compliance with statutory issues

PLANNING CONSENT

To the uninitiated, an application for Planning Consent can sometimes be considered a complicated process. Neighbour notification and production of drawings detailing the existing and proposed development are some of the procedural aspects that must be overcome. RM Consulting’s experience in the Planning process ensures the application progresses smoothly.

BUILDING WARRANT

A Building Warrant is required to ensure that building projects are compliant with current Building Regulations/Technical Standards. RM Consulting has qualified Chartered Building Surveyors, with detailed knowledge of the Technical Standards to assess schemes prior to lodgement with the local authority, helping to speed the consent process along.  

OTHER STATUTORY CONSENTS

A number of Statutory Consents may need to be sought for a building project. These include Listed Building Consent, Consent to Display Advertisement (signage), Conservation Area Consent and Building Regulations approval and RM Consulting staff will assist in obtaining the necessary consents for client specific needs.

TITLE DEED VERIFICATION

Confirmation of property boundaries may need to be verified for many different reasons; queries over land ownership can be established by overlaying the title deed with the on-site measurements and thereby confirming the accuracy of the legal boundaries.

SER CERTIFICATION

Structural Engineer’s Registration Limited (SER Ltd) has been appointed by the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA) to administer a scheme for Certification of Design (Building Structure). The Scheme was established as a result of a joint initiative by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). 

To certify the structural design of buildings in Scotland and to include a certificate with the application to Local Authorities for Building Warrant, the certifying engineer is responsible for ensuring that all aspects of design of the structure of the project to satisfy the requirements of the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

The new legislation also makes engineers who are responsible for building structures specifically aware of their responsibilities and duties in the design, thus improving assurance of structural safety. RM Consulting is a “Registered” firm, having approved Certifiers that can fulfil this role  

STATUTORY LEGISLATION

The most common legislative article to consider in retail consultancy is the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act however more prevalent of recent times, other statutes have had a marked affect on how retailers can consider their properties. These include:

• The Asbestos at Work Regulations 2006
• The Disability Discrimination Act 1995
• The Fire Precautions Act 1997