Comparisons – Page 3
Side-by-side explanations of reports, consents and application types that people confuse.
Comparisons articles – page 3
263 articlesStatement of common ground or a proof of evidence
One document records agreed facts and is signed by both parties. The other states a single witness's opinion and gets cross-examined. Here is how to keep them apart.
Conservation covenant or section 106 for habitat delivery
A section 106 binds habitat land to the council; a conservation covenant binds it to a designated responsible body. How the parties, duration, registration and negotiation time differ.
Rule 6 party or interested person at a planning inquiry
Rule 6 status makes a group a main party at an inquiry, with deadlines, proofs of evidence and the right to cross-examine. Interested persons speak briefly and carry no costs risk. How to choose.
Pavement licence or planning permission for outdoor seating
The pavement licence regime only reaches highway land. Where your seating crosses onto private forecourt, or anything is fixed, planning permission is still needed.
Section 215 notice or an enforcement notice
Untidy land and unauthorised development are handled by different powers, with different appeal routes and different time limits. How to tell which applies.
Land drainage consent or an environmental permit
The watercourse decides the regime. Main river means an Environment Agency permit; ordinary watercourse means section 23 consent from the lead local flood authority.
Hedgerow removal notice or permission for the access
Hold planning permission and hedgerow removal required to build the scheme is exempt from the notice procedure. Remove the hedge first and you lose the exemption and commit an offence.
C3 to C4 in an Article 4 area: which route applies
Class L permits C3 to C4 change until an Article 4 direction removes it. Checking the direction, its date and its boundary decides whether you need permission at all.
Larger home extension prior approval or standard limits
The larger home extension route doubles your permitted depth and hands your neighbours a say. Here is how the consultation works and when the standard limits win.
Part 1 Class A or Class AA for more space
Class A gives ground-floor space with no application. Class AA adds a storey but excludes designated land and houses built outside a set window. Here is the comparison.
Nutrient neutrality: on-site mitigation or credits
On-site nutrient mitigation costs less per kilogramme and takes longer. Credits cost more and move faster. Here is how to choose, and what each route has to prove.
High hedge complaint or a private nuisance claim
The statutory high hedge scheme only covers evergreen hedges over two metres acting as a barrier to light or access. Everything else is a civil matter or self-help.
Class E flexibility or a change of use application
Changes within Class E are not development, so no application is needed. Conditions restricting use, sui generis destinations and Article 4 directions are the three things that close the door.
Class Q or Class R for a redundant farm building
Class Q and Class R both let a redundant agricultural building change use without a full application, but the allowed works, floorspace ceilings and prior approval matters differ sharply.
Ownership certificate A or B on the planning form
Certificate A means sole ownership of every square metre inside the red line with no agricultural tenant. A strip of highway verge is enough to make it Certificate B.
Section 106 or the levy: which pays for what
The levy is arithmetic from a published schedule and effectively non-negotiable. A section 106 obligation is drafted, tested against regulation 122 and viability-tested.
Arboricultural assessment or landscape appraisal
One measures trees as physical assets with root protection areas. The other judges landscape character and views. A scheme can affect one and not the other.
Felling licence or tree preservation order consent
A Forestry Act felling licence and consent under a tree preservation order cover different trees for different reasons. Which applies, where they meet and what happens if you get it wrong.
Class MA or Class M: two routes to residential
Both classes turn commercial floorspace into housing through prior approval, but only Class M carries the building works, and only Class MA needs two years of qualifying use.
Householder appeal or full planning appeal: which route
A householder refusal must be appealed within 12 weeks, on the papers the council already had. The general written representations route gives six months and allows new evidence, and it is not available for householder decisions.
Sequential test or exception test: which one applies
Raised floor levels answer the exception test, never the sequential test. Here is the order the two tests run in, which combinations trigger each, and the evidence they need.
Class M or Class MA for a shop to homes conversion
Class MA takes a Class E shop to flats subject to a 1,500 m2 cap, two years of prior use and three months of vacancy. Class M is now a narrow residual right, but it does permit building work.
Build over agreement or a sewer diversion
A public sewer crossing a site is a layout constraint before it is a legal one. Deciding between a build over agreement and a diversion at the wrong stage is expensive.
Ordinary watercourse consent or a flood risk activity permit
The regulator depends on whether the channel is a main river. Get that one question answered before you design a culvert, an outfall or a crossing.
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