Glossary – Page 16
Substantive definitions of planning terms with their policy source and a worked example.
Glossary articles – page 16
481 articlesExtension of time agreements on a planning application
An extension of time moves one date and one right. Whether to agree depends almost entirely on whether the officer is heading towards an approval.
Non-material amendment: the section 96A power explained
Section 96A lets a council edit a permission you already hold rather than grant a new one. Here is what it can change, how materiality is judged, and the changes it will never cover.
Best and most versatile agricultural land explained
Grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification are best and most versatile. Provisional mapping does not separate 3a from 3b, so the answer for a real site comes from a survey.
Openness of the Green Belt: what the test actually means
Green Belt policy protects openness, which means freedom from built development rather than landscape quality. The assessment has spatial and visual dimensions, and duration and activity both count.
Sui generis use: what falls outside the Use Classes Order
Pubs, hot food takeaways, nightclubs and petrol stations sit outside every class of the Use Classes Order. That means no class freedom, almost no permitted development, and an application for nearly every change.
Original dwellinghouse: the 1948 baseline for extensions
The GPDO measures every householder permitted development allowance from the original dwellinghouse, not the house as it stands today. That baseline is fixed at 1 July 1948, or the date of construction if later.
Reserved matters: scope, timing and common refusals
What can and cannot be reserved under the DMPO 2015, the section 92 deadlines that end an outline permission, and the layout and landscaping failures that stall approval.
Local land charges and how obligations appear on title
Section 106 obligations, enforcement notices and Article 4 directions all appear on the local land charges register. Planning conditions generally do not, which is where sales come unstuck.
Windfall sites and how allowances are justified
Councils may count future windfall sites in their housing supply only where the evidence is strong enough. What that evidence looks like, and where inflated allowances fall down.
Deemed discharge of planning conditions under section 74A
Section 74A lets you treat details as approved when a council fails to determine a discharge application. Why the exclusions swallow the rule, and what to do instead.
Section 96A non-material amendments and their limits
Section 96A lets a council amend an existing planning permission without granting a new one. What it covers, what it will not stretch to, and how it differs from a section 73 variation.
The development plan: what counts and what does not
Supplementary guidance, national policy and emerging drafts are not part of the development plan. What section 38 actually includes, and how weight is decided.
Openness of the Green Belt and how it is assessed
Screening a building behind planting deals with visual impact and does nothing for openness. How inspectors assess spatial and visual openness, and what to measure.
Grampian conditions: what they are and their limits
Negatively worded conditions let a council grant permission where the fix sits on someone else's land. The limit is deliverability, and the drafting has to be exact.
Third party rights in planning: what neighbours can and cannot do
Objecting is a right to be heard, not a veto. Here is what the consultation period gives you, why only applicants can appeal, and which disputes planning never decides.
Statement of common ground: what to agree before an appeal
A statement of common ground fixes the uncontested facts before an appeal so the inquiry can deal with the real dispute. Here is what belongs in it, what does not, and when to draft it.
Vertical sky component: the BRE 209 daylight test explained
VSC measures visible sky at the window plane, not light in the room. Here is how the two-part test works, when the 25 degree line settles it, and how to report results.
Be Lean, Be Clean, Be Green, Be Seen: the energy hierarchy
Three design stages and one reporting duty. Here is what each stage of the London energy hierarchy has to show, and why Be Seen changes how the assessment is written.
Embodied carbon and the lifecycle modules from A1 to D
Embodied carbon is fixed by early design decisions and no future grid improvement recovers it. Here are the lifecycle modules, the upfront figure and the reporting rules.
CIBSE TM59 overheating: the test, criteria and weather files
TM59 assesses overheating in homes by dynamic thermal modelling against two fixed criteria. Here is what it tests, how Part O differs, and why the weather file matters.
Active travel and the walking and cycling isochrone
An isochrone maps what is reachable on foot or by bike in a given time along the real network. Drawn honestly it supports a scheme; drawn as a circle it invites an objection.
Parking stress: how the percentage is calculated
Parking stress is parked vehicles divided by kerbside capacity, expressed as a percentage. The arguments are almost always about what counts as capacity, not about the arithmetic.
Trip generation and trip distribution: the two steps
Trip generation counts how many journeys a development produces. Distribution decides where they go. The two steps are assessed separately and challenged for different reasons.
First Homes: the discount market tenure explained
First Homes are sold at a discount of at least 30 per cent to market value, with the discount locked to the property in perpetuity by a section 106 restriction rather than held by the buyer.
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