Fleet Extensions, Surveys and Structural Engineering

Detached and semi detached stock dominates, so many Fleet projects involve one adjoining owner rather than two, and a fair number involve none at all. If the property is semi detached or terraced, or if the foundations for any new element sit close to a boundary, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is likely to apply and notice has to be served before work starts. We can confirm the position once we have seen the property, and serve the notices as part of the same project rather than leaving you to arrange it separately.

It can. Across Fleet the underlying ground is commonly London Clay with overlying Bagshot sands, so the ground can change noticeably over a short distance, and that has a bearing on foundation depth, on how a new bearing is detailed, and on how close to mature trees a foundation can sensibly go. That is a general description of the area rather than a statement about any particular plot, so where foundations are involved we design against what an investigation on the site actually shows.

Yes. Hart applies tight controls around the Fleet Pond Site of Special Scientific Interest, and the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area sits close by, both of which can matter where a project creates additional dwelling space rather than simply reorganising it. Where any of that applies to a property, permitted development cannot be assumed, and on a listed building even internal alterations can need consent. We establish which of these apply to your address at the start, because it can change the structural solution as well as the paperwork.

It depends on how many adjoining owners are involved and whether the matter is settled by consent or needs an award. We set the basis out in writing before anything is served.

Yes. Fleet is fully within our normal working area for building and structural work, from Fleet Pond, Fleet Road, Elvetham Heath and Ancells Farm through to the surrounding streets. This is our own doorstep, since the office is on Reading Road South, so a Fleet site visit is usually the easiest one in the diary to arrange at short notice.

Only to the extent they show. A surveyor reports on what is reasonably accessible and visible, and will say where something could not be inspected and what would be needed to investigate it further.

Yes. Alongside Fleet we regularly work in Yateley, Hartley Wintney and Farnborough, and across the wider Hampshire border area from our office in Fleet. Bear in mind that some of those neighbouring towns sit under a different council to Fleet, so the planning and building control route can change from one to the next even over a short distance.

Fleet falls under Hart District Council. It is the local planning authority, with Hampshire County Council above it for highways matters such as skip permits and any scaffold that reaches the pavement. That matters because a set of calculations and drawings has to be submitted to the authority that actually covers the address, and on this patch the boundaries run close together, so neighbouring towns can sit with entirely different councils.

Ventilation requirements are assessed for the combined space, and a room that relied on its own window may no longer meet them once it becomes part of a larger area. Rooflights, trickle ventilation and mechanical extract are the usual remedies.

Yes. Planning permission and building regulations are two separate systems. An extension that is entirely permitted development still needs building regulations approval, and that is where the structural calculations, insulation, ventilation and fire safety detail are assessed.