Building Control Department, Manchester City Council

This is a large and complex collection including files, building plans and indexes on proposed developments submitted for approval to the City of Manchester's Building Control department (and its predecessor townships) from the 1860s to 2005.

The early township and City of Manchester files (1867-1889) have not yet been catalogued - please email requests to archiveslocalstudies@manchester.gov.uk.

Plans for the years 1890-1909 and 1948-1970 have been catalogued and you can check the catalogue for a particular building by doing an advanced search for 'GB127.M900*' in the Reference Code field and the street, type of building, owner or architect in the Anytext field.

For the years 1910-1948 you can check the street indexes and plan registers GB127.M900/1/1/1/7-18 and GB127.M900/1/1/2/7-18 for the years you require - these index volumes need to be ordered in advance for viewing in the search room. The street index gives the page number in the corresponding plan register and the plan register gives the plan number and details of the building. You can then use the plan number to order the original plan for another visit. Please note however that some plans are too fragile to be issued and some plans, although referenced in the plan registers, do not survive.

For the years 1970-1989 staff need to search a card index. Please email requests to archiveslocalstudies@manchester.gov.uk - a search fee applies. Staff can also search the plan registers 1910-1948 for a fee.

For the years 1989-2005 search Building Control's online public access system and note the reference code which you can then use to order the plans (in the form of microfiche) for viewing in the search room.

Plans from 2005 onwards can also be searched for using the online system. If the plans themselves are not available online via the system, contact the Building Control Department - email building.control@manchester.gov.uk.