"Tim Smith" wrote in message
...
Thanks Mike,

I did see the waffle about lack of resources on their website !

So would I be correct in assuming that planning permission would probably
be
for something like increasing teh size of the house etc whereas building
notice is for something more minor.

THey are different things. You need planning permission for many things
first but the work itself will still come under building control.


Presumably the council will tell me if they require full plans ?

Your choice, not theirs - except for certain things like commercial premises
and flat conversions. Though they can be awkward if you put in a building
notice for a complete house renovation like I always do :-)

The lady I spoke to said that with a building notice, I could in fact
start
work within 24hrs (although we arent doing this). What would happen then
if
I submit the building notice and did start work within 24hrs and the
council
then told me that I needed to submit full plans...

They can't. But try to put in the building notice a few days earlier so
that they come round (late) for the pre-inspection BEFORE you start work.

However on a building notice they will ask you to do any structural
calculations whereas if you submit full plans they do this. Thus you have
to work out which is cheaper to you if you cannot do them yourself - a
trainee architect to draw up the plans or a qualified structural engineer to
do the calcs.