Templates, Checklists and Examples – Page 7

A statement of common ground that narrows the issues

The point of a statement of common ground is to stop an inspector spending a day on facts nobody disputes. Drafted carelessly, it concedes things you needed to argue.

A materials schedule that discharges the condition first time

A materials condition is discharged on what you submit, not on what you intend to build. Cover every external element, name products properly, and get the samples on site before you apply.

Drawing schedules and title blocks that survive validation

Drawing numbers end up in the approved plans condition, which is what actually defines your permission. Get the numbering and revision control wrong and the paperwork outlives the project.

Schedule of accommodation for a planning application

A schedule of accommodation is a checking document, not a design document. If the areas do not reconcile with the drawings, the application form and the fee, the officer stops reading and starts emailing.

Section outline: health impact assessment for 200 units

A working section outline for a health impact assessment on a major residential scheme, written so a case officer can lift the findings straight into a committee report.

Checklist: submission for discharging a drainage condition

Discharge applications fail because they answer the drainage question rather than the condition. Here is a limb-by-limb checklist of what a lead local flood authority expects to see.

Setting a mirror image baseline in a daylight assessment

The mirror image baseline compares a scheme against a contextual form rather than an under-developed site. Here is how to set the models up, report the results and answer the standard criticisms.

Economic impact assessment outline: rural employment scheme

The assessment is judged on its assumptions, not its conclusions. Eight short sections that let an officer attach weight to the economic case.

Defining a sequential test search area on a rural site

The sequential test is usually lost on the area of search rather than the sites. How to define it, agree it and record the evidence, with an illustrative example.

Waste management strategy outline for a mixed-use block

The eight sections an operational waste strategy needs for a block with flats over commercial units, and what each one has to contain for the case officer.

Checklist: appeal statement for a refused householder plan

No second round, no amended plans, no new surveys. Here is how to build a householder appeal statement that answers the decision notice point by point.

Worked example: CIL chargeable area with a building offset

The levy is charged on new floorspace minus qualifying existing floorspace. This worked illustration shows how the offset is measured, evidenced and lost.

Section outline: affordable housing statement for 12 units

Twelve dwellings clears the major development threshold, so the affordable housing policy is engaged. This is the order officers read the statement in.

Checklist: pre-application pack for a minor residential scheme

A pre-application pack for a small residential scheme should be thin. The value sits in a numbered list of questions, not in drawings you will have to redo.

Worked example: trip rates for a small convenience store

Trip rate selection for a small food store is decided by the filters, not the arithmetic. This worked example shows the query, the rates, the sums and the challenges that follow.

Section outline: travel plan for a primary school

Highway officers read a school travel plan in a set order. Here is that order, with the survey, target and drop-off content each section has to carry.

What to photograph on a site visit for a planning application

The photographs that win an application are rarely the attractive ones. Here is the systematic set to capture on one visit, against a numbered position plan.

Worked example: TM59 inputs for a single aspect flat

Weather file, openable free area, shading and whether windows can be opened at night decide a TM59 result. Here is an illustrative input set for a single aspect flat.

Checklist: discharging a landscaping condition

Most refusals to discharge a landscaping condition come down to an under-specified planting schedule. Here is the document set, the schedule fields officers check, and how to time the submission.

Biodiversity metric baseline for a grazed pasture field

Baseline units are area multiplied by distinctiveness, condition and strategic significance. This illustrative worked example shows how a grazed pasture field is classified, scored and measured.

Statement of community involvement outline: 60-unit scheme

For a major residential application, the consultation record is judged on whether it shows the scheme could still change. Here is the section order that works, with the evidence each part needs.

Worked parking stress example using the Lambeth method

An illustrative parking stress calculation following the Lambeth survey method, showing how kerbside capacity and overnight occupancy produce the percentage.

Construction traffic management plan for a town centre site

A section by section outline for a construction traffic management plan on a constrained town centre site, written as an operational document a site manager can follow.

Documents for a listed building consent application

Listed building consent has its own validation list. Here is what to submit, at which scales, and the omissions that get applications returned.