Refuse and fire access are Building Regulations matters, but they shape the layout at planning stage. Get them wrong and a scheme can need redesigning after consent.
Bins: 30 metres and 25 metres
Building Regulations guidance (Approved Document H) says residents should not have to carry waste more than 30 metres to the bin store, and the store should be within 25 metres of where the collection vehicle stops. Councils’ waste teams often add their own requirements, such as collection points at the kerb, maximum gradients and the size of vehicle they use.
Fire engines: 45 metres
For houses, Building Regulations guidance (Approved Document B) expects a fire engine to be able to get within 45 metres of all points inside each home. The access route has to be wide enough and strong enough, and a long dead end needs somewhere to turn. Where the distance cannot be met, alternatives such as sprinklers may be agreed with building control and the fire service.
Where layouts go wrong
- Long private drives with no turning head
- Bin stores tucked at the back of the site, far from the road
- Shared surfaces too narrow for the council’s refuse vehicle
- Gates or bollards across the fire access
- Steep gradients for wheeling bins
How to design it in
- Ask the council which refuse vehicle it uses, and track that vehicle.
- Mark the 30, 25 and 45 metre distances on the sketch layout.
- Place collection points before the house layout is fixed.
- Flag any fire access shortfall to building control early.
Swept path drawings with the distances marked are quick to produce and answer most highways and waste comments before they are made.
General information, not advice on a specific site. Policy and guidance correct as of October 2026.