The Local Authority National Type Approval Confederation (LANTAC) provides for the approval of standard designs for housing, as well as for industrial and commercial buildings such as hotels, shops, offices, restaurants, schools and petrol station forecourts.

Once your initial application has been passed, the type approved design can be repeated anywhere throughout England and Wales. Only site specific details such as foundation and drainage will be subject to individual approvals. National Type Approvals are flexible, and allow for extra features such as windows and roof shapes to be added as required.

You can apply for National Type Approval in conjunction with either a Building Notice (if applicable) or the Full Plans procedure. All you have to do is to submit three copies of a detailed plan to any Local Authority, together with a request for National Type Approval. Provided your plans comply with all the relevant legislation, you will be granted a Type Approval Certificate, valid for three years.

Our Systems Approval Scheme works in a similar way, and is intended for companies which produce building systems using standard details and components. You are partnered with a Local Authority which becomes expert in the technical aspects of your system.

Once Systems Approval is awarded, the Local Authority partner will share its expertise with any other Local Authorities to which you make a Building Regulations submission. This saves you the time and trouble of supplying the same information over and over again, and ensures that the approval process goes as smoothly as possible.

Full details of all these schemes can be found in the LANTAC brochure, copies of which are available from LABC Services, 35 Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BJ, or from your Local Authority Building Control Office.

This approach adopts the concept of bringing together all Local Authority regulatory agencies which affect the development process to provide a developer/business/designer with a co-ordinated approach to the development from concept to completion. It involves Planning, Building Control, Highways and, where required, Environmental Health, the Fire Service and other bodies, e.g. the Environment Agency.

In this way Local Authorities working in unison can offer a co-ordinated service which reduces the scope for conflicting advice. Early consultations will highlight not only the technical requirements of the regulations and Local Acts, but other specialist issues in planning, contaminated land and licensing and registrations. This can only be good for the developer.

The Partner Authority Scheme is a major new initiative by LABC Services, the company responsible for the marketing and promotion of Local Authority Building Control. LABC Services co-ordinates national and regional initiatives by using the experience of Building Control Officers working at a local level. LANTAC has used this national networking structure successfully for over ten years and for this reason the Partner Authority Scheme is administered by LANTAC with the full support of Local Authorities in England and Wales.

The purpose of the Partner Authority Scheme is to give a Partner Company a one to one relationship with a Partner Authority for the plan approval aspect of all construction projects irrespective of location. Protecting the confidential nature of construction design and procurement is a key element of the new scheme. The Partner Authority will act as an effective conduit to the Local Authority where the project is to be built (inspecting Local Authority) on behalf of the Partner Company. The Partner Authority will assess the plans for a project and issue decision advice, which will lead to automatic Building Regulation approval by the Inspecting Local Authority.

At the same time, Local Authority Building Control has unprecedented local knowledge and a history of site conditions which has been gathered over decades. Access to this valuable site specific information is an integral part of the Partner Authority Scheme.

Please contact your Local Authority for further information.