| Index »Planning Permission |
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| Planning Permission |
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| SOME USEFUL FACTS |
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| Before You Start Work |
| Whether or not you need to apply for planning permission, you should think about the following before you start work. |
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| Neighbours |
| Let your neighbours know about work you intend to carry out to your property. They are likely to be as concerned about work which might affect them as you would be about changes which might affect your enjoyment of your own property. Even if what you want to do would be lawful from a planning point of view, there is no point in upsetting neighbours if a compromise could be agreed. |
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| Design |
| Think carefully about how your property will look after the work is finished. Everybody's taste varies and different styles will suit different types of property. Nevertheless, a well-designed building or extension is likely to be much more attractive to you and to your neighbours, it is also likely to add value to your house when you sell it. |
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| Crime Prevention |
| Carrying out alterations and additions to your house may make you more vulnerable to crime than you realise. Make sure your home is secure against burglary and take some precautions such as installing security locks to windows. The crime prevention officer at your local police station can provide helpful advice on ways of reducing the risk. |
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| Lighting |
| Light itself, and minor domestic light fittings, are not subject to planning controls. Nevertheless, if you are planning to install external lighting for security or other purposes, you should ensure that the intensity and direction of light do not disturb others. |
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| Covenants And Private Rights |
| Covenants or other restrictions in the title to your property, or conditions in the lease, may require you to get someone else's agreement before carrying out some kinds of work to your property. This may be the case even if you do not need to apply for planning permission. You can check this yourself or consult a lawyer. You may also find that some properties enjoy historic rights. |
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| Planning Permission - When To Apply |
| If you build something which needs planning permission without getting permission first, you may be forced to put things right later, which could prove troublesome and costly. If you are in any doubt, contact the planning department of your council. |
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| When You Need To Apply |
| Here are some common examples where you would need to apply for planning permission: |
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Adding or extending a flat or maisonette, including those converted from houses |
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Dividing off part of your house for use as a separate home (for example, a self-contained flat or bed-sit) |
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Using a building or caravan in your garden as a separate residence for someone else |
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Building a separate house in your garden |
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Dividing off part of your home for business or commercial use (for example, a workshop) or building a parking place for a commercial vehicle |
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Building something which goes against the terms of the original planning permission for your house (for example, a planning condition may have been imposed to stop you putting up a fence in the front garden because the house is on an 'open plan' estate) |
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Work you want to do might obstruct the view of road users |
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Work would involve a new or wider access to a trunk or classified road |
| For further advice on when you will need to apply for planning permission visit the Planning Portal website. You can also discuss your proposals by contacting the planning department of your council.
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| When You Don't Need To Apply |
| You can make certain types of minor changes to your home without needing to apply for planning permission. These are called your 'permitted development rights'. |
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Changes to the inside of buildings |
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Small alterations to the outside, such as the installation of telephone connections and alarm boxes |
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Other small changes, for example putting up walls and fences below a certain height |
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| Areas Of Special Interest
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| In some areas of the country permitted development rights are more restricted. If you live in a listed building, a Conservation Area, a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or the Norfolk or Suffolk Broads, you will need to apply for planning permission for certain types of work which do not need an application for in other areas. |
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| Planning Portal |
| The Planning Portal website provides a number of tools which you might find useful when thinking about making a planning application: |
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Online application guide - this provides a walk through of the online application service |
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Fee calculator - this works out the cost of any particular planning application |
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Volume calculator - this can help you determine the volume of a building, for example when thinking about putting up a new building or extending an existing one |
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| Making A Planning Application |
| It is not necessary to make a planning application yourself. If you wish, you can appoint an agent (for instance, an architect, a solicitor, or a builder) to make it for you. Anyone can make an application, no matter who owns the land or buildings concerned. |
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| Requesting An Application |
| If you do not own the property, or if you have only part-ownership, you have to inform the owner or those who share ownership, including any leaseholder whose lease still has seven or more years to run, and any agricultural tenant. If you think you might need to apply for planning permission, contact the planning department of your council. |
| If they think you need to apply for planning permission, ask them for an application form. They will tell you how many copies of the form you will need to send back and how much the application fee will be. Ask if they foresee any difficulties which could be overcome by amending your proposal. It can save time or trouble later if the proposals you want to carry out also reflect what the council would like to see. |
| Choose the appropriate application you need to make. In most cases this will be a full application. But there are a few circumstances when you may want to make an outline application - for example, if you want to see what the council thinks of the building work you intend to carry out before you go to the trouble of making detailed drawings (but you will still need to submit details at a later stage). Occasionally, for planning reasons, the council may insist on a full application even if you would prefer to make an outline application. |
| Send the completed application forms to your council, together with the correct fee. Each form must be accompanied by a plan of the site and a copy of the drawings showing the work you propose to carry out. |
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| Planning Permission |
| If you are planning any building work, demolitions or construction related projects you need to apply to your local council. The planning department will decide whether your project is allowed to take place. This is known as giving planning permission. Decisions are recorded in the Statutory Decision Register. Many approved applications are subject to conditions. The register should also give guidance on what to do if you are not happy with the decision. |
| Unless the Statutory Decision Register says otherwise, development agreed in the past could begin at any time within three years of the date permission was given. It might be worth looking up any approved works on the Statutory Decision Register if you are buying or moving into a new area in case, for example, the open space across the road is going to become a nightclub - which may be noisy and disturb your sleep. Contact your local council for more details about previously approved developments.
