Outgoing LABC President voices fears over DCLG’s lack of concern for consumers and council taxpayers

Outgoing LABC President Peter Keates has called on the government to maintain a coherent building control system in order to reduce increasing costs for local authorities and property owners. Speaking at a reception on board HMS Belfast attended by 160 representatives from the building industry, he noted that over the past ten years the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) had gradually failed to maintain a coherent building control system despite calls for such a system by business users.

Peter, Head of Building Control & Albion Archaeology at Central Bedfordshire Council, described the gradual unravelling of the building control system - an unintended consequence of the way competition was introduced. Private sector inspectors unilaterally using ‘building regulations opt-outs’, among other inconsistencies, means that local authorities have to notify the public of which parts of the Building Regulations the private sector isn’t covering. This is creating a confused mess and leaving building owners at risk. It also increases cost burdens on local authorities and creates additional costs for property owners who have to undertake regularisations when they realise they haven’t fulfilled their building regulation responsibilities.

Similarly, Peter referred to the dumping of additional notifications into local authorities without arranging either a central repository or the right to charge the private sector originators. He told the audience of major clients, trade bodies, manufacturers and professional institutions that this is unfair on council tax payers and increases costs on building control teams who need to reduce overheads.

Peter said: “It seems to us that the government is losing the thread and making it impossible to run a holistic building control system. This has nothing to do with new regulations or new burdens. In fact, it’s the opposite. By creating more loopholes and muddling the system, DCLG’s actions mean that property owners get less out of the system and end up paying more. It’s a slipshod way to maintain a regulated system and the reputational backlash will be bad for everyone.”

In his parting remarks, Peter noted the ten-year anniversary of LABC and listed its successes in marketing local authority building control to both local customers in the building industry and large corporate businesses. He also listed LABC’s successes in supporting industry through research and added-value services to help clients design and build better buildings. He noted, the success of LABC’s publishing to consumers, builders, designers and developers through Zinc Media and reinforced LABC’s role in subsidising and promoting training through the recession and during the period when business skills training and apprenticeships were in constant change and turmoil. By investing in the delivery of training, support for CPD, bursaries and identifying ‘trainees of the year’, LABC had managed to keep a focus on the development of new entrants and existing surveyors.

Peter welcomed incoming President Jayne Hall, Building Control & Land Charges Manager at West Somerset Council, who will officially take over the year-long voluntary role later in the year. Each year sees a different person hold the office of President – a non-paid, but prestigious position that allows holders to champion local authority building control issues. The President is drawn from local authority teams and volunteers are members who have a strong networking background in their regions or have led development through an LABC Working Group.

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