Building Compliance in London

The Mayor’s planning powers page identifies the 32 borough councils and City Corporation among London’s local planning authorities. Use the GLA planning authority directory to identify the application route for the site, checking any development corporation boundary. For a builder or architect, the first decision is who receives the application, not which London-wide report title sounds appropriate.

Building control is separate from planning. Camden’s building control guide explains the choice between council approval and a Registered Building Control Approver, with higher-risk building work directed to the Building Safety Regulator. London Building Control Ltd describes itself as a Registered Building Control Approver: it is not a single council department for Greater London. Agree the regulatory route before commissioning the SAP, SBEM, ventilation or acoustic evidence needed for that route.

London Plan SI 4 and its supporting text put passive measures before active cooling and identify TM59 for domestic developments and TM52 for non-domestic developments. The text also warns that external noise and air quality affect passive ventilation choices. Commission overheating assessments while glazing, shading and opening windows can still change. For a London flat, an assumed open window must be realistic alongside the acoustic strategy, rather than a modelling convenience.

London Plan SI 5 seeks residential mains water consumption of 105 litres or less per person per day, excluding an allowance of up to five litres for external use. Water calculations should therefore use the actual proposed sanitary fittings and flow rates. For a London developer procuring bathrooms across several blocks, keeping that schedule consistent with the submitted calculation helps avoid specifying fittings that undermine the planning water target.

Borough detail still needs checking. Camden’s sustainability statement page lists submission triggers but explicitly warns readers to check its Local Area Requirements rather than rely on that guidance page alone. For a London application, obtain the relevant borough’s current validation list and adopted local plan before setting the report scope. A sustainability statement and an energy assessment are not automatically interchangeable, and a checklist used for one borough should not be reused unexamined in another.

Licensing boundaries can differ even within a borough. Newham’s selective licensing page describes its designation launched on 1 June 2023, excluding Royal Victoria and Stratford Olympic Park wards and distinguishing selective licensing from HMO licensing. For a London landlord with several addresses, check each property against the council’s scheme and exemptions. Scope EPC, fire risk assessments and legionella risk assessments against the building and applicable duties; this designation alone does not establish that every assessment is a licence submission requirement.