Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Building Regulations (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 1st July 2000.

Amendment of the Building Regulations 1991

2.  Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations 1991(3) (“the Principal Regulations”) shall be amended in accordance with regulations 3.

3.  For Part B (Fire Safety) there shall be substituted the following part–

“PART BFIRE SAFETY

Transitional Provisions

4.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Principal Regulations shall continue to apply to any building work as if these Regulations had not been made where–

(a)before 1st July 2000 a building notice, an initial notice, an amendment notice or a public body’s notice(5) has been given to, or full plans have been deposited with, a local authority in respect of the building work; and

(b)that work is carried out thereafter in accordance with any such notice or plans, whether with or without any departure from such plans.

(2) Where an initial notice given before 1st July 2000 is varied by an amendment notice given on or after that date, the Principal Regulations shall continue to apply as if these Regulations had not been made, to so much of the building work as could have been carried out under that initial notice if the amendment notice had not been given.

(3) In this regulation, “building notice” and “building work” shall have the same meaning as in the Principal Regulations.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Building Regulations 1991 (S.I. 1991/2768) to substitute a new Part B in Schedule 1.

The main change is the addition of a requirement for appropriate provision for early warning of fire in Part B1. There are also amendments to paragraphs B2(1)(a), B3(2), B4(1) and B4(2) to make it clear that the resistance to fire must be adequate; and to paragraphs B5(1) and B5(2) to make it clear that the facilities and access for the fire service must be reasonable.

Regulation 4 of these Regulations contains transitional provisions.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared in relation to these Regulations. A copy may be obtained from Building Regulations Division, DETR, Zone 3/A1, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London, SW1E 5DU, telephone 020 7944 5753.