"What do you mean I can't just knock it down?"

12-Jul-2011 A recent judgement by the Court of Appeal has changed the rules when it comes to demolitions and is likely to lead to additional costs and delays for projects including such work.

The case of R (SAVE Britain’s Heritage) v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (2011), found that the majority of the ‘Demolition Direction’, which excluded the demolition of certain categories of building from the need for approval, was unlawful and no longer applied. Accordingly in most instances now the demolition of any building will require planning permission or prior approval. The existing exemptions for buildings with a volume less than 50 cubic metres or enclosures (e.g. gates, walls) remain for the moment, although these too are under review.

If an existing planning permission does not permit demolition, then the prior notification procedure will need to be followed. This consists initially of an application to the local planning authority in order to confirm if prior approval is, in fact, required, which could take up to 28 days. If prior approval is required then there is a further 8 week application process.

In addition, in cases of significant or major demolition, there is a strong possibility that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be required, and almost certainly if the works involve asbestos removal or the demolition of ex-industrial buildings. Therefore on all large demolitions the Developer will have to undertake EIA screening in order to satisfy the local planning authority the potential environmental impact has been considered.

Finally, it should be noted that if there is to be any delay between demolition and the subsequent redevelopment, a local planning authority has the power to require reasonable steps to be taken for the interim remediation of the site.

In light of the above, any development programme which includes demolition works will need to make adequate provision for the potential additional delays in obtaining approval (including, if applicable, the EIA) and developers will need to be aware of the associated costs.

If you would like any more information on the impact of the ‘SAVE’ case, please contact Simon Franklin.

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