Richard Gawthorpe, Head of Business Support from CNC, said: "We are incredibly proud to be associated with Diss Infants & Nursery School through our work with your new school extension. And also delighted that you all agreed to take part in our Christmas Card Competition. I just can't believe the standard of entries. It was so difficult to choose a winning design. More difficult than we had first thought. So in the end we asked our members of staff to choose. The children have obviously worked very hard on the cards and local shops must have run out of glitter and tinsel! We have had the winning design made into a Christmas card and it has been sent to over 500 local firms and companies and we hope it brings them as much joy as it did us."

This year's winner was six-year-old Maddie Gingell, with her drawing of a Father Christmas and a Christmas Tree laden with presents. She received artists drawing kit for herself and £100 for her school. Her card has now been sent out to over 500 architects, developers and builders in East Anglia.

The school’s head teacher, Marion Dawe, commented, “The children really enjoyed designing these Christmas cards. Even though they did have to design them back in September they still managed to get into the Christmas spirit. We are always pleased to receive donations and the £100 will go towards promoting art to our pupils, something that will help encourage them to use their imagination.”

Runner up was Courtney Wendon (aged 6) with third prize going to Adam Cole-Wilkins (aged 5). Both were presented with artists sets.

Part E Seminar Update

Adrian James Acoustics gave a presentation on part E of the Building Regs recently.

Click here for a downloadable version of the presentation.

"We are delighted to have received this prestigious award in recognition of our work and the important partnership with CNC Building Control Consultancy".

Challenges included making all floors and areas accessible for everybody without undermining the historic nature of the building and providing a coherent journey around the complex building for all visitors.

The site had poor visitor facilities, and access for all was effectively impossible because the hall was subdivided into six major sections with nine different floor levels. The cellars were also on two levels and the additional office area was on a further different level.

The centrepiece of work on the hall was the contemporary "glass-box" which allows visitors to travel between the medieval hall, existing south-wing and newly constructed north wing.

Ramped access within the 'glass-box' offers access to three previously compromised floor levels and accommodation.
Improvements also included a glazed lift, allowing access to four levels in three different directions as well as giving visitors the chance to appreciate the historical value and architectural merit of the medieval hall.

Audio visual facilities were installed for visitors with hearing difficulties and contrasting surface colour schemes and distinguishable ironmongery, for visually impaired visitors.

Gavin Napper, construction business Morgan Ashurst's area director for Norwich, said: "The Dragon Hall restoration project was an exciting combination of sensitive conservation and contemporary construction, which involved a variety of design elements to improve access to the medieval building and its visitor amenities," says. "The scheme involved installing wide doors that feature easy-to-use handles, adapted toilets, a disabled ramp and a lift that takes visitors to the medieval hall on the first floor. The improved facilities will now enable anyone to visit and enjoy this great historic and contemporary asset to the local community for many years to come."

Part E Seminar Update

Adrian James Acoustics gave a presentation on part E of the Building Regs recently.

Click here for a downloadable version of the presentation.

A winning formula?

CNC, in partnership with their customers, have been shortlisted for a number of awards in the National LABC Built-In Quality Awards sponsored by the "Building Magazine."

The judging panel consists of a host of industry leading professionals from across the construction sectors and the winners will be announced at the gala dinner on Thursday, 18th October at The Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London.

Our customers and the awards they are shortlisted for are :-

NPS Property Consultants Ltd

• Best Partnership with designer, architect or construction consultant
• Best Public/Community Project for Norwich Bus Station

Lovell Partnership Ltd

• Best Partnership with a main contractor
• Best Partnership with a client or housebuilder

Bovis Lend Lease

• Best Structural Innovation for Project Horizon (Norwich Union)
• Best Fire Engineering Innovation for Project Horizon (Norwich Union)
• Best Commercial Project for Project Horizon (Norwich Union)

Lucas Hickman Smith Architects

• Best Structural Innovation for Dragon Hall
• Best Access / Disability Regulation Innovation for Dragon Hall

Impending review of the Building Regulations Part G announced by Angela Smith

On 21 June, Angela Smith, the Building Regulations Minister, announced a new review of Part G to see whether changes are needed to the requirements relating to hot water systems, following a number of tragic incidents due to defects in these.

