The Building Safety Levy is a charge introduced under the Building Safety Act 2022 to help fund the remediation of building safety defects. The levy applies to certain new residential developments in England.

We are preparing for the introduction of the Building Safety Levy. We are currently unable to provide detailed responses to individual scheme enquiries. However, general queries can be sent to buildingcontrol@fylde.gov.uk.

What is the Building Safety Levy?

The levy is intended to ensure that the development sector contributes towards the cost of addressing historical building safety issues, including unsafe cladding. Local authorities are responsible for collecting the levy and transferring funds to central government.

The Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 were approved by Parliament and made on 19 November 2025.

When does it apply?

The levy will apply to building control applications and notices submitted on or after 1 October 2026.

Applications submitted before this date will not be subject to the levy, even where they are subsequently varied.

A levy liability notice will be issued where a developer submits a commencement notice for an:

• application for building control approval with full plans to a local authority or the Building Safety Regulator (BSR)
• initial notice via a Registered Building Control Approver (RBCA)

All Building Safety Levy applications should be submitted to Building Control via the usual application process.

Any Building Safety Levy enquiries should be submitted to buildingsafetylevy@fylde.gov.uk.

Find out more about the Building Safety Levy:

• Building Safety Levy guidance
• Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025
• Levy rates and calculations

The Operational Standards Rules for Building Control now require all photo evidence to be geotagged.

All photos need to show the date, time and the location of the photo. If your photos are not stamped with these details, we will not be able to accept them as evidence.

You can use any app which adds a date, time, and location watermark to your photos. Search ‘geotag’ on your phone’s app store or visit the links below.

• Apple App store
• Google Play store

If you are still having issues please contact us on 01253 658674 or email buildingcontrol@fylde.gov.uk

Financial statement relating to the Building Regulations Chargeable and Non-Chargeable Account.

Local Authorities are required by The Building (Local Authority Charges) Regulations 2010 to publish an annual financial statement relating to their Building Regulations Chargable and Non-Chargeable Account.

Types of building work to which the Building Regulations do not apply (known as Exempt Buildings) are defined in detail at Exempt Buildings and Work.

If the work is exempt, there is no need to submit an application for Building Regulations approval. Please note that this does not necessarily mean that planning permission will not be required and you should contact the Council’s Planning Services if you need clarification on this.

We have provided below a series of self assessment forms for you determine for yourself whether or not the work you are intending to carry out is exempt from Building Regulations requirements, and thus does NOT need Building Regulations consent. There is a separate form for each type of building.

Simply answer each of the questions in the form that is applicable to the type of work. If the answer to all the questions is No, then the work is exempt from Building Regulations requirements.

Once completed, there is no need to submit the form to the Council as it is for self assessment purposes only. However, should you need confirmation from the Council of the exemption, particularly at the time you come to sell the property, the form explains how you can obtain this.

Self Assessment Forms (PDF Downloads)

Planning Portal is the national service for planning and building control applications, partnered with all local authorities in England. They simplify access to information and services. We recommend using Planning Portal to submit your building control applications. Visit Planning Portal to learn more and apply.

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To create a building control application, you will need to sign into Planning Portal, or create an account.
ENSURE YOU SWITCH TO BUILDING CONTROL.

Click here to start a building control application.

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The Planning Portal is the submission platform for building control applications to Fylde. There are many benefits of submitting building control applications via Planning Portal:

• You can work on your applications in draft before submission
• Immediate delivery and acknowledgement of applications
• Online help functions for completing applications
• Online record of completed applications
• Single sign-on for planning and building control
• The ability to pull across key information from planning applications
• Fully compliant applications, always up-to-date with latest legislation
• Simple online payment

2025-26 Fees

Why we are collecting the data

 Fylde Borough Council Building Control provides a number of services which include Building Regulation Approval, Regularisation to existing premises and enforcement to premises which fail to meet Building Regulations.

