Demolish a Building

If you want to demolish a building, you must give notice to your local council and pay the relevant charge. If all satisfactory, Building Control will issue a consent notice with a schedule of requirements including termination of services. When demolition has taken place, the site should be cleared and made safe. 

Greenhouses, conservatories, prefabricated garages and sheds do not require permission to be demolished.

You can fill in a demolition application using the form below. Please also refer to the Demolition Application Charges for information on costs. 

Essential maintenance

Due to essential maintenance, this online form will be unavailable from 11:45pm on Sunday 31 March to 9am on Tuesday 2 April. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Please note that a location plan of the building and adjoining streets must be provided together with a method statement for the demolition of larger buildings. Statutory undertakers should also be notified in order that they may arrange for their services to be properly sealed. 

Demolition information

  • Usually, if the building to be demolished has a volume of less than 1750 cubic feet (49.56 cubic metres) then permission is not required to knock it down
  • Give us six weeks notice of demolition work. We may impose some conditions about how the work should be done
  • Send a letter to neighbours before work starts, telling them about the work and what to expect. Neighbours should have a contact name and telephone number and be kept updated
  • Deal promptly with any complaints received on site
  • Keep dust down by spraying with water when and where you can
  • There should be no noise heard from the site outside these hours: 7.30am-6.30pm Monday to Friday and 8am-1pm on a Saturday
  • Particularly noisy operations (for example Pile Driving) may need more stringent controls. Pumps and generators should not be left running overnight if they can be heard outside the site
  • Do not let vehicles or materials block or damage the pavements
  • Do not leave obstacles, holes or trenches where they are a danger, especially to disabled people (for example the blind)
  • We may charge you for any damage caused to pavements, kerbs or verges by lorries or heavy plant

If you are having construction or refurbishment work done, you may need to notify the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and you may have other duties as well - find out more by visiting their website.  .

Last updated 28 March 2024