Section 20 Consultation and Major Works in Somerset
The figures Somerset Council publishes, rather than a national average.
Building Control in Somerset
Somerset publishes no fee for work to an existing block. Its schedules cover new housing including flats, then domestic extensions to a single building, then domestic alterations to a single building. Communal work falls outside all three and the council says so: for non-domestic work, and for multiple works, contact us for a quote. The published alterations table also stops dead at £75,000 of estimated value. On timing it is more generous than most: most applications are checked within 15 working days, inspections are booked by 4pm the previous working day, and pre-application advice from building control is free. Note the exception that catches programmes out, though: a completion inspection needs three working days' notice, not one.
Consent for External Works in Somerset
The clearest bat trigger of any council in this research, and it is a validation hard stop rather than a condition. A preliminary roost assessment is required unless you can demonstrate negligible opportunity through clear photographic evidence, and the features the council names are exactly what a block's external programme touches: gaps greater than about 15 millimetres in walls and roofing, loose or lifted tiles, gaps in lead flashing, fascia and soffit, and climbing plants. The photographs must cover all internal roof voids and all external roofing, guttering, fascia and soffit. And if further surveys are required, all of them must be completed and submitted in order to validate the application. A re-roof, a gutter and fascia renewal or a re-render therefore needs the ecology question answered before the application will even start, and bat survey windows are seasonal.
What We Do About Section 20 Consultation in Somerset
How that becomes a service here, working from what Somerset Council publishes:
- Price the work against Somerset Council's own published schedule at the point the budget is set.
- Check the appraisal for this area before materials are chosen, since that is where the restriction usually sits.
Fixed annual fee, no commission on contractor work.
How This Works, in General
The general law, for every area: Major Works and Section 20 Consultation.