We advise waiting on approval of a certificate of lawful development prior to commencement of construction if you project falls within permitted development guidelines. Once you have the necessary approval from the council for the design of your project a building control application is submitted. We recommend submitting the building control application at least 3 weeks prior the start of your build to allow building control the time to approve your documentation. You are however within your rights to start building works just 5 days after submitted your building control application.