Demolitions

Demolition of a building may only be carried out where the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture has issued any demolition notice as may be required under Building Regulations.

A Demolition notice under the Regulations is not required in the following circumstances: The;

  • demolition of the integral part of a building where the building is occupied and it is intended that it should continue to be occupied
  • external volume of the building to be demolished is less than 1,750 cubic feet
  • building is a greenhouse, shed, conservatory or prefabricated garage
  • building is an agricultural building, unless it is attached to a building that is itself not an agricultural building.

Basic requirements for a Demolition notice

Anyone intending to undertake the demolition of a building (that does not fall into any of the categories above) must complete an application form and submit the same to the Department’s building control authority under Section 26 of the Building Control Act 1991. Please note that all applications for proposed demolition across the Island are processed by the Department. Also, that an application form must be submitted at least 6 weeks before the demolition is scheduled to be carried out. Applications should be accompanied by the £85 administration fee (introduced 1 December 2017) and a location plan, with the site in question outlined in red. These plans can be purchased via the mapping page.

See downloadable documents for application forms and a guide to demolitions which explains all the relevant background and procedures.

On receipt of an application form, the DEFA Building Control Authority will set out the requirements to be satisfied in order that the building is demolished in a safe and satisfactory manner. These may include:

  • Shoring up of adjacent buildings
  • Weather protecting areas of adjacent buildings exposed by the demolition
  • Repairing or making good damage caused to adjacent buildings by the demolition
  • Removal of rubbish and clearance of the site
  • Disconnecting, sealing or removing any drainage under the building if requested to do so
  • Making arrangements with the appropriate statutory authorities to disconnect water, gas and electricity supplies from the building
  • Informing the local fire authority if buildings or materials are to be burnt on site.
  • Ensuring that the site is adequately fenced, or otherwise secured, to prevent dangers to those on or near the site.

Planning Approval - Demolition

In planning terms the meaning of ‘development’ is defined under Section 6 (1)(e) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 which states

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, in this Act 'development' means the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land. 

(2) For the purposes of this section- 

   (e) the following are building operations constituting development-

       (i) the demolition of a building which is attached to another building, where the other building is not also demolished; and
       (ii) the demolition of part of a building, where the rest of the building is not also demolished.

Accordingly demolition of part of a building where ‘part’ is to be retained is defined as development and will require planning approval.

Also, where a building is registered or situated within a conservation area, registered building consent and planning permission may also be required prior to any proposed demolition.

Please ensure where planning approval or a demolition notice is required sufficient time is allowed to obtain the appropriate permissions.

If you require any further information on demolitions, please contact +44 1624 685902 or +44 1624 686446 for building regulations or +44 1624 685950 relative to planning permission.