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Guest Blog: How To Apply & Get Planning Permission

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Roberta
Posted in Guest Bloggers, Property Development, Property Related Posts Tagged , , , ,

Guest Blog: How To Apply & Get Planning Permission-Su Butcher Guest Blog

Today for a slight change to my ramblings I have invited Su Butcher from the team of architects at

Barefoot Gilles.com to tell us all about getting planning permission, and why some clients have been rejected.


Guest Blog: Su Butcher



How to get Planning Permission

Everyone wants planning permission. Why? Because it adds value to their property and enables them to achieve their objectives. Getting a good planning consent is not as easy as it used to be, and if you are going to reap the benefits, you will also be taking the financial risk of making the application.
All the more reason get it right first time, to plan ahead and to know what you are committing to before you commission any work.

What makes up a planning application? As a minimum an applicant or their agent needs to submit the following:

1. A written application form (in paper or online)

2. A site plan identifying the land

3. Scale Drawings sufficient to describe the proposed development

4. Certificates and related documents

5. An application fee, and

6. A Design and Access statement

Save Money- Do It Online!

If you apply online at the planning portal, you only need to submit one copy of everything, but if you send the actual documents in by post or by hand, multiple copies are required. Since 2007, Local Authorities can now adopt their own ‘Local List’ of additional information they require in support of a planning application. Here is just an example of the range of additional information they can ask for:

* Air quality assessment

* Biodiversity survey and report

* Affordable housing statement

* Tree survey/Arboricultural Impact Assessment

* Daylight/ Sunlight Assessment

* Economic Statement

* Environmental Statement

* Foul sewage and utilities assessment

* Flood Risk Assessment

* Heritage Statement (including Historical, archaeological features and Scheduled Ancient Monuments)

* Land Contamination assessment

* Lighting Assessment

* Noise Assessment

* Open Space Assessment

* Planning Statement (how the proposal accords with national, regional and local planning policies)

* Site Waste Management Plan

* Statement of Community Involvement

* Structural Survey

* Transport assessment

* Travel Plan

Get The Documents Right

Preparing these documents takes special expertise, so they will probably need to come from a number of different sources. Your agent, usually an architect or planning consultant, can co-ordinate these professionals for you so that everything comes together and is ready on time. All this information must be put together carefully – if anything is missing it can hold up the process of registering the application (confirming that it has been received intact and the clock has started ticking) and delay the 8 or 13 week time period from application to determination (decision).

Planning is a democratic process, involving not only national and local guidance but elected counsellors and members of the public. As a result it is not possible to guarantee a result, but there are ways to reduce the risk of refusal along the way. Pre-Application Consultation Before the application is made it is essential to consult with the local authority about your proposals. This makes it possible to identify relevant issues early on and will give greater certainty of the process and its likely outcome. It may be possible to consult with a planning officer via email or telephone, or a meeting may be appropriate. Some local authorities now charge for Pre-Application advice and it is important to build this into your cost picture and to make good use of the consultation.

What will it cost?

Before anyone carries out any major work, find out what the application will cost to make. Each document will take time and expertise, you may need a survey of any existing buildings, and there is the planning application fee and the costs of a pre-application consultation. Find out the likely cost of getting the application together, and the probable timescale from the professionals involved, before anyone does any work for you. That way you can assess the risk against the likely outcome, and as the process proceeds and more information is uncovered, you can keep abreast of progress and make informed decisions. The reason why obtaining planning consent is so lucrative is precisely because the process involves risk. So minimise your risk: be informed and be prepared.

Our Comments

You also have permitted development rights, and as such may not even need planning in the first place. Check with your local council and download their planning guidlines for more information. There is a company called Betternest who are launching very soon who outline exactly what you can do under your permitted development rights – they’re working in partnership with the government to ease planning enquiries, and will go as far as to give you a 3D online model of your property with relevant extensions shown, value before and after each option, and even write the appropriate letters to councils etc for you. Check out some pre-launch samples of what we’re talking about here: http://www.betternest.co.uk/preB/SMR_Product-Range.html

Good stuff! As always we welcome and value your comments and reactions to our blog.

My Property Mentor Web Site


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  • http://www.granit.co.uk/ Rob Wilson- Granit Architects

    Worth remembering the bigger the gain, the bigger the risk, the bigger the fee.
    Remember when you look at the fee your architects is charging, quite how small a portion of the value of planning gain it is. Remember also If you want to try for those extra units or rooms, the profit you can make goes up but so does the possibilility of a refusal.
    WE find in the current market To get a best case result it is often wotyh applying for more than is safe and expecting a refusal. THat refusal will provide hard oppinion from the council that can be addressed to get an approval next time around.
    The safe bet will save you architects fees and time, but may not in the end give you as much profit.