Informal consultations on the scope of the review will begin shortly. This will be followed by the usual full consultation and regulatory appraisal. This consultation and any other correspondence received from CLG will be referred to the Technical Working Group of the LABC for consideration.

Further details will be announced on this website.

Kevin Love, Director of CNC Building Control Consultancy, said “We are absolutely delighted to have five winners in the regional awards. We were up against very stiff opposition and we are thrilled to have won 5 of the 11 awards available. All these winning projects will now automatically be entered into the National LABC Built in Quality Awards taking place on 18th October at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London and we have our fingers crossed already!”

The judges from across the construction industry, including local and central government, were so impressed with Project Horizon it won both the “Best Fire Engineering Innovation”, & “Best Commercial Project” awards and was runner up in the “Best Structural Innovation” Awards.

Project Horizon is Norwich Union’s £ 96 million major refurbishment project and was driven by Norwich Unions desire to provide it’s staff with a “modern working environment” catering for around 3000 employees on it's Island Site in the centre of Norwich. In addition to the refurbishment work associated with the office space a spectacular Atrium was constructed in the former external courtyard between Westlegate, All Saints Green, Life Wing and Surrey House. This atrium creates a new social space for both staff and visitors. It is the focal point from which visitors and staff can radiate into other parts of the building and functions as a staff restaurant and comfortable state of the art welcoming space for visitors to the Norwich Union offices. Judges were impressed with the way that CNC Building Control were involved at the very beginning of this project from it inception and early design stage which lead them to being part of the “design team”. This approach helped overcome many challenges when designing and constructing the spectacular new atrium created by the insertion of a doubly curved wide span steel and glass roof over the courtyard which needed to be structurally independent due to the historic Grade 1 listed Marble Hall (Surrey House) and the structural capacity needed to support a roof of this nature.

Richard Gawthorpe, Head of Business Support for CNC said, “It was a privilege to have been involved in this project. The project involved many challenges and because of our early involvement and bringing together regulatory bodies including Planning, Conservation and the Fire Authority we we were able to help Bovis Lend Lease, Faber Maunsell and the remainder of the design team achieve a building that not only meets the building regulations and DDA requirements but respects the architectural and historical merits of the site.”

Trevor Fowler, Bovis Lend Lease Project Director at Project Horizon, said “It was fantastic to come away with 2 awards and runner up in a third category and this is testament to the whole team’s continued efforts over the past three years on what has been a very challenging project. The support we have received from CNC Building Control Consultancy throughout has been second to none in their assistance with the resolution of complex technical issues, compliance advice and their consultation with other statutory bodies. Their representative has become an integral part of the team. With the final phases of the project now well underway we look forward to maintaining our relationship with CNC and celebrating our joint success at project completion towards the end of the year”.

The second major CNC winner of the evening, NPS Property Consultants Ltd collected with Richard Jackson plc the “Best Structural Innovation” award for the Norwich Bus Station and also, in their own right the “Best Partnership with Designer, Architect or Construction Consultant” Award.

Alan Osborne, Head of Operations, commented “CNC are proud to have been involved in the construction of Norwich’s new bus terminal. The site is very prestigious and demanded a unique one off design to do the site justice. Not only has NPS succeeded in delivering a fantastic new and long awaited transportation facility for the City, they have constructed a modern building with impressive visual features providing Norwich with another landmark building.”

The architectural design for this site posed a number of interesting challenges for structural engineers, Richard Jackson plc, to overcome, from the foundation design on a contaminated and brownfield site through to the lightweight freestanding canopy. To add to the design considerations the structure also needed to be subject to the forces of nature and as a mark of how well the structure is performing against its design criteria it has already been exposed to torrential rain and gales with wind speeds reach 70 mph. The finished article speaks for itself. The choice of materials and design makes the £6million passenger building fascinating to look at during the day and stunning at night when illuminated.

