Sign off on planning permission

Piph

Can any architects or planners out there answer this for me?
We have a planning permission granted, for a building facade. Once completed, is it compulsory to have it signed off? Or can we just go ahead and build (as per the approved permissions) and that's it?
If it HAS to be signed off, who can do this?
Thanks!

DOCARCH

Not obligatory to have it 'signed off'.

However, if you come to sell the property. you will have to have an opinion on compliance with planning permission.

Architect, architectural technician, engineer or building surveyor could do opinion on compliance.

If you have planning permission, who did the drawings for you? Whoever prepared/submitted the application would/might be a good candidate to do opinion on compliance?

Piph

Thank you.

I did the drawings myself (I'm an Interior Designer) - so I wouldn't have any qualifications for signing off.
The complication arises in that we don't own the building, we're renting a shop space. So the owner is assuming that we need a sign off, and he's not prepared to pay his architect to do it - he's passing that expense to us. So I'm checking if that's something we actually have to do or not.

Gumbo

Piph wrote: »

Thank you.

I did the drawings myself (I'm an Interior Designer) - so I wouldn't have any qualifications for signing off.
The complication arises in that we don't own the building, we're renting a shop space. So the owner is assuming that we need a sign off, and he's not prepared to pay his architect to do it - he's passing that expense to us. So I'm checking if that's something we actually have to do or not.

As a tenant, and as a business open to members of the public, I would agree with your landlord here.
I would be forcing my tenant to issue to me a certificate of compliance with the granted planning permission and also a certificate of compliance with building regulations.

Your PI insurer may also insist on these and god forbid they are not in place and something happens.

Metric Tensor

Your landlord is correct to protect himself by ensuring there is some sort of professional oversight on the project.

It's not legally required (once the relevant commencement notice, etc. is submitted) but if the building owner won't give you permission to do the work without it then you're stuck.

I agree with kceire - if I owned a building and a renter was proposing to do work on it I would most definitely not allow the work to go ahead without some sort of inspection regime / supervision from a competent professional. If it's purely aesthetic work that you want done to promote your business there is no reason that I can see why the owner should pay for any part of it (including certification).

Gumbo

Metric Tensor wrote: »

Your landlord is correct to protect himself by ensuring there is some sort of professional oversight on the project.

It's not legally required (once the relevant commencement notice, etc. is submitted) but if the building owner won't give you permission to do the work without it then you're stuck.

I agree with kceire - if I owned a building and a renter was proposing to do work on it I would most definitely not allow the work to go ahead without some sort of inspection regime / supervision from a competent professional. If it's purely aesthetic work that you want done to promote your business there is no reason that I can see why the owner should pay for any part of it (including certification).

+1
It was substantial enough to require planning, I assume its a shop front?
You may have door widths to comply with Part M, escape widths that comply with Part B, glazed screens that must comply with Part K. You may also have structural (Part A) issues to content with when the existing shop front is altered/removed.

100% agree with the landlord here, and from a commercial point of view, id say that planning and building regulation certs are mandatory to cover yourself in the event of a claim.

Calahonda52

As above: building facade plus public means it needs to be bullet proof+++
Op: forget about viewing it as an expense that perhaps the LL should cover but view it as money well spent in protecting you.
So as well as all the paperwork, you also need to make sure it is done right because if it all comes down in a gale on a pram full of nippers, looking to the paperwork won't help much: to plagiarise the lotto slogan: it Will be you.