Planning Permission

The UK Planning System is generally administered by local government and is designed to provide guidance, plans and strategies to control what and where new development takes place.

The Planning System operates to ensure that planning applications and development plans contribute to the delivery of sustainable development so that new homes, businesses, shops, offices and public buildings are built in such a way as to protect and improve the environment.

Typically, planning applications from businesses relate to alterations or extensions to existing premises, building new premises or the change of use of premises. To extend shops or office premises you will always need planning permission.  If you are altering or extending a listed building or a building in a conservation area you may require planning permission in addition to conservation area and listed building consent before you proceed.

For factory or warehouse extensions, the work must relate to the existing use of the building or the provision of staff facilities and planning permission will be required if it:

• Materially affects the external appearance of the building, or
• Comes within 5m of the boundary of the site, or
• Reduces the amount of space available for parking or turning vehicles

Building new commercial premises will almost always require planning permission.

In the case of domestic dwellings, the owner of the property in question is responsible for complying with the relevant planning rules and building regulations for all building work.

Planning Permission is very commonly required for the installation of air conditioning equipment but, due to the infinite variety of specific circumstances, the best advice is always to discuss your proposals with the relevant Local Planning Authority and Building Control Service before starting work. Failure to comply with the relevant rules will result in the owner being liable for any remedial action, which could result in restoration or demolition of the development.

Building Regulations

Currently, Building Regulation Approval is not required for the installation of air conditioning. Note however, that any associated electrical installation must comply with electrical safety standards.

Landlord’s Consent

If your property is leased, the provisions of your tenancy agreement will almost certainly require you to obtain consent from your landlord before installing building services such as air conditioning. Whilst such consent should not unreasonably be withheld, it is always advisable to consult and gain agreement with your landlord before commencing any air conditioning installation work.

It should also be remembered that your tenancy may require you to restore the property back to its original condition at the end of your lease. In the case of air conditioning, however, this may well enhance the rental value of the property and the landlord may, on this basis, be content to waive the requirement for it to be removed.

Note: This is an introductory guide and regulations could have changed. Applying for and obtaining suitable planning permission and other statutory approvals is the sole responsibility of the client. Neither Andrews Air Conditioning nor any of its employees is authorised to provide explicit or implicit guidance in such matters and the information contained herein should not be relied upon wholly or in part as a definitive source of legal information.