Paul Harman, Building Surveyor & Practice Principal for NPS Property Consultants Ltd, a multi discipline property consultancy delivering a comprehensive range of professional services to both public and private sector clients throughout the UK explained “We are delighted to have won both the ‘Best Structural Innovation’ and ‘Best Partnership with an Architect, Designer or Construction Consultant’ Awards. We have been involved with CNC through the LABC Partner Authority Scheme since August 2004. This close relationship, and designated team responsible for our projects, has resulted in our staff feeling able to discuss projects openly at a very early stage and we find CNC’s views, knowledge and opinions invaluable and feel that we are sharing the same ultimate goals. This approach has paid dividends not only for the Norwich Bus Station but for many other projects that we are and have been involved in with CNC. We feel this trusting professional relationship has benefited both parties in sharing information and experiences that can only be of the overall benefit to our clients and has extended beyond simply seeking building regulation approval.”

The third and final winner for CNC on the evening was picked up by Michael Saunders, Contracts Manager, from the Cambridge office of Lovell, for the “Best Partnership with a Main Contractor”. Lovell were also runners up for “Best Partnership with Client or Housebuilder”.

Housing regeneration specialist Lovell is one of the country’s leading providers of affordable housing and has East Anglia offices both in Norwich and Cambridge.

The judges were impressed with the well-established partnership that Lovell had with CNC Building Control Consultancy. This close relationship has ensured that CNC is automatically part of the design team for projects delivered by Lovells. CNC is currently working with Lovell on a new multimillion pound housing project in the centre of Norwich. Lovell and CNC were involved with Kingspan using Kingspan’s sate-of-the-art structural insulated panel building system to build new homes locally.

Lovell Regional Director, Simon Medler, said “We’re delighted that our strong working relationship with CNC Building Control Consultancy has been recognized by this important award. Being able to draw on CNC’s expertise early in the design phase of projects is a huge advantage in terms of streamlining the process and enabling us to work more efficiently. This team approach benefits both Lovell and our partners.”

Other finalists included

• Robert Mitchell Builders “Finalist” for “Best Sustainability Innovation” & 2nd place for “Best One Off House, Conversion or Extension” Woodland in Hethersett
• John Young’s Builders “2nd place” for “Best Partnership with Main Contractor”
• Foster & Partners “2nd place” for “Best Accessible Building” & “3rd place” for “Best Public Community Project” for the Sainsbury Centre (Basement Extension) UEA
• Lucas Hickman Smith “3rd place” for “Best Accessible Building” , and Finalist for “Best Structural Innovation” & “Best Public/Community Project” for Dragon Hall in Norwich
• Broadway Malyan “2nd place” for “Best Housing or Residential Project” for Phase 1 Fellows Plain, Norwich
• RHWL Architects “Finalist” for “Best Housing or Residential Project” for Riverside Heights
• LSI Architects “2nd place” for “Best Partnership with Architect, Designer or Construction Consultant” and “Finalist” for “Best Commercial Project” with Homeserve at Broadland Business Park
• Richard Pike Associates “3rd place” for “Best Partnership with Architect, Designer or Contraction Consultant”
• James Bond Architect “Finalist” for “Best Sustainability Innovation” for New House in Hales
• C & M Architects “Finalist” for “Best Commercial Project” for Wymondham Business Park.

For further information contact Joan Syrett, Business Development Executive, at CNC Building Control on 01603 430140.

