Planning applications - business

Contents

• Advice for developers
  • Pre-Application advice for planning proposals
  • Typical service standard
  • Follow-up advice
  • Charges
  • Pre-Application form
  • 'Without Prejudice' advice

Advice for developers

If you are a developer or a professional adviser, you should make an appointment with a planning officer to discuss your proposals. The following guides give basic information and we recommend you contact us to be sure of the most up-to-date advice:

• Planning Portal guidance for Businesses
• Outdoor Advertisements and Signs

Pre-Application advice for planning proposals

It is our policy to encourage and provide pre-application planning advice. This is beneficial to both customers and us in enabling planning applications to be submitted with a good chance of approval within government target dates.

However the cost of providing this service is not covered by planning application fees and is met by Council Tax payers. We have decided to charge for pre-application advice.

The charges are based on the scale of proposals and the level of response required by the developer. Our ability to respond to requests for pre-application advice will depend on the level of information provided by the developer. This varies between submitting a site plan with a request for in-principle advice as to whether development of a particular type would be acceptable, to schemes which have progressed to a reasonable level of detail.

Prospective applicants for planning permission should consider carefully what advice to seek at pre-application stage as a planning application may be refused if relevant matters have not been addressed in the application.

We offer two types of response service. These are tailored to the nature of the submitted information and the requirements of the developer.

Types of response are:

• Written Response only
• Meeting followed by Written Response

Both services address the principle and the submitted details of the proposal. Internal consultations will be undertaken on key issues. We may carry out external consultation maybe undertaken but a response from external consultees cannot be guaranteed. The meeting service must be requested at the outset by the developer.

Our response could consist of:

• an indication of whether the proposal is likely to be acceptable in policy terms
• detailed comment on any amenity or design constraints
• detailed comment on other constraints
• advice following response to consultations
• worked-up information on Section 106 planning obligations
• detailed validation requirements (reference to Validation Checklist).

Typical service standards

To provide a written response setting out the authority’s considered opinions on the development within 15 working days of the meeting including reference to any Section 106 payments that are likely to be required and the preferred mechanism for securing the payments.

Follow-up advice

After the initial meeting and response the developer might seek additional comments and a further meeting. Additional charges for such follow-up advice will apply.

Charges

Notes

• Mixed Schemes: Proposals involving both residential and non–residential development will be banded according to the residential standard, by treating 100 sq m of non-residential floor space as equivalent to one residential unit.
• ‘Small Business’ is defined as a business with up to and including five employees.
• All pre-application charges include VAT at the current rate (20%).

Pre-Application form

Fill in the Pre-Application Form and return it with payment and any information or plans you wish to submit at the outset for us to consider. We will not progress your request for advice, until we receive payment.

'Without Prejudice' advice

Our planning officers will try to ensure that any pre-application advice is robust. However, any advice given is without prejudice and not binding on any future decision we might make and cannot pre-empt consideration of a formal application. Also, we might change our views on the merits of a proposal if there is a change in circumstances after we have given pre-application advice, such as a change in government policy or case law.

We are required to make decisions on valid applications within timescales set by government. You risk refusal if you have not submitted all the information we require at the outset.

How we deal with planning applications

Useful forms

• Development control pre-application form (pdf, 141kb)
• Planning enquiries

Useful links

• Planning guidance for businesses
• Outdoor advertisements and signs: a guide for advertisers document