How can you get plans for a house built in the 70s?

[Morlanddynastyismyfave]

Does anyone know how to get hold of the plans for a residential house? My house was built in the 70s and I really want to see the plans so I know what materials were used to build it etc. As it’s not a new build I don’t know where to start.

I emailed my local council who said they don’t hold the plans and when I asked their planning department how I could get the plans they replied with a “no idea not our problem” type of response.

Any ideas?

Do you know who built the house? Was it part of an estate. Barrett’s and Wimpey were big estate builders in the 70s.
If you want just to find out about the materials used a surveyor might be able to assess it.

Have you looked at the planning dept planning portal? They do sometines have online records going back that far, even if just the approval of plans it may help. It really depends on what records they hold and if they have been digitised.

Failing that as a Pp said you need a surveyor.

Not part of a development no, I really want to see the actual plans rather than get a surveyor out. I’ve tried the planning department and they offered no advice.

It seems like an impossible request! But we’re only talking 50 odd years or so, so I don’t understand why the council doesn’t hold the records!

Many planning departments hold this information on a microfiche, but not all. They may be reluctant to access this though so you may need to be persistent. We were told no several times when trying to obtain plans for a 1960s rural build but eventually they provided them for a small fee (and a very long wait).

If you have a look at the title (Land Registry) it may have the original transfer with the builder name. You could then contact them and ask. It's a really long shot though. They are very unlikely to still be in business AND have records from that far back.

Is there any reason you think it isn't just standard brick construction with cavity, and the usual plastering, tiles etc?

It's possible that even if you can go as far as tracking down the original company they will tell you nothing more than that. What exactly are you hoping to find out?

And as to the issue of why don't they hold it. Because councils have had massive funding cuts and need to pay for storage. Basically they've cut everything they can. If they still have it it would just be luck I think. I work in the public sector and we don't keep anything for longer than required because our storage bill is huge.

even if you had the plans, the type a local authority would hold, they wouldn't specify what it is made of

Also worth noting that our house was built in the seventies. The builder went bust during the process so it wasn't constructed as per the plans. A few bodges we've spotted over the years! Unless you have as-built plans that might be an issue.