Planning Permission
Chances are, you will require Planning Permission when you would like to:
- build something new,
- change the purpose of a building,
- make major changes to an existing building
Once development has begun, it is the responsibility of the owner of the property to ensure that they comply with all Planning rules, so it’s important for your sake to get it right.
Note: Planning Permission is completely separate from Building Regulations
Planning Permission exists for councils to control building and land development, and ensure that it does not adversely affect the rest of the local population, and to protect the character of the area.
All local councils all have their own specific rules, such as types of materials allowed, thickness of walls required etc.
There have been some important changes and relaxations to the national rules over the past 10 years, with lots of projects that would have been previously deemed as requiring Planning, now considered as minor building works and fall under Permitted Development (PD).
Not sure if you your project will be covered by Permitted Development? Check here or contact us
How much will planning permission cost?
For a developments in England with the intent to build a totally new single dwelling, the current price is £462.
You’ll need to apply for Planning if you want to extend your home and the work doesn’t fall within Permitted Development allowances, for which you should budget £206 to make the application.
Applications are made to the local authority planning department and if you want to do it yourself you can do so on the national Planning Portal website.
The preparation of this can be very labour intensive, which is why we advise the use of a Planning Agent to organise this all on your behalf.
Contact Expression now to act as your planning agent
The Council need from you:
- A detailed scale building plan and elevations of the existing and proposed development, that accurately describe every feature of the proposal including foundation layers, floor and roof constructions
- Details of Materials colours and textures to be used
- A site/location plan of the area
- Signed certificate of land ownership
- The returned application questionnaire which will be provided online
What happens after submission?
Once submitted, The LPA will send confirmation that it has received the application, along with a unique reference number for your case. They may contact you (or your elected Planning Agent) if the further questions or documents are needed to support your application
even for simple projects it can take up to 8 weeks to get final permission, so you (or your planning agent) should factor this in to your timescales when planning when to start the build.
You have 3 years to start the building works once approval is given, or you may need to apply once again.
The local planning authority may well post a sign outside the property and will write to neighbours in adjacent properties, to inform them of the work proposed. Any member of the public is free to review the details, and neighbours can raise objections if they feel that their rights are being impeded by the development. See more about neighbours here.
What if I build without planning permission?
We strongly advise against it If your development falls under Planning.
You need to get approval prior to start of building works, or you risk being in breach of the council rules. While this initial breach is not illegal, the council will have every right to give you an enforcement order to put the building back exactly how it was prior to the work start.
The authority actually have the right to perform contract the works themselves, and bill you after.
While enforcement orders are subject to right of appeal, it is illegal to disobey should the decision go against you - you have been warned!
The council does have the option to approve a retrospective application for you, but why take the risk of not getting approved?
I don't own the property or land yet, can I still apply for planning?
Absolutely, and this is a normal thing to do for anyone considering buying and developing a property or piece of land.
You just need to disclose your interest in the property to the Planning Department, upon applying. We recommend that you do this or there’s a risk of losing vast sums of money on a property that can’t be developed the way you had in mind.
I've got my planning approved!
But now I've changed my mind about the layout......
OK, well if it’s only minor alterations, you should be fine as long as you apply for a ‘non-material amendment' or a ‘minor-material amendment, which we won’t go into here right now.
Making major changes is different. You might well be looking at a fresh application and new public consultation process.
Try to get it right first time. The best way to do this is to employ a Planning Designer top explore all your options. We’re here when you need us. 😉