building control, planning or fire-safety approval. For a Greenwich rental, arrange an EPC where needed and scope fire risk assessments and legionella risk assessments separately according to the premises and water system. Do not treat the licence itself as evidence that these separate safety questions have been answered.
Building compliance questions in Greenwich
Does Greenwich require energy evidence only for major schemes?
No. Policy E1 requires major proposals to have an energy assessment, but its decentralised-energy provisions also apply above 500 square metres gross floor area or from five residential units.
Can a Greenwich flat conversion use a building notice automatically?
Do not assume so. Greenwich’s full plans page specifically lists flats and HMOs with communal areas. Confirm the application route before work starts.
Does a Greenwich selective licence replace other approvals?
No. The January 2026 conditions expressly separate licensing from planning, building control and fire-safety approval. Keep these workstreams and their supporting reports distinct.
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