Glossary – Page 7
Substantive definitions of planning terms with their policy source and a worked example.
Glossary articles – page 7
484 articlesPollutant 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.
Made ground: what fill on your site means in planning
Made ground is material placed by human activity rather than deposited naturally. It changes what might be in the ground, how it behaves under load and whether water will soak away.
Source protection zones and infiltration drainage
Source protection zones decide whether surface water can go to ground. Here is how the zones are defined, what the regulator resists in each, and how contamination changes the answer.
Character corrections in a BS 4142 assessment
Acoustic feature corrections often decide a BS 4142 result. Here is what each correction is worth, how the judgement is made and recorded, and which design decisions avoid them altogether.
Insertion loss and how to specify it
Insertion loss describes what an attenuator, louvre or enclosure achieves in a given arrangement. Octave band data, regenerated noise and pressure drop decide whether the installed system will pass its commissioning test.
Statutory undertakers and their planning powers
Statutory undertaker rights under the GPDO 2015 turn on the operational land test in section 263 of the 1990 Act. Here is who qualifies, which parts of Schedule 2 apply, and where an application is still required.
Irreplaceable habitat and the tests that follow
Irreplaceable habitat covers ancient woodland, ancient and veteran trees and several other types. How to identify them on a site, what buffers are expected, and why avoidance is the only workable strategy on most schemes.
Ransom strips and the access they control
A ransom strip is land whose only value is that somebody else needs it. How strips arise, why permission can still be granted, the limits of Grampian conditions and the title checks that find them early.
Chargeable development under the levy
Chargeable development is the development the permission allows, charged on net additional gross internal area. The measurement rules, the six month in-use test and the notices that decide whether an exemption survives.
Interception in a sustainable drainage design
Interception is the retention of the first few millimetres of rainfall so that small events produce no discharge. It is assessed separately from attenuation, delivered only by source control, and frequently claimed without evidence.
Greenfield run-off rate and how it is estimated
The greenfield run-off rate is the discharge ceiling under Defra's non-statutory technical standards. Here is how it is calculated, which inputs matter most, and how to record the method so a lead local flood authority can audit it.
Tree retention categories under BS 5837
Category A, B, C and U describe quality and estimated remaining contribution, not life expectancy and not amenity value. Here is how to read and use them.
The structural root plate and why it is protected
A root protection area is a design tool that can be offset. The structural root plate inside it is what stops the tree falling over, and it is not negotiable.
Sound power level against sound pressure level
Manufacturer datasheets publish both, often badly labelled. Here is how to tell them apart, convert between them and build a source schedule that stands up.
Background sound level and why it governs
In a BS 4142 assessment everything is measured against the background sound level. Three decibels of error moves the conclusion by a whole category.
Original dwellinghouse and why the baseline matters
Permitted development limits are measured from the house as first built, not the house you bought. Here is how to work out your real baseline and prove it.
Article 1(5) land: what the designation removes
The phrase survives from the 1995 order; the current equivalent is article 2(3) land. What it covers, and which Part 1 rights it restricts for extensions, dormers, cladding and outbuildings.
Construction exclusion zone
The fencing that goes up around a retained tree is not a gesture. It defines an area where nothing happens, and the moment something does, the tree's survival becomes a question rather than an assumption.
Environmental permits alongside planning permission
A permit regulates how an activity operates. Planning decides whether the land use is acceptable. Neither authorises the other, and planning should not duplicate what the permit controls.
Demolition and when prior approval is required
Demolition is development, but most demolition outside conservation areas is permitted subject to prior approval of the method and the restoration of the site. The exceptions are where the offences sit.
Positive contributor status in a conservation area
An unlisted building identified as making a positive contribution to a conservation area is not protected like a listed building, but losing it is treated as harm to the area's significance. That shifts what an application has to prove.
Advertisement consent and the standard conditions
Advertisement consent is a separate permission from planning permission, controlled only on grounds of amenity and public safety. Here is what needs express consent, what is already deemed consented, and the conditions that attach to every sign.
Higher risk buildings at 18 metres or seven storeys
At least 18 metres or at least seven storeys, plus two residential units. Height is measured to the top storey floor from the lowest adjacent ground, and a large mezzanine counts.
Section 257 diversion of a public footpath
A right of way survives a planning permission. Diverting it needs a section 257 order, and an opposed order goes to the Secretary of State.
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