Introduction.

 A planning application is required for most new buildings and changes of use under the Town and Country Planning Act. The local authority has a legal right to remove structures which have been erected without consent or which breach conditions of consent. It is therefore vitally important that when required, planning permission is obtained prior to commencing with construction. The Local Planning Authority (LPA) is a department within your local authority responsible for determining applications and enforcing the removal of unauthorized development.

 Permitted development.

 Certain small developments may fall within permitted development, which means a planning application is not required. There are several criteria that must be met however, including height, distance from boundary, and distance from highways or footpaths. There are also areas where permitted development rights have been removed and an application is required for even a small conservatory. We will as part of the consultation process enquire with the LPA when we consider these rights may apply and obtain written confirmation.

 Types of application.

 There are various types of planning application including, full planning applications for new homes, commercial projects and changes of use, and householder applications for domestic extensions. Others include, listed building consent and conservation area consent. We will advise during our consultation which will be needed. 

Required information (Newbuilds).

 Once established that an application is required, the LPA will require a formal application and supporting documents. This will include accurate scaled drawings of both existing and proposed layouts and elevations, a section view, roof plan, block, and location plan. A Design & Access Statement (DAS) will also be required except for householder applications which are not in special areas. Further information including Flood Risk Assessments (FRA), tree reports and environmental reports may also be required. We will advise what will be required and prepare your application with all required documents. We act as your agent throughout the application, communicating and handling all negotiations with the LPA.

 Local Authority Fees for planning consent.

Planning application fees are standard across the UK and can usually be found on the Local Authority website or the Planning portal. Fees for commercial projects are dependent on the size of development and listed building consent is free. We will advise you of current fees for your project after checking with the Local Authority (please note their fee is separate to ours).

The decision.

 After the planners have considered you application and any comments received, we will be issued with a decision notice, either granting or refusing planning consent. We have an extremely high success rate with over ninety percent of our applications being approved first time, however there are occasions, usually when our clients’ proposals are a little overambitious, when permission is refused. In this event after some discussion with you and the LPA we can often amend the design to satisfy the planners concerns and reapply, currently the LPA do not charge for re-submissions (you are allowed a “free go”) provided that the application is of similar character and made within 12 months of refusal. The alternative would be to lodge an appeal, and the process can take several months before the Planning Inspector makes a visit a  decision is made.

What we will do.

We act as your agent and prepare the drawings and assemble any other supporting information required by the LPA, submit the application, handle communication with the LPA, and keep you informed of any issues.

The time to prepare drawings will depend on the size and complexity of work, usually for domestic extensions and individual houses this can normally be achieved with two to three weeks after a site visit and confirmation of instruction. Where the services of other specialists are needed for additional investigations and reports the time to submitting the application may extend to several weeks longer. Once a final design has been agreed we will submit your application and all the required documents. The local authority should normally determine your application within eight weeks of registration.