Use of Planning Permission drawings by a new homeowner

Our local libraries get copies of planning applications and although there is a no copying sign it's almost unenforceable given the staffing.

Reply to
Tony Bryer
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The fact that copies will be sent the the Local Auythority for planning approval is a bit of a red herring.

The contract to produce a suitable design and prepare drawings is between you and your client (presumably the householder or their agent). The fact that the drawings will be sent to the Local Authority for planning approval and building control purposes is implicit in your contract.

However, you still own the copyright in your drawings (unless you have negotiated such copyright away) and the copies held at the local authority for public scrutiny are absolutely not in the public domain. Your permission is required before any further copies are made.

Smudger

Reply to
Smudger

I have some experience of this situation having recently purchased a house with planning permission for an extension.

I was provided with the planning permission submission drawings & documentation by the previous owner - I did check with the vendor before buying that the documents and the rights to use them would be included in the sale (I understand from this thread that those rights were not necessarily the property of the house vendor to sell).

Upon examining the provided documentation in more detail following the sale it became clear that there were other drawings which we hadn't been given. A quick visit to the local planning office confirmed this

- the building regs drawings were missing but the council would not let me copy their version due to the copyright resting with the architect. I understood this and a quick letter to the architect secured a further copy with other stuff like the structural engineers calculations. He seemed quite happy for me to use all his drawings etc. to construct the extension even though he arrangement was with the previous owner of the house.

My situation was complicated slightly by the fact that the architect did the drawings for the previous owners as a favour, rather than as part of his day job so it's difficult to speak to him as he's doing it in his own time rather than being able to deal with him on a normal professional basis.

I haven't really considered that there could be a problem with the drawings & if there were, who I would seek redress from. If it's been given the go ahead from a building regs point of view, there shouldn't be, should there ?

Reply to
TRK's dad

In theory, no. However, Building Regs Approval has been given on the basis that the work will be done as per the drawing. There remains a possibility (hopefully small!) that the work cannot be done as per the drawing because of something in the existing structure which the architect has overlooked.

Reply to
Set Square

You don't have a contract with designer so your only legal recourse arises if he has been negligent. His client could take action under contract law - and as discussed before most contracts of this sort have implied terms as well as written ones.

Reply to
Tony Bryer

On Wed, 1 Sep 2004 11:17:54 +0100, a particular chimpanzee named "Set Square" randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

IME there are several 'architects' or plan drawers who draw plans to pass Building Regs, rather than to build from. Inspection chambers are shown outside the line of extensions, when in fact they are in the centre of the foundations; loft conversions where the stairs won't fit, etc.

Reply to
Hugo Nebula

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