The Council of the Isles of Scilly has formally delegated the Building Control Function to Cornwall Council, who has operated this service on behalf of the Council of the Isles of Scilly for many years, so customers should not experience or notice any change as a result.
Cornwall Council Building Control are part of the national LABC network. They undertake a thorough plan check and do site inspections across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Building Control ensures:
- the health, safety, welfare and convenience of persons in and around building
- the conservation of fuel and power
- prevention of waste
- undue consumption, misuse or contamination of water
- protection of the environment, facilitating sustainable development and prevention of crime
All enquiries and Building Control applications should be made direct to Cornwall Council, via the following link Cornwall Council which also contains comprehensive information to assist you with all of your Building Control needs.
You can view building regulation application details on the online register. Please note that the map search does not retrieve Isles of Scilly applications. Register of applications search.
More general Building Control information can be found on the at LABC Front Door.
If you have an existing Building Control application logged with Cornwall Council you will have received your project specific site log which indicates the inspection stages that you should notify us of during construction. Please ensure that you notify us when you start on site and when all other inspection stages have been reached.
Please notify us of each inspection stage by sending an email to buildingcontrol@cornwall.gov.uk or ring 0300 1234 151. Please include a phone number in the email so that we can make contact with you about the visit.
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DANGEROUS STRUCTURES: The Isles of Scilly Council have the powers to deal with dangerous structures. Buildings may become gradually dangerous due to old age, deterioration or settlement, or by more dramatic causes such as storm, explosion, fire or impact by vehicles. Structures which appear to be dangerous should be reported as soon as possible to the council by calling 0300 1234 105.
Building Control can be contacted via email buildingcontrol@cornwall.gov.uk, via telephone by calling 0300 1234 151 or by post at:
Cornwall Council – Building Control,
PO Box 676,
Threemilestone,
Truro,
Cornwall
TR4 9LD
Please refer to the Cornwall Council pages for up to date fees and details on how to make applications.
With all building work, the owner of the property is responsible for meeting the relevant Planning and Building Regulations. Building Regulations apply to most building work so it is important to find out if you need permission. Further information can be found at Cornwall Council
Your Building Control Officer, Peter Keam is not based on the islands but visits on average every two weeks. Please contact us via the above details if you wish to request a site visit or if you need to get in touch to discuss a proposed project or any work in progress.
Non-Mains Drainage
There are a very limited number of public drainage systems to connect to on the Isles of Scilly meaning that private drainage arrangements such as septic tanks are often necessary. In addition to Building regulations requirements under Part H, guidance on the disposal of sewage where no mains drainage is available under The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2014 can be found here and there is a leaflet on small sewerage treatment systems.
Listed Buildings
Whilst all property and homes need to be safe and comply with the Building Regulations, there may be elements important to a listed building that you may not be able to change. We advise anyone with a listed building to speak to the Planning Department if they want or need to make changes to a building on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) as internal or external works may require Planning Permission and/or Listed Building Consent. This includes all Listed Buildings and Scheduled Monuments. Historic England provide guidance on the building regulations and you are advised not to make changes to elements of the building that are important to its significance.