    Its all in the game.
    Rob Wilson

  • paul fenton

    you may also want to view this for permited development http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/public…

    • http://www.mypropertymentor.co.uk Roberta Ward

      Thanks for commenting,and adding the web site. Will check it out.
      Roberta

  • http://www.mypropertymentor.co.uk Roberta Ward

    Thanks for commenting,and welcome to my blog.Would that also mean that you get charged a second fee for re-submitting though?
    Roberta

    • http://www.justpractising.com Su Butcher

      Hi Roberta,
      Yes if you get a refusal you have to start again, I think. Depends on the size of your project whether the cost of a second fee is worth it.

      A good architect will help you 'play the game' as Rob describes, as much as they can. Architects do have different approaches though – Barefoot & Gilles favour a negotiation approach to getting the best value for our clients. Usually good negotiation will help get a 'yes' first time, on a 'good' consent – that is, one that brings the client the best value possible.

      Thanks for adding the BetterNest information to the end of my post by the way, interesting that companies are finding ways to offer a service tailored to the Permitted Development Rights legislation.

      • http://www.mypropertymentor.co.uk Roberta Ward

        Yes, it is interesting Su that someone has spotted that particular niche in the market. Im not sure what their target market is at Betternest, and there is no mention of what kind of fees they change for the variety of experts on hand.Their model seems to be based around them giving reports initially. I assume that they are targeting the more inexperienced general public who dont know their PDR for cheaper reports with a view to getting bigger work for the various experts as a follow on service.

        • Rob wilson

          We all would prefer a negotiation in advance adding to a more certain approval.
          Some councils even engage in this, some councils refuse to discus an application before after and during. lambeth for example. Some councils charge for pre-application advice and then give it couched in terms they can renege on later.
          Most London borough are pretty unhelpful, using workload as an excuse, sadly they are so far behind that the best many of them can do is look at an application on the day a decision is due, and they find a refusal easier and with fewer implications than an approval. Many councillors with the election in mind prefer to refuse rather than pass, it upsets fewer people.
          The appeal system is so overwhelmed because of the easy option from the councils that they take months and there is no negotiation available within that framework.
          The planning officers, many of whom want to help are continually blocked by their team leaders, who do not visit site and spend a few minuets on each case, as soon as they find a possible reason to refuse they do. So the planner, who arrive chirpy and ready to help the world leave disillusioned to see if it is different elsewhere.
          Meanwhile the housing shortage grows, no-one can move, no-one can extend and no-one is building anything new. And even if there was something to buy the banks would rather pay our money to themselves as bonuses than lend it to homeowners, the interest rates which make lending more possible in theory don’t make it worth the bankers effort.
          Something needs to change.
          City dwellers need to realise that cities must rejuvenate and grow to survive as vibrant places and that can mean next door having a conservatory or a loft, or a tree coming down. Councils should allow people to use permitted development rights, instead of looking for ways to block it so they don’t have control.
          Bit of a rant but why not?

  • http://www.justpractising.com Su Butcher

    Hi Roberta,
    Yes if you get a refusal you have to start again, I think. Depends on the size of your project whether the cost of a second fee is worth it.

    A good architect will help you 'play the game' as Rob describes, as much as they can. Architects do have different approaches though – Barefoot & Gilles favour a negotiation approach to getting the best value for our clients. Usually good negotiation will help get a 'yes' first time, on a 'good' consent – that is, one that brings the client the best value possible.

    Thanks for adding the BetterNest information to the end of my post by the way, interesting that companies are finding ways to offer a service tailored to the Permitted Development Rights legislation.

  • http://www.mypropertymentor.co.uk Roberta Ward

    Yes, it is interesting Su that someone has spotted that particular niche in the market. Im not sure what their target market is at Betternest, and there is no mention of what kind of fees they change for the variety of experts on hand.Their model seems to be based around them giving reports initially. I assume that they are targeting the more inexperienced general public who dont know their PDR for cheaper reports with a view to getting bigger work for the various experts as a follow on service.

  • http://www.newlogodesignlondon.co.uk. logo design london

    8.Thank you very much ,By this i learn many information and i increases my knowledge thank you . i want more information about this subject . thank you very much ones again thank you

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