Comparisons – Page 5
Side-by-side explanations of reports, consents and application types that people confuse.
Comparisons articles – page 5
264 articlesAsset of community value or local heritage listing
Community value listing buys time to bid when a building is sold. Local heritage listing gives it weight when an application arrives. Different tests, different teams, and no conflict in doing both.
Local Green Space or a town or village green
Two routes to protect open land that have almost nothing in common. One is a planning policy designation tested at plan examination, the other a registration proved by 20 years of recreational use.
Attenuation tank or attenuation basin: which to use
Both hold the same volume of water. They differ on treatment value, land take, whole life cost and who will adopt them, and the choice is easiest to make before the layout is fixed.
Urban Greening Factor or biodiversity net gain units
One measures how much of your site is green and what kind of green. The other measures habitat value before and after, secured for 30 years. A London scheme has to satisfy both, and they do not reward the same design.
National Highways or the local highway authority
National Highways covers motorways and trunk roads and can stop a permission being issued. The local highway authority holds the access and layout standards.
Ancillary use or a material change of use
An ancillary use is subordinate to the primary use of the planning unit. A material change of use is development. The line between them is fact and degree.
Sui generis use or a use inside Class E: what changes
A use inside Class E can change to any other Class E use without permission. A sui generis use such as a hot food takeaway or a pub cannot.
Restrictive covenant or planning condition: the difference
Planning permission does not release a restrictive covenant. Here is who enforces each restriction, how a covenant binds successors, and the routes to modification.
HMO licensing or planning permission for a shared house
Five sharers triggers a mandatory licence. Seven takes the use outside Class C4. The thresholds do not line up, so work out both positions before buying or converting.
Nutrient neutrality or water neutrality: which applies
Both constraints come from the Habitats Regulations and both can stop a residential scheme. One is about nutrient loading from wastewater, the other about abstraction pressure, and they need different calculations and mitigation.
TM59 modelling or the Part O simplified method
The simplified method in Approved Document O sets fixed glazing and free area limits. TM59 modelling accepts any geometry but has to evidence everything. Here is how to choose between them at concept stage.
A material operation or lawful implementation of a permission
Beginning development under section 56 and lawfully implementing a permission are different tests. The statutory list of material operations, the Whitley principle and the records that prove a start years later.
Levy payment or a section 106 contribution for the same works
The Community Infrastructure Levy is a formula and is not negotiable. A planning obligation has to pass the three tests in regulation 122. Where both can lawfully be sought, and what replaced infrastructure lists and the pooling restriction in 2019.
Call-in by the Secretary of State or a recovered appeal
Call-in under section 77 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 removes an undetermined application from the local planning authority. Recovery under Schedule 6 removes the decision from the inspector. The criteria, procedure and challenge routes differ.
A planning condition or an informative on the decision
A condition binds you and can be enforced. An informative is a note. Knowing which is which decides your programme, your fees and your appeal rights.
Class Q conversion or a new countryside dwelling
Two routes turn a redundant barn into a house. One is fast and capped, the other is open-ended and policy-tested. Here is how to pick before you spend on drawings.
Agricultural prior notification or prior approval
Part 6 has two stages: a determination asking whether the authority wants to control siting, design and appearance, then approval of those details. What each controls, and the limits on both.
Free go resubmission or an appeal after refusal
An appeal judges the scheme exactly as refused; a resubmission lets you change it. The fee exemption conditions, the deadlines for each route, and how the refusal reasons decide it.
EIA screening or scoping: which step are you at
Screening answers whether you need an Environmental Statement, scoping answers what goes in it. The Schedule 2 thresholds, the sensitive area rule, and why negative opinions get challenged.
Section 278 works or a section 38 adoption agreement
Most schemes need both a section 278 for the site access and a section 38 for the estate roads. What each secures, what they cost, and how they interact with an occupation condition.
Temporary stop notice or stop notice: which applies
A temporary stop notice can be served on its own and lasts up to 56 days. A full stop notice rides on an enforcement notice and exposes the council to compensation under section 186.
Deemed discharge or waiting for a condition decision
Deemed discharge is a statutory backstop, not a shortcut. The conditions most likely to be slow are often the ones excluded from the procedure.
Screening opinion or a Secretary of State direction
On a borderline Schedule 2 scheme, the difference between a local screening opinion and a Secretary of State direction can decide whether you spend six months on an Environmental Statement.
Design code compliance or a design and access statement
One is a statutory document under Article 9 of the DMPO 2015, the other an audit against an adopted code. Where a code covers your site you need both, doing different jobs.
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