Glossary – Page 6
Substantive definitions of planning terms with their policy source and a worked example.
Glossary articles – page 6
483 articlesThe Newbury tests and when a condition is unlawful
A planning condition can satisfy every policy test in guidance and still be unlawful. The Newbury tests are the three that decide validity.
Section 288 challenges to a planning decision
Section 288 is the only route to challenge an inspector's appeal decision, and the six week limit runs from the date the decision was taken, not received.
Section 330 notices requiring ownership information
A section 330 notice compels you to disclose interests in land. It usually means an enforcement file is open, and ignoring it is a criminal offence.
Revocation and modification orders after a grant
Section 97 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 lets a council revoke or modify a permission it has granted. The completion cut-off and the compensation duty explain why it almost never happens.
Under-enforcement and the rights it creates
Where a notice requires less than it could have, complying with it confers planning permission for the remainder under section 173(11). A gap worth reading for.
When an enforcement notice is a nullity
Nullity and invalidity are different things. One cannot be cured and can be raised in the magistrates' court, the other is corrected under section 176 if no injustice results.
Ground (a) appeals against an enforcement notice
Ground (a) under section 174(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 argues the planning merits rather than disputing the breach. Usually the only route once a notice is served.
Deemed applications under section 177(5)
Section 177(5) deems a planning application to have been made when an enforcement notice is appealed on ground (a). It carries a double fee and lapses if that fee is late.
Holding directions and what happens to your decision
A holding direction suspends a local planning authority's power to grant permission while the Secretary of State decides whether to call the application in. It leaves the power to refuse untouched.
Technical details consent and what it must cover
Permission in principle fixes location, land use and amount. Technical details consent decides everything else and is what actually grants planning permission. Here is what the second application has to contain.
EIA scoping opinions and how to use one
A scoping opinion sets out what your environmental statement must contain. Here is what to put in the request, how the five week period works, and how to hold the line on scope afterwards.
Operational development under section 55 explained
Operational development covers building, engineering, mining and other operations. Section 55 also lists works that are not development at all, which is a stronger position than a permitted development right.
Evacuation alert systems in blocks of flats explained
An evacuation alert system lets the fire service warn residents floor by floor in a block of flats. Here is where one is expected, how it differs from a fire alarm, and what it means for the core layout you take through planning.
Self-build exemption from the community levy
The relief depends on a sequence of forms filed in a particular order, with the last one filed after the house is finished. The commonest failure is not a missing qualification, it is starting work a week early.
Deeds of variation under section 106A
Section 106A gives two routes to changing a planning obligation. Nearly all variation happens by agreement, and knowing the statutory route exists is what changes the negotiation.
Swept path analysis and what it proves
A tracking drawing proves that a stated design vehicle can complete a stated movement on the geometry drawn. It does not prove the access is safe, and the difference is where most highway objections start.
Trip rates and the TRICS database
A trip rate is trips per unit of development per period, and the figure you quote depends on which surveyed sites you averaged. Here is how selection works and what a highway authority checks.
The golden thread of building information
The golden thread is a live information duty for higher-risk residential buildings, not a handover document. Here is what it must contain, who holds it at each stage, and why it begins with the Gateway One fire statement.
Embodied carbon modules A1 to A5, explained
A1 to A3 is the product stage, A4 is getting it to site and A5 is building with it. Added together they are upfront carbon, and on most schemes they dominate the whole life figure.
Target emission rate under Part L, explained
A target emission rate is not a fixed number. It is calculated from a notional version of your own building, which is why two schemes of the same size can face different targets.
Regulated and unregulated energy in an energy statement
Part L and almost every local carbon target are set against regulated emissions alone, while the occupier pays for both. Here is where the line falls and how to report each without confusing a planning officer.
Curtilage listing and what it catches
Walls, gate piers, coach houses and even historic paving can be listed without appearing in the list entry, if they formed part of the land before 1 July 1948.
The archaeological watching brief explained
A watching brief is archaeological monitoring during groundworks under an approved written scheme of investigation, imposed where potential is low or uncertain.
Pollutant linkage and why breaking it matters
Contamination is only a planning problem where a contaminant, a pathway and a receptor are connected. Breaking any one element removes the linkage.
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