Glossary – Page 19
Substantive definitions of planning terms with their policy source and a worked example.
Glossary articles – page 19
480 articlesVisibility splay: the sightline your access must achieve
A visibility splay is the clear triangle at your access. Get the X and Y distances and the land ownership right and a highways objection usually disappears.
Five year housing land supply: how councils count it
Both sides of the five year supply ratio are contestable. Here is where the requirement figure comes from and what clear evidence of deliverability means.
Higher-risk buildings: 18 metres and Planning Gateway One
The 18 metre and seven storey thresholds decide whether a scheme needs a fire statement and consultation with the Building Safety Regulator.
Best and most versatile land: grades 1, 2 and 3a explained
Provisional maps cannot tell you whether land is grade 3a or 3b, and that distinction settles more rural planning arguments than any other.
Obtrusive light: the environmental zones E0 to E4 explained
Lighting limits in planning depend on which environmental zone a site sits in. Here is what E0 to E4 cover and how the limits change after curfew.
FIDOL factors and odour effect descriptors explained
Odour in planning is described rather than measured. The FIDOL factors explain why the same smell can be acceptable at one receptor and refused at another.
Rating and background sound levels in BS 4142 work
A BS 4142 assessment turns on the gap between the rating level and the background sound level. Here is how each is derived, corrected and read.
Greenfield run-off rate: the drainage design benchmark
The greenfield run-off rate is the discharge cap every drainage design is measured against, and it decides how much attenuation storage a site has to fit.
Root protection area: the BS 5837 circle explained
BS 5837:2012 sets the root protection area at 12 times stem diameter, capped at 707 square metres. The shape can move; the area cannot shrink.
Preliminary roost assessment: the first step in a bat survey
The preliminary roost assessment decides whether bat surveys are needed and how many. It runs year round; the emergence surveys it triggers do not.
Biodiversity gain plan: the document you file after permission
A biodiversity gain plan is submitted after planning permission and approved before development begins. Here is what it contains, who signs it off, and the exemptions that apply to small sites.
Nutrient neutrality: what it stops and where
Nutrient neutrality is a habitats law problem, not a planning policy choice. It stops new overnight accommodation in affected catchments until mitigation is secured.
Screening opinion: the first step in EIA
A screening opinion settles whether a scheme needs an environmental statement. Getting it early costs three weeks and can save a year of assessment work.
Statutory consultee: who the council must ask
A statutory consultee is a body the council is required by law to ask. Knowing which ones your site triggers tells you what evidence to submit on day one.
Neighbourhood plan: how much weight it carries
A made neighbourhood plan is part of the development plan, with the same statutory starting point as the local plan. Before it is made, its weight depends on the stage it has reached.
Housing Delivery Test: what a failure triggers
The Housing Delivery Test compares homes delivered against homes required over three years. Falling below the thresholds changes how a council has to decide applications.
Development plan: what documents make it up
Councils decide applications in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Knowing which documents are actually in it is the first move in any planning argument.
Section 38(6): why the local plan comes first
The determination must be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Here is how that sentence shapes every planning statement.
Immunity from enforcement: the four and ten year rules
Enforcement immunity arises by lapse of time under section 171B. Here is the old four and ten year split, the single ten year rule in England, and the evidence needed to prove it.
Lawful development certificate: sections 191 and 192
A certificate records a legal fact rather than granting permission. Here is how the existing and proposed routes differ, what evidence persuades and what it costs.
Section 73: varying a condition without starting again
Section 73 varies conditions on an existing permission but cannot touch the description of development or extend a time limit. Here is where the line sits and what to submit.
Reserved matters: what outline permission leaves open
Outline permission fixes the principle; reserved matters settle access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale. Here are the limits, the deadlines and the submission pack.
Pre-commencement condition: what it blocks and when
A pre-commencement condition stops all development until it is discharged in writing. Here is the section 100ZA agreement rule, the discharge procedure and what happens if you start anyway.
Delegated decision: who signs off your application
Delegation under section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 lets officers decide most applications. Here is what sends one to committee, and what an objection has to say to count.
Not sure which documents your council will ask for?
Enter your postcode and PlanScope recommends the right reports for your project, then drafts them in minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanScope