Building Standards records
The earliest records of building standards work are found in the minutes of the dean of guild courts which record petitions made to the court and its decisions. These included disputes among merchants, trading concerns such as weights and measures, administrative matters and boundary disputes as well as petitions for consent to building works. The minutes usually record the name of the petitioner, the property, the proposed building works and the court’s decision (either to grant a warrant to undertake the works or to refuse consent).
Petitions became standardised in the 19th century, recording the petitioner’s name, the property, the proposed building work, the owners of adjoining properties who had to be informed, the date and place of the court, the date the warrant was granted and reports by the Master of Works on the proposals and inspections. They were often bound sequentially together into volumes.
Petitions were replaced in 1964 by applications for warrants with different forms for the four main categories: alteration and erection of buildings, demolition, alteration and erection of buildings with a limited life, and minor works (under a statutory cost). These applications were usually held in building warrant files along with the warrant, drawings (or plans), correspondence, reports of inspections of the works and a completion certificate.[1] Files may include letters of comfort which are issued on request when the certificate of completion was not issued but the works meet the required standard, or when the work did not require building warrant approval.
Registers of petitions were introduced in the 19th century as the number and range of building petitions increased. Registers kept by the clerk were more standardised than minutes and recorded the number of the petition, the name and address of the petitioner, the property, the proposed work, the date of the petition, the decision to grant or refuse consent and the date of the warrant. [2] Registers were also kept by the Master of Works after this post was created in 1892, and these registers usually had space for reports on the proposals, construction and completion inspections. The Master of Works also maintained separate registers of minor warrants which he approved or rejected under delegated authority. Minor warrant registers tend to include less information, with only the number of the petition, the petitioner’s name, date of petition, the property and any conditions.
Drawing or plans of the proposed building works were submitted along with the petition or application and from 1892 had to be available for inspection on payment of a fee.[3] The plans had to include a block or location plan, plans (each floor, foundations and roof), elevations, sections and include details of drainage and ventilation. Although there is still a general right of access to these plans, under 2009 legislation, access to plans of public buildings may be restricted where there is a security concern, and copies of plans of domestic properties can only be supplied to the owner, potential owners, tenants and potential tenants.[4]
References
[1] Building (Scotland) Act 1959 (c.70)
[2] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.55) s.166.
[3] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c.55) s.166.
[4] Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004 No. 428) reg. 58, as amended by the Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009 (SSI 2009 No. 117).