ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades Part P -- How are you coping?

It's a while since we discussed Part P, and it's been a little quiet in here the last week or two, so I thought it might be an idea to see how the British contingent of ECN has been getting on with Part P now that it has been in effect for three months.

I was browsing the forum on the IEE website and noticed that the topic is still prompting a lot of comments there, mostly negative.

I've done exactly what I said I would do, and adopted the system which somebody suggested should go by the acronym COR, or Carry On Regardless.

I've explained the new rules on affected jobs, and so far not one single person has expressed any intention of notifying the council or paying their fees. In fact they've all come out with exactly the sort of the responses I was expecting, varying from "Huh... Another money-grabbing scheme" to less-than-polite suggestions about what the bureaucrats can do with their new regulations.

So what's it like in your areas?

Part P doesn't apply in Scotland. I've been through the Scottish building standards and I can't find any compulsion for certificates or notification. Am I wrong or is it somewhere else?

Paul, I have been asking sparkys at trade counters for some time, and I cant find anybody that has put in a notification yet, I do mainly industrial and commercial installations but just completing a domestic rewire this week. Mmm to notify or not to notify that is the question.

gideonr, I think its BS 7671 that demands certification and being part of the building regs makes it mandatory because building regs demand that work is carried out in accordance with BS 7671 its just a circle, thats my understanding anyway anybody know any different.

Well gents, regardless of attitude to Part P it would be prudent to equip yourself with the requirements. Complying with BS7671 2001 will not necessarily afford compliance with Part P.

So far nobody I've done any work for or even just spoken to about this gives a d*** about complying with Part P.

The local district council is regarded with utter contempt by almost everybody you speak to in this area. There are many rumors of corruption, thanks to perfectly reasonable planning applications being rejected out-of-hand while developers have gotten away with all sorts of things despite local objections.

In a village a couple of miles away, clifftop homes are falling into the sea because the council (in conjunction with the Environment Agency) has abandoned maintenance of the sea defenses. This same council then tried to tell some of those people that they would bill them thousands for demolition of their now-worthless homes when they were declared too close to the eroding edge for safety.

The roads in outlying villages are not maintained properly, and I shouldn't think the drainage has had anything done to it for years, so as soon as we get any quantity of rain the backlanes flood. About all we get for our money is weekly refuse collection.

Given such a background coupled with the extortionate rises in council tax of recent years (it has more than doubled since I moved here almost 9 years ago), is it surprising that nobody intends to pay the council for something which has almost zero likelihood of being detected?

P.S. I'm not ranting at any of you, just venting on the council as a local resident who is as fed-up with them as everybody else around here!



[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 04-16-2005).]

for gideonr.

Yep, Part P doesn`t apply to scotland but, On 1st May 2005 a new Building Standards system will come into operation in Scotland.

Ive been looking through SELECTS website and as far as i can see you will only need to become approved to self cert work which needs a building warrant (also you will have to purchase certificate Numbers), extra sockets/circuits etc on an existing installation that does not require a warrant, then you can issue an IEE or similar cert without notification.

Select

About Scottish Electrical Registration

These new regs seem to make more sense than Part P.

[This message has been edited by sanUK (edited 04-16-2005).]

[This message has been edited by sanUK (edited 04-16-2005).]

Thanks sanUK, what I was looking for.

Gideon

Paul,
I trust your pressure valve was not vented by the tone of my offering! I do empathise but I am one of those rarities that supports Part P. The trouble is, I think we are all looking too hard at it. There is no way Councils want to be burdened with the microscopic, pedantic detail of the tiny job, whether DIY or professional. However, I really do think there is merit in making electrical work which is, afterall, a key aspect of the construction process, part of the statutory requirements for buildings.

Not at all Lyle, my anger is aimed right at the government and local council.

I agree that if we have certain minimum standards for buildings, then there's no reason why electrical systems should not be included.

My complaint is when the system starts making unreasonable restrictions on what somebody can or cannot do in his own home, and when that system seems to be more to do with extracting money than with any real safety concerns.

In my area, most of the existing requirements to notify building control are already widely ignored anyway. The council gets called only on major projects. The general attitude is that if it's internal and/or extremely unlikely to ever be noticed, just get on with it. Part P will just join the list of all other parts which are ignored.

Agreed Paul. I think for the most part only the work that would be "major" will be notified. Perhaps thats a good start! I also agree that the accreditation route was perhaps the wrong route. I would have suggested a simple requirement that all work should be supported by an electrical installation certificate thus clearly indicating a responsible person who could be taken to task in the event of injury due to poor practice.