Stage 3: Design and Specify
In this stage the preliminary plan produced in Stage 2: Assess and Plan is developed in detail. Depending on the size and complexity of the project, detailed design drawings and specifications will be required to enable necessary consents to be obtained and the works procured.
Technical Design documentation should be detailed, clear and unambiguous. For example:
- where insulation is to be added to roofs, walls or floors, details showing how the junctions between each of the elements are to be formed will be needed to avoid improvising solutions on site
- specifications should be explicit about products and materials to ensure that lower quality or inappropriate alternatives are not substituted
If it is found that an important issue has been overlooked at the assessment stage, this should be reported to the project team so the assessment can be reviewed if necessary.
Consents
Applications to the local planning authority for planning permission and/or listed building consent may be required for certain interventions. Detailed site-specific advice will need to be obtained from the local planning authority; however, general advice can be found in Historic England's Climate Change Advice Note.
In some circumstances, proposed interventions will require approval under the Building Regulations (from either the local authority's Building Control team or an approved inspector). Whichever route for approval is taken, early consultation can help to ensure that works are appropriate.
Learn more: Building Regulations, Approved Documents and Historic Buildings.
Listed buildings and buildings in conservation areas are exempt from the need to comply with energy efficiency requirements where compliance would unacceptably alter their character or appearance. 'Special considerations' also apply to buildings that are locally listed, in national parks or other designated historic areas and to buildings of traditional construction. Historic England has published detailed 'second tier' guidance on the Building Regulations (Part L) which the Approved Documents state should be taken into account in determining appropriate energy performance standards: Energy Efficiency and Historic Buildings; Application of Part L of the Building Regulations to historic and traditionally constructed buildings (this document is currently under review and will be republished shortly).
