"Peter Taylor" wrote in message
...

We should have some sympathy for Local Authorities - I suspect they don't
appreciate these new regulations either. They're under enough pressure as
it is
now they face private competition (thank you Maggie). All the big juicy
projects go to tender for Building Control and LA's often lose out,
leaving them
with all the non-paying dross jobs the private sector don't want. Now
they have
to raise enough in fees to pay their way, there's only one thing they can
do.

Is it really the case that building control departments have to be
self-funding in their own right?
Not that I think it's a particularly severe burden, as they've got a
statutory right to demand the money, and the level of the fees has no
particular impact in terms of negative publicity for anybody. Sounds like
an easy way to make a living, really.

TBH, I would think that the increasing trivialisation of the building regs
would be a boon to them - it must be an awful lot cheaper to inspect a hot
water tank installation (no wellys required, check that it has a part L
sticker on it and leave) than a lot of other things which are already in the
same fee band. And of course, soaking DIYers is a lot safer than putting
it on the council tax.

Will