Planning Permission

Planning Permission is required for the majority of Development. Development is defined as the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations, in, on, over or under land. Development also includes certain changes of use, even where no building work is proposed.  Planning Permission is granted in accordance with the Local Development Plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Not all forms of development necessarily require planning permission and certain classes of Development are deemed to have permission under general permitted development rights.

Building Regulations Approval

The Building Regulations apply to new building work including the erection, extension or alteration of buildings. They also extend to work on controlled fittings including heat producing appliances, drainage, hot water storage and sanitary fittings. Building Regulations Approval may be obtained via the building control department of the Local Authority or through a Construction Industry Council Approved Inspector.

Licence for Alterations

Commercial leases often require a tenant to obtain the Landlord's approval before making material alterations to the premises. In such cases a formal document called a Licence for Alteration is usually prepared as the basis of the landlord's approval. This will contain details of the proposed works and any specific provisions relating to their implementation and ultimate reinstatement. It is normal for the tenant to meet the landlord's costs in preparing a Licence for Alterations and in monitoring the performance of the tenant's works.

Dilapidations

	Dilapidations is the term for those items arising through breach of contract by one of the parties to a lease, leading to a right of damages or remedial action. It commonly relates to requirements for repair and may also involve the reinstatement of alterations and redecoration.

Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA)

The Disability Discrimination Act is an important piece of legislation that requires any organisation providing goods and services to the public to ensure that their service is available to disabled persons. Amongst other things service providers are obliged to take reasonable steps to tackle physical features of premises that prevent or make it unreasonably difficult for disabled persons to access their services. It is common for service providers to undertake "access audits" to assess potential obstacles to accessibility and to identify the appropriate remedial steps.

Data Cabling

Data cabling is usually specified with reference to EIA/TIA categories and the standards most commonly adopted specifications modern office applications are Categories 5, 5e and 6. Category 5 and 5e cabling has a bandwidth of 100Mhz whereas Category 6 cabling has a bandwidth of 200Mhz, allowing a higher rate of data transfer. While Category 5e cabling is adequate for most current technologies, Category 6 cabling is being increasingly adopted for new installations to provide capacity for any faster technologies that may develop requiring a greater bandwidth.

LG3 Lighting

Lighting Guide 3 (LG3) is published by the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and contains guidance for the design of lighting for spaces with visual display terminals. It is therefore highly relevant to most office areas. The provisions are designed to ensure an even distribution of light and the design of a compliant lighting scheme requires the analysis of data relating to the internal finishes and ergonomics of the space in question - rather than the use of standard "categorised" lighting diffusers.