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| Many local councils have their Statutory Decision Register available on their website; however, you should also be able to ask over the phone or in person at the public reception. Contact your local council to find out more. Public building work that affects local businesses and residents is planned around results from public consultations. Ask your local council for details.
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| Search For Planning Applications In Your Area |
| If you are looking for planning applications in your area you could use the Planning Portal's National Planning Application Register, which allows you to search for planning applications and decisions in England and Wales. |
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Search for planning applications in your area |
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Read details about applications, including descriptions |
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Print or download a list of applications for an area |
| These services allow you to keep up to date of development that's planned, or taking place close to your home, or in an area you might be moving to. You might also like to find out about, for example, how developments similar one you're planning have dealt with by your local council. The following link will let you enter details of where you live and then take you to your local authority website where you can find out more. |
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| Making A Planning Application Online |
| You can now make a planning application online from the Planning Portal (if your local council is participating in the scheme). The Portal is the government's main planning website, offering advice, guidance and online services. |
| It enables you to create a planning application and send it electronically to your local planning authority along with any attachments, or complete the forms on your computer then print and send them by post as part of a traditional paper application. |
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| The Decision Process |
| The council will aim to decide your application within eight weeks. If it cannot do so, it will usually seek your written consent to extend the period. For example, this could occur if the issues involved are complex or a lot of people are affected by the proposed development. |
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| Support And Advice |
| You can get support and advice on planning issues from planning consultants or Planning Aid Services. You can find consultants through the Online Directory of Planning Consultants which lists around 460 consultancies providing expertise in every field of planning. Planning Aid is a voluntary service offering free, independent and professional advice on town planning matters to community groups and individuals who cannot afford to employ a planning consultant
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| Reporting A Planning Breach |
| If you believe a development has breached a planning control you can contact your local planning authority.
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| What Is A Planning Breach? |
| A planning breach usually occurs when: |
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A development that requires planning permission is undertaken without the permission being granted - either because the planning application was refused or was never applied for |
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A development that has been given permission subject to conditions breaks one or more of those conditions |
| A planning breach in itself is not illegal and the council can permit a retrospective application where planning permission has not been sought.
However, if the breach involves a previously rejected development (or the retrospective application fails) the council can issue an enforcement notice. |
| In considering any enforcement action, the main issue for the local planning authority (LPA) should be whether the breach of control would unacceptably affect a public amenity. It is illegal to disobey an enforcement notice unless it is successfully appealed against. |
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| Your Council's Approach To Dealing With Planning Breaches |
| The decisive issue for the LPA in considering any enforcement action should be whether the breach of control would unacceptably affect public amenity or the existing use of land and buildings meriting protection in the public interest. |
| Enforcement action should always be in proportion with the breach of planning control it is related to. For example, it is usually inappropriate to take formal enforcement action against a trivial or technical breach of control which causes no harm to an amenity in the site's area. |
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| Reporting A Planning Breach |
| You can report a planning breach to your local council. It is the council's responsibility to organise how it enforces alleged breaches of planning control. How LPAs manage the administrative function and process of enforcing planning control is for each authority to decide. |
| When complaints about alleged breaches of planning control are received from members of the public or parish and community councils, they should always be properly recorded and investigated. |
| If the local planning authority decides to exercise its discretion not to take formal action following a complaint, it should explain its reasons to any organisation or person who has asked for an alleged breach to be investigated. |
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| Making A Planning Application |
| It is not necessary to make a planning application yourself. If you wish, you can appoint an agent (for instance, an architect, a solicitor, or a builder) to make it for you. Anyone can make an application, no matter who owns the land or buildings concerned. |
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| Finding Out About Developments |
| If you are affected by a new development proposal, you may first hear about it as a neighbour who is informally consulted by the developer.
After the planning application has been made, the local planning authority will post notices near the site and/or write letters to those closest to the proposed development, inviting comments. |
| Larger developments will also be advertised in a local newspaper. In some cases, local authorities also keep local civic and environment societies informed of all applications in the area. The details of the proposals, including architects' drawings, will be available for inspection at the local council offices. |
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| Making Your Views Known |
| There will be a limited amount of time in which to send comments to the local planning office. It is very important to meet any deadline or your submission may not be taken into account. |
| It is possible to attend committee meetings dealing with planning applications. In many cases members of the public can speak briefly to ensure that the committee is aware of their views. However, only elected members of the council can vote on the application decision itself.
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| After The Local Authority Decision Is Made |
| In England and Wales it is not possible for a third party to appeal against a local planning authority's decision. |
| For example, if your neighbour was granted permission to build an extension you could not appeal against it - even if you objected to the application at an earlier stage of the process.
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| Complaining About Planning Decisions |
| In some cases, complaints about how a local planning authority handled a planning application can be referred to the Local Government Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman cannot investigate a complaint about a planning decision just because the applicant and the local authority do not agree about it. |
| The Ombudsman has no power to alter the decision, even if the local authority administration has not been entirely correct. However, in cases where the Ombudsman decides that the local authority has acted incorrectly in handling a planning matter, the Ombudsman can order the authority to pay damages to the complainants.
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