Local authority ¾«¶«Ó°ÊÓ Control departments around the country heaved a collective sigh of relief last month after the Department for Communities and Local Government published its consultation paper The Future of ¾«¶«Ó°ÊÓ Control.

Relief because there were no suggestions that council’s ¾«¶«Ó°ÊÓ Control departments should be done away with, as was mooted in a paper last year.

The best news about DCLG’s proposals is the idea that ¾«¶«Ó°ÊÓ Regulations should be revised at set three-year intervals, with most sections being updated once every two cycles. Part L would be updated every cycle. This would give greater predictability for developers, designers and ¾«¶«Ó°ÊÓ Control professionals.