We are your local authority building regulations and control service bringing together the Building Control services of Malvern Hills, Wychavon and Worcester City councils.
Established In April 2009, the SWBC Partnership provides building control services for the whole of the South Worcestershire region including the historic city of Worcester and the main towns of Upton, Malvern, Droitwich and Evesham.
As a shared service, our vision is to build on our success as the main provider of building control services to the public and construction industry across the three South Worcestershire districts and to ensure that buildings are designed and built to safe, healthy, accessible and energy efficient standards.
Our customers, partners and the members of the public who use our service are important to us and we want you to be very satisfied with the level of service provided by the SWBC Partnership.
Our team of surveyors and administrators are committed to the provision of a high-quality building control service. Our Building Control surveyors live locally and are proud to be a local authority run service and strive to consistently provide a quality service. We maintain a fast track turn around for the checking of your plans and notices and we inspect your buildings whilst they are under construction.
The area covered by the SWBC Partnership has a population of some 286,400. It comprises the largely rural districts of Malvern Hills and Wychavon along with the city of Worcester, the largest urban area. Within our 500 square miles, the area is characterised by differing round conditions. For example, brine is present in the North West regions of Wychavon district and radon gas is present in Malvern, particularly in the northern parts.
What is it we do?
Building Regulations
We ensure that building work is carried out in accordance with the Building Regulations. These Regulations are made under powers provided in the Building Act 1984, and apply in England and Wales. Their main purpose is to ensure the health and safety of people in and around all types of buildings (i.e. domestic, commercial, industrial, new housing, and schools). The Regulations also deal with energy conservation, sustainability and access to and use of the buildings. Most of the building types require Building Regulation consent but there are some exemptions.
The 15 parts of the Building Regulations are:
- Structure
- Fire safety
- Site preparation and Resistance to Contaminants and Moisture
- Toxic substances
- Resistance to the passage of sound
- Ventilation
- Sanitation, Hot Water Safety and Water Efficiency
- Drainage and waste disposal
- Combustion appliances and Fuel Storage Systems
- Protection from falling, collision and impact
- Conservation of fuel and power
- Access to and use of buildings
- Electrical safety
- Security
- Physical Infrastructure for High Speed Electronic Communications Networks
What else do we do?
- We have powers under the Building Act to ensure that structures such as buildings which are in danger of collapse and therefore posing a direct danger to public safety are either removed or made safe.
- We work closely with other emergency services such as the fire service and police to ensure public safety. Our surveyors are qualified to inspect dangerous structures such as fire damaged buildings and provide advice to the emergency services.
- We work closely with builders or DIY developers to ensure that buildings are built in accordance with the Building Regulations. In the majority of cases, we resolve any contraventions or non-compliance by working closely with the builder on site. However, if the contravention or unauthorised work remains an issue and is not put right, then we have the powers under the Building Act to prosecute.
- We also hold the registers for competent person schemes (Such as FENSA, NAPIT or Gas Safe) and private sector building control notices.
- We do our best to advise accordingly or help anyone who contacts us, whether it is about an on-going project or one which you are planning to do in the future.
10 good reasons why you should use South Worcestershire Building Control Partnership
Who we are:
- A non-profit making local authority run service
- A fast and efficient plan vetting and approval service
- A single point of contact for all of the three partner authorities
- Experienced and use professionally qualified staff
- Able to call on unrivalled local knowledge
- Reliable and impartial
- Set up to undertake site inspections at 24 hours notice
- Equipped to deal with any size of contract; - from small to very large
- Able to offer very competitive terms
- Already working closely with South Worcestershire planning departments and local fire brigade and the water authority