Planning Permission Planning permission is required whenever there are “works” or a “material change of use”. “Works” include carrying on any building, engineering, mining or other operations in, under or over land. Generally, there must be a building activity. Building operations include demolition, rebuilding, structural alterations and additions to buildings. Works which affect the interior of a building only or do not materially reflect the […]
Building Control Overview Planning Permission and Building Regulations are separate codes and have different purposes. Planning legislation relates to the external appearance of buildings, impact on the environment, the use of buildings, spatial policy and the safeguarding of amenities. Building Control legislation and Building Regulations deal with construction standards. There are two aspects to Building Control legislation. The first aspect is the building regulations, which […]
Overview A substantial construction project will typically involve an architect, a structural/civil engineer, a mechanical and electrical engineer and a quantity surveyor. Larger projects may also include planning consultants, infrastructure engineers, fire safety consultants, landscape designers, acoustic consultants and interior designers. Contract prices for proposed works may be obtained by competitive tender or negotiation. It is usually the quantity surveyor who makes the necessary arrangements […]
Building Contract Duties The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) is the representative professional body and now the registration authority for architects. It produces a number of standard form construction contracts. Their standard form contracts deal principally with traditional general contracting methods. There is no equivalent of the UK Joint Contract Tribunal which has produced a standard for contracts in the UK for […]
Disputes and Breach Where the contractor’s work is defective, there will usually be a breach of contract. Generally, the amount of compensation the courts will award will be the cost of repair or the diminution in value, where it would be wholly uneconomic and unreasonable for the employer to insist upon repair. In recent years, the courts have been more inclined than before to award […]
Overview Development is the business of enhancing land value. It may consist of procuring planning permission, assembling sites, buying rights over adjoining lands and entering agreements with public authorities so as to provide services and make future development feasible. It may also consist of preparatory works, undertaking stages of construction or full completion of works followed by sale or letting. The management of construction and […]