Part L Seminar update information Further to our hugely successful and well attending Part L Update seminar held at the John Innes Centre on Tuesday, 21st November a number of the delegates  requested information regarding the speakers.  This information is listed below.  You will also find a downloadable copy of the presentation supplied by Alan Osborne, Head of Operations, for CNC Building Control  Consultancy. Richard Macphail Principle Consultant National Energy Centre Davy Avenue Knowlhill Milton Keynes MK5 8NA T : 01908 672787 F : 01908 662296 E : enquiry@nesltd.co.uk W : www.nesltd.co.uk   Graham Davey Area Sales Manager Vaillant Ltd Trident Close Medway City Estate Rochester Kent ME2 4EZ T : 01634 292300 F : 01634 290166 E : graham.davey@vaillant.co.uk W : www.vaillant.co.uk Neil O'Sullivan Regional Sales Manager Celotex Ltd Lady Lane Industrial Estate Lady lane Hadleigh Suffolk IP7 6BA T : 01473 822093 F : 01473 820880 E : info@celotex.co.uk W : www.celotex.co.uk   Gordon Musson Regional Business Manager DuPont  Tyvek Unit 29 Hither Green Trading Estate Clevedon North Somerset BS21 6XU T : 01275 879770 F : 01275 879033 E : gordon.musson@gbr.dupont.com W : www.tyvekhome.com

Mike Farrell
Area Sales Manager
Thermalite
(Division of Hanson Building Products)
Stewartby
Bedford
MK43 9LZ
T : 08705 258258
F : 01234 762040
E : info.buildingproducts@hanson.biz
W : www.hanson.biz

Kevin Brennan
National Sales Manager (Housing)
The Velux Co Ltd
T : 0870 166 7676
E : enquiries@velux.co.uk
W : www.velux.co.uk
 
James Mitchell
Director
CPS Ltd
Ashbocking Hall Farm
Church Road
Ashbocking
Ipswich
IP6 9LG
T : 01473 890135
F : 01473 890330
E : james.mitchell@cpsleakage.com
W : www.cpsleakage.com
 
Click here for a downloadable version of the CNC presentation.

Approved Documents Part B (Fire Safety) 2006 Edition - Volume 1 & Volume 2

Key improvements to fire safety lie at the heart of a package of measures, including greater recognition of the role of sprinklers and more help for fire fighters to deal with fires in tall buildings, have been announced by the Government today.

The revisions to Part B (Fire safety) of the Building Regulations and supporting guidance in Approved Document B reflect recent experiences of actual fires, developments in construction, research findings and comprehensive stakeholder engagement, including a four-month public consultation exercise.

Click the links below to find out more:

• Communities and Local Government News Release
• The Building Regulations
• Main Changes to Approved Documents B (Fire Satefy) - Volume 1
• Main Changes to Approved Document B (Fire Safety) - Volume 2
• Approved Document B (Fire Safety) - Volume 1 : Dwellings (2006 Edition)
• Approved Document B (Fire Safety) Volume 2 : Buildings other than dwellings (2006 Edition)

Richard Gawthorpe, Head of Business Support for CNC Building Control Consultancy presenting (left to right) Jamie (aged 7) (3rd Prize), Megan (aged 8) (2nd Prize), Bethany (aged 11) (1st Prize)

Christmas Card Cheers ! Christmas arrived early for three pupils at Brundall Primary School when Richard Gawthorpe, Head of Business Support for CNC Building Control Consultancy, announced the winner Bethany (aged 11) and runners up of a competition to design their company Christmas Card at the school’s packed last assembly before Christmas. The school’s teacher responsible for art, Mrs Pat Peers, commented, “The children really enjoyed designing these Christmas cards and we had some wonderful entries.

CNC’s donation is going to be put to good use as I have already ear-marked the money to buy some clay as all the children really enjoy working with this medium“.

The competition was supported by CNC Building Control Consultancy and Richard Gawthorpe, Head of Business Support, said “It was so difficult to choose a winning design. More difficult than we had first thought. So in the end we asked our members of staff to choose. The children had obviously worked very hard on the cards and local shops must have run out of glitter and tinsel! We have had Bethany’s design made into a Christmas card and it has been sent to over 400 local firms and companies and we hope it brings them as much joy as it did us”.

