I am a DIYr who has found themselves in the red tape hell that is building control. “ We will not give you any advice on build materials or design that will help you pass building regulations as there are people out there that make a living from providing this service.” And this is the attitude when I asked for guidance on building a simple car garage from a publicly funded body. Honestly you could not make this up.
The background is …… I lease a concrete pad from my local council. It is leased to me by contract for the purposes of building a single story car storage garage 5.4m x 4.3m for private use only.
Because there is no existing structure on the concrete pad and the land does not have permitted development rights. My local council planning and building depts have said I need to get planning permission and the structure has to pass the latest Scottish building control standards. There are other garages in the compound and there are no existing structures within 1m of my concrete pad. And yes none of them have planning permission or building certificates “ not your concern they say.”
You might like me be confused how a council can lease me the plot specifically for this purpose with no outlying planning permission to do so?
Well according to my councillor they can and it’s up to me to attain the appropriate permissions from two other departments of the same council, crazy world !!!!! Or am I being royally financially ripped off? I can’t help but feel the latter is the case.
The latest explanation from my local building control office was “If you were building in your own garden that would have what’s known as permitted development rights to build a garage without these permissions.” But I have to jump through the legal hoops and pay for the privilege, £600 minimum I estimate in planning and building permits that must be applied for on the online planning and building portal.
“The structure must meet all the latest Scottish building standards regulations. Even if its square meters falls under 30m2 and legally does not need a building permit application submitted.” It can still be inspected and if does not conform to code I can be told to take it down.
So I’m left trying to design and build a structure that’s legal, functional but within an acceptable budget. Under the terms of the lease agreement I’m not allowed to build in blocks or brick on the site.
Can anyone give advice on what materials and design I can build to whilst meeting the most recent building control standards, including latest fire prevention regulations! These are quite specific I hear and changed in early 2025
My initial plan was to build a timber pitched roof frame. To be clad externally in metal corrugated sheets or vertical overlapping wood board and batten style with corrugated metal pitched roof. The interior was to be lined with a boarded material that is fireproof to 30 minutes and moisture resistant. Would this pass the latest regulations?
I have looked at products that wood can be coated in to make it fireproof but the cost is extortionate 1k+ to treat a wooden structure of this m2
If anyone has any experience of building such a structure and getting their design over the line with Scottish building standards without it costing a small fortune please get in touch and let me know how you did it and how you constructed your garage on land of non permitted development status and meet the latest building standards.
Thank you
Steve