The Building (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 (the principal Regulations). They do not apply to building work which has been completed, or for which plans or building notices have been deposited with a district council before the coming into operation of these Regulations.

The changes to the principal Regulations are as follows—

1.  Part D has been amended. The regulation to prevent disproportionate collapse now applies to all buildings, where previously it had applied only to buildings having 5 or more storeys.

2.  Part J has been replaced. It now recognises that most buildings have more than one waste container, and introduces provisions to require the allocated space for waste containers to be reasonably accessible to the waste collection point. It also makes provision for waste chutes in certain circumstances.

3.  A new Table has been substituted for the Table in Schedule 4 (Structural loadings). New Tables have also been substituted for Table D (Structure) and Table J (Solid waste in buildings). These new Tables recognise revisions to British Standards and, where appropriate, structural Eurocodes.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared. Copies may be downloaded from www.buildingregulationsni.gov.uk, or alternatively, hard copies may be requested from Building Standards Branch, Department of Finance and Personnel, Level 5, Causeway Exchange, 1-7 Bedford Street, Belfast, BT2 7EG.

These Regulations were notified in draft to the European Commission in accordance with Directive 98/34/EC, as amended by Directive 98/48/EC.