CNC Building Control Consultancy asked Brundall Primary School children to design the Christmas Card because CNC had recently been the Building Control service provider responsible for a new extension to the school.

Richard Gawthorpe then presented Bethany aged 11, Megan aged 8 and Jamie aged 7 with artist and drawing materials and their Head Teacher, Mr Rick Sheppard, with a donation of £100.

Code for Sustainable Homes

On 13 December 2006, the Code for Sustainable Homes - a new national standard for sustainable design and construction of new homes was launched. By integrating elements of this voluntary Code into new homes and obtaining assessments against the Code, developers will be able to obtain a 'star rating' for any new home which will demonstrate its environmental performance.
 
Click the link below for further information:
www.info4local.gov.uk/searchreport.asp?id=31308&heading=e-mail+alert

Gordon Garrad & Mark Evans (above) collect “Best Fire Engineering Innovation” for the Chapelfield Shopping Centre mall smoke control system (below)   Robin Snell (above left) picks up the “Best Public / Community Project” award for the Water Activities Centre at Whitlingham Country Park (below)   Cawston Park - finalist for the “Best Structural Innovation” Award

Three of the best! Two Norfolk projects walked away with “best in their field” awards at the National LABC Built-In Quality Awards held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 19th October. Gordon Garrad & Mark Evans from Jeremy Gardner Associates collected the “Best Fire Engineering Innovation” for the Chapelfield Shopping Centre mall smoke control system, whilst Robin Snell from Snell Associates, picked up the coveted “Best Public/Community Project” award for the Water Activities Centre at Whitlingham Country Park. Tom Ground from C & M Architecture based in Norwich were also nominated as finalists in the “Best Structural Innovation” Award for the design of the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit at Cawston Park but lost out to the Eden Project. Kevin Love, Director of CNC Building Control Consultancy, said “We are absolutely delighted to have 3 projects short listed as finalists. It is the first time CNC has entered projects for these awards and we are thrilled to have achieved such success, and are doubly delighted that the Chapelfield Shopping Centre was one of the 3 finalists for the ‘The Supreme Award 2006’”. The twelve judges from across the construction industry, local and central government, commented on projects submitted by CNC saying that the £1.6m Water Activities Centre at Whitlingham Country park is “exquisite”. The judges liked the fact that the centre was a genuine community project that fitted perfectly into its setting. The centre’s cabins were designed to “float above the ground while nestling within the sloping banks surrounding it”.

Each cabin was conceived as a self-contained and self-sufficient unit, prefabricated from glulam beams and clad in marine-grade plywood. The 36m span roof was made of Teflon, providing an all weather covering including shading in the summer and resembles a bird resting with outstretched wings.

Alan Osborne, Head of Operations for CNC who was heavily involved in the Building Control work on the project said, “It was a privilege to have been involved in the project that delivered such an interesting and valuable asset to the surrounding communities. The unusual design presented a number of challenges for us. To ensure the complete structure met all the requirements of the Building Regulations these challenges were overcome by working closely with the architects, Snell Associations, contractors and engineers.”

The second CNC winner of the evening was the £275 million Chapelfield Shopping Centre in Norwich with 510,000 square feet of retail space. It was the largest single project undertaken in Norfolk since the Castle Mall project some 12 years ago.

Richard Gawthorpe, Head of Business Support was responsible for the project at its inception & completion said “It was clear from the innovative design of the development that a totally different approach to the approval process was required and in particular ‘out of the box thinking’ was required to overcome the innovative design. The technical prowess of the fire engineers, Jeremy Gardner Associates, and the vision of the design consultants together with CNC led to weekly design workshops to ensure that the freedom of expression creating the beautifully crafted three storey 17 m tall mall atrium, better known as the Crescent, was delivered to the client and their tenants.”

