Planning Departments
Unitary authority planning - contact your council directly
Berkshire has no county council. The county was reorganised in 1998 into 6 unitary authorities, each of which is responsible for all planning, building control, highways and other services within their area. Contact your council directly.
Bracknell Forest Council
Bracknell, Sandhurst, Crowthorne
01344 352 000bracknell-forest.gov.uk/planning
Reading Borough Council
Reading
0118 937 3787reading.gov.uk/planning
Slough Borough Council
Slough, Langley, Colnbrook
01753 475 111slough.gov.uk/planning
West Berkshire Council
Newbury, Thatcham, Hungerford, Lambourn
01635 551 111westberks.gov.uk/planning
Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead
Windsor, Maidenhead, Ascot, Cookham
01628 683 800rbwm.gov.uk/planning
Windsor Castle and Windsor Great Park involve Crown Estate and Historic Royal Palaces as additional stakeholders. Listed building consent requirements are stringent across the Royal Borough.
Wokingham Borough Council
Wokingham, Woodley, Twyford, Earley
0118 974 6000wokingham.gov.uk/planning
Building Control
BCO contacts for Building Regulations approval across Berkshire
LABC - Find Your Berkshire Building Control Team
All 6 unitaries - postcode search
Each unitary authority runs its own building control team. You may also use a Registered Building Control Approver (private sector) across all of Berkshire.
Heritage & Conservation
Windsor Castle, Eton, listed buildings and conservation areas
Historic England - South East Region
Covers Berkshire, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire
0370 333 0607southeast@historicengland.org.uk
Guildford office. Berkshire has exceptional royal heritage including Windsor Castle (World Heritage Site consideration), Eton College, and the royal estates of Windsor Great Park. Royal Households are additional stakeholders on relevant heritage matters.
Environment & Flood Risk
Thames floodplain, water quality and drainage
Environment Agency - Thames Region
Flood risk, water quality - Thames floodplain
03708 506 506Check flood risk - GOV.UK
Flood Incident Line: 0345 988 1188 (24hr). Berkshire has significant flood risk in the Thames floodplain. Reading, Windsor, Maidenhead, and Wraysbury have particularly extensive Flood Zones 2 and 3. Consult the flood map and Environment Agency before any development near watercourses.
Utilities & Infrastructure
Thames Water, Cadent gas, electricity (SSEN/UKPN) and highways
Thames Water
Water and sewerage - most of Berkshire
0800 009 3921thameswater.co.uk/developers
Thames Water build-over agreement required before building over or near a public sewer. Contact early for connection applications on new development.
Affinity Water
Water supply - parts of west and south Berkshire
01707 268 111affinitywater.co.uk/developers
Check your postcode to confirm which water company supplies your address. Sewerage in most of Berkshire remains with Thames Water.
UK Power Networks (UKPN)
Electricity distribution - most of Berkshire
0800 029 4285ukpowernetworks.co.uk/connections
Power cuts: 105. Eastern and central Berkshire (Reading, Slough, Windsor, Bracknell, Wokingham) is served by UKPN. Western Berkshire (Newbury area) is served by SSEN - check your postcode at energynetworks.org.
Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN)
Electricity distribution - west Berkshire (Newbury area)
0345 070 7172ssen.co.uk/connections
Cadent Gas
Gas distribution - all of Berkshire
0800 389 8000cadentgas.com/connections
Gas emergency: 0800 111 999. Cadent Gas operates the gas distribution network across Berkshire. Use LSBUD to check pipe locations before excavating.
National Highways
M4, M40, A4, A34, A329(M) - trunk roads in Berkshire
0300 123 5000nationalhighways.co.uk
Trade Bodies & Professional Registers
Find vetted tradespeople and professionals in Berkshire
Federation of Master Builders
Gas Safe Register
0800 408 5500gassaferegister.co.uk
NICEIC - Find a Registered Electrician
MCS - Find a Renewable Energy Installer
RICS - Find a Surveyor
Other Useful Contacts
Health & safety, complaints and consumer protection
Health & Safety Executive (HSE)
0300 003 1747hse.gov.uk
Notify HSE of notifiable construction projects under CDM Regulations at least 2 weeks before work begins.
Accuracy notice: Contact details and websites change. We update this directory periodically but always verify contacts directly. Last verified July 2026.