Secondly administrational and enforcement involvement with dangerous structures and demolition is the responsibility of the department. In order to carry out these statutory functions it is necessary to process personal data.

With whom we will be sharing the data

 Fylde Borough Council Building Control may share data with other government departments and agencies, local authorities and housing associations (and their representative bodies), the local fire and rescue authority and United Utilities in pursuance of the aim of the Building Regulations and associated Building Act 1984.

For how long we will keep the (personal) data.

Your (personal) data will be held for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it has been collected.

Any personal data will be stored in a secure Fylde Borough Council IT system upon the Building Control and Land Charges system. It will not be transferred to a country outside the European Economic Area or used for any automated decision making.

Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, erasure

Where the data we are collecting is your personal data, you have considerable say over what happens to it.

You have the right:

1. to see what data we have about you;
2. to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record;
3. in some circumstances to have all or some of your data deleted or corrected;
4. to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/, or telephone 0303 123 1113; and
5. the right to withdraw consent at any time (where relevant).

With the exception of Part P of the Building Regulations (Electrical Safety) being applicable to electrical work in small detached buildings (as defined below) and in all greenhouses, the following are specific buildings and types of work to which the Building Regulations do not apply.

Buildings controlled under other legislation

• Any building the construction of which is subject to the Explosives Acts 1875 and 1923.
• Any building (other than a building containing a dwelling or a building used for office or canteen accommodation) erected on a site in respect of which a license under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 for the time being in force.
• A building included in the schedule of monuments maintained under section 1 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.

Buildings not frequented by people

A detached building:

• Into which people do not normally go; or
• Into which people go only intermittently and then only for the purpose of inspecting or maintaining fixed plant or machinery.

Unless any point of such a building is less than one and a half times its height from:

• Any point of a building into which people can or do normally go; or
• the nearest point of the boundary of the curtilage of that building – whichever is the nearer.

Greenhouses and agricultural buildings

1. Subject to paragraph 3, a greenhouse.
2. A building used, subject to paragraph 3, for agriculture, or a building principally for the keeping of animals, provided in each case that: no part of the building is used as a dwelling. no point of the building is less than one and a half times its height from any point of a building which contains sleeping accommodation; and the building is provided with a fire exit which is not more than 30 metres from any point in the building.
3. The descriptions of building in paragraphs 1 and 2 do not include a greenhouse or a building used for agriculture if the principal purpose for which they are used is retailing, packing or exhibiting.
4. In paragraph 2, “agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, the growing of plants for seed and fish farming.

Temporary buildings

A building which is not intended to remain where it is erected for more than 28 days.

Ancillary buildings

• A building on a site, being a building which is intended to be used only in connection with the disposal of buildings or building plots on that site.
• A building on the site of construction or civil engineering works, which is intended to be used only during the course of those works and contains no sleeping accommodation.
• A building, other than a building containing a dwelling or used as an office or showroom, erected for use on the site of and in connection with a mine or quarry.

Small detached Buildings

A detached single storey building, having a floor area which does not exceed 30 sq.m, which contains no sleeping accommodation and is a building,

• No point of which is less than one metre from the boundary of its curtilage; or
• Which is constructed substantially of non-combustible material.

A detached building designed and intended to shelter people from the effects of nuclear, chemical or conventional weapons, and not used for any other purpose, if:

• Its floor area does not exceed 30 sq.m and
• The excavation for the building is not closer to any exposed part of another building or structure than a distance equal to the depth of the excavation plus one metre.

A detached building, have a floor area which does not exceed 15 sq.m, which contains no sleeping accommodation.

Extensions

The extension of a building by the addition at ground level of:

• A conservatory, porch, covered yard or covered way; or
• A carport open on at least two sides;

where the floor area of that extension does not exceed 30 sq.m, provided that in the case of a conservatory or porch which is wholly or partly glazed, the glazing satisfies the requirements of Part K.