Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Email: comments@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01235 520202

Vale of White Horse District Council

Demolition work

Notification by the person who intends to carry out a demolition

Anyone who intends to demolish a building that is not exempt should give notice to the Vale’s Building Control Team before any demolition work starts. You can do this either by using the "Demolition notice form" which can be downloaded from the right of the page, or by letter. The notice must be in writing and must specify the building to be demolished.

A copy of the notice should also be sent to or given to the following:

• The occupiers of any building next to the building which is to be demolished
• Southern Gas Networks, SGN Conections, St Lawrence House, Station Approach, Horley, RH6 9HY
• Southern Electric, Farday House, Dorcan, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN3 5EY
• Thames water Utilities Ltd. Developer Services(Waste) 3rd Floor West, Clearwater Court, Vastern Rd Reading RG1 8DB

Notification by the Council

When the Council receives notification of intention to demolish a building, it can respond by serving a counter notice (a Section 81 notice), setting out conditions that must be complied with during the course of demolition.

Starting demolition work

Demolition work should only start after either:

• The Council have served a counter notice on the person intending to carry out the demolition work
• A period of six weeks has expired since written notification of the intended demolition was given to the Council.

The Council has powers to enable it to control aspects of the demolition of all buildings or structures within the district, except those that are exempt from such control.

Listed buildings and buildings in conservation areas

Any alteration of a listed building involving partial or complete demolition requires formal listed building consent. Unauthorised alteration is illegal and can result in prosecution. For information about how to apply for listed building consent please see our page on How to submit a planning application, where you can find an application form and guidance notes on how to apply.

The substantial or complete demolition of an unlisted building in a conservation area requires conservation area consent - for more information see our page on Conservation areas in the Vale.

The Vale’s Planning Service can advise you on whether your proposals need formal permission.

Health and safety

The Construction Design and Management Regulations apply to most demolition work. For advice on this legislation please our pages on Health and safety issues or visit the Health and Safety Executive website.

Asbestos materials

If during demolition works, materials of asbestos are found, the Health and Safety Executive should be notified immediately and their requirements for safe removal and disposal followed by the demolition contractor.

Unless the skip operator or other contractor is already licensed to transport asbestos based products a licence will be required from the Environment Agency to move any asbestos based material off site.

Buildings which are exempt from demolition control include:

• Buildings having an external size of less than 50m³ (this volume is less than the average double garage)
• Extensions on a larger building that consists of an attached conservatory, shed or garage
• Buildings used solely as agricultural buildings
• Work in occupied buildings where it is intended that it should continue to be occupied.