Guide To Applying For Planning Permission
If you employ an architect you will generally be able to leave it up to him, or her, to apply for planning permission on your behalf. However, if you are not working alongside an architect then it is down to you to apply for the planning permission yourself.
The aim of this guide is to break the application process into simple steps to aid your understanding of what it is that you need to do and what you should expect.
Step 1: Obtain a planning application form
To get an application form you will need to phone the council. The forms are far from complicated and, subsequently, they are relatively straight forward to fill in.
The form will require a brief description of the proposed building works along with some details regarding access, drainage and neighbourly consent. The form will also include a checklist to make sure that you send all of the information that is needed to accompany the application form including the various plans and drawings.
Step 2: Drawing up the plans
The relevant drawings will need to be to scale and 100% accurate. Unless you are totally confident of your ability to produce drawings that meet this standard then you should stop reading now and look into employing an architect.
The required drawings are likely to include existing and proposed elevations and basic floor plans and they will need to be 1:100 in scale.
Step 3: Submission
Once the drawings are perfect and the form is complete, it is time to submit them to the council along with the appropriate fee.
Step 4: Sit tight
The only thing you can do now is be patient and wait for the council’s acknowledgement of receipt of application.
Step 5: Local consent
There will now be a period of 21 days in which local homeowners will have the opportunity to see the plans for themselves and lodge any objections.
They will be made aware of the application by way of a letter of notification which will be sent to all properties in the immediate locality and/or by way of a notice, posted on your property, which details the proposed changes.
Objections can be lodged online, at the public library, or directly to council.
Step 6: Any objections?
If the council receives in excess of two objections then the proposal will be reviewed by a committee before a decision is made.
Step 7: The decision
Planning permission will now be either granted or refused. The planner who is dealing with your proposal will make a recommendation, which is very often the decision made.
If you are refused planning permission then you do have the option of appealing against the council’s decision. However, there is by no means any guarantee that this will make any difference to the decision, and there is the risk that you might find yourself liable to cover the council’s costs if your appeal is unsuccessful, and the only thing that your appeal will have made a difference to is your available funds.
It can be a far better idea to listen to the council’s reasons for refusal and consider the option of revising your plans and resubmitting your application.
Step 8: A change of plan
If you have been granted planning permission but decide that some minor changes may be necessary, then you can submit the details - generally a drawing - of your proposed amendment to the original plan to the planning department.
Then, depending on the significance of the changes, you may be instructed that your proposed changes would require the submission of a further planning application.
The decision will be made by a planning officer at the planning department, and it is likely that it will be the same one that dealt with, and approved, your original application.
If the council feels that your changes are relatively small then you will be able to make the alterations and continue without a problem. However, if it is felt that the changes are significant and you go ahead with them anyway without approval then the council has the power to issue an enforcement notice to stop work with immediate effect and/or insist on the submission of a retrospective planning application.
Step 9: Not worth the risk
However small you think the changes are to your original plans you must abide by the council’s instructions, as upon receiving an enforcement notice and submitting a retrospective planning application you are running the risk of a refusal.
If you are refused permission then you will be at the mercy of the subsequent obligation to undo the build to the point where it complies with the original plans, even if it means pulling down thousands of pounds worth of work, which in itself will probably cost thousands of pounds to do.
Getting it right first time is essential when the stakes are so high.