The judges noted that the Building Regulations did not make reference to a 3 storey mall atria design; this was where the imagination and vision of Jeremy Gardener Associates proved invaluable to the overall concept of the crescent’s geometry. They designed a smoke control system whereby smoke would naturally vent to outside ai for a fire in a Lower Ground shop, despite the tall smoke plume. These smoke vents scale some 34m_ combined, releasing 118kg/s of hot buoyant smoke into the atmosphere in the event of a fire and still maintain a clear smoke layer 4m above first floor level thus securing the safety of the occupants using the first floor mall.

Gordon Garrad, from Jeremy Gardener Associated remarked “This is the first time we have been nominated for an LABC award and we are absolutely delighted to have won and even more honored to have been chosen as one of the 3 finalists for ‘The Supreme Award’. Gordon also remarked on the design team approach saying “Chapelfield was an exciting project with a number of fire engineered designs covering means of escape, smoke control and fire fighting. It was good to work with a client who was so encouraging in the development of innovative approaches to the fire strategy.” And “The award reflects how well a project can work when Building Control, as well as fulfilling their regulatory role, become part of the design team and involve themselves in seeking the best solutions for the building.”

DCLG consultation on Building Standards

The DCLG has recently launched an on-line forum as a way of consulting users on the current state of the Building Regulations and how they can be improved in the future. The forum is aimed at all involved in working with Building Regulations - so this is your change to contribute your views to the debate. The forum can be reached using the following link: http://forum.communities.gov.uk/achievingbuildingstandards

Approved Documents F, L & P

As you are probably aware revised building regulations to tackle climate change are being introduced on 6th April 2006 and the revised Approved Documents F, L and P compliment these changes. The ODPM have now released the documentation in connection with the transitional provisions relating to applications and commencements being submitted prior to, on and after the 6th April.

CNC Building Control Consultancy have also produced a guidance note on the transitional arrangements. For further information please click here.

The 2006 Edition Approved Documents F, L and P are also downloadable on the ODPM website - please click here.

If you have over 20 members of staff interested in these changes or are able to organise the attendance of around 20 people we would be happy to offer an individually tailored presentation at your offices. If you are interested in this option please e-mail Joan Syrett on joansyrett@cncbuildingcontrol.gov.uk.

Building Regulation Charges 2006

CNC Building Control Consultancy, along with the other local authorities in Norfolk are having to increase their building regulation charges.  The increase is mainly as a result of inflation and the cost of training staff, following the introduction of new building regulations on 6 April and impending changes to other regulations during 2006 / 7.  CNC's new charges, in accordance with the Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 1998, will be effective from 1 April 2006.

CNC Building Control Consultancy through Submit-a-Plan.com now enables customers to submit Building Regulations Applications on-line.

This service is offered through Submit-a-Plan.com, is free and works with all CAD applications. It will eliminate the need to send multiple paper plans and is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. To register or find out more information on how Submit-a-Plan can save you time and money please click here.

Proposals for amending Part B – consultation ends 18th November 2005 – summary published 31st March 2006

CNC Building Control Consultancy's business strategy identified the need to amalgamate all three offices into one central location.

The final stage of this process has now taken place and saw our South Norfolk team relocate to Broadland District Council's offices on 1st September 2005.

In future, all building control correspondence should be addressed to:

CNC Building Control Consultancy
Thorpe Lodge
1 Yarmouth Road
Norwich
NR7 0DU

From 1st January 2005, if you are carrying out electrical installation work either as part of your business or on a DIY basis, you will need to comply with Approved Document P ; Electrical Safety.

See the links below for further information and guidance:

Guidance Note for Householders

Guidance Note for Contractors

Government Guidance

Seminars & presentations organised by CNC

For a booking form and further information on any seminars please contact:

Joan Syrett
Business Development Executive
CNC Building Control Consultancy
Thorpe Lodge
1 Yarmouth Road
Norwich
NR7 0DU

Tel: 01603 430140
Email: joansyrett@cncbuildingcontrol.gov.uk
Fax: 01603 430541