A checklist before submitting a prior approval application
Prior approval confirms specified matters for development already permitted by the Order. Here is what to establish before submitting, and how deemed consent works.
A prior approval application succeeds or fails on whether the proposal actually falls within the permitted development class before anyone considers its merits. That is the difference between prior approval and planning permission. The council is not deciding whether your scheme is acceptable in principle. It is confirming that specified matters have been dealt with for a development the General Permitted Development Order has already permitted, provided every condition and limitation in the class is met. Get the class wrong and a granted prior approval protects you from nothing.
Confirm the class before anything else
Work through the class conditions line by line and record the evidence for each before you draft the application.
Most classes in Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 carry a stack of qualifying conditions: previous use and how long it was held, a period of vacancy, floorspace limits, the age of the building, exclusions for listed buildings and scheduled monuments, and restrictions in conservation areas, National Landscapes, National Parks, sites of special scientific interest and safety hazard areas. Article 4 directions can remove the right entirely in a defined area.
Keep the evidence file as you go. Council tax and business rates records, utility bills, tenancy agreements, dated photographs, historic mapping and marketing particulars are what establish previous use and vacancy periods. Assemble them before submission rather than in response to a query, because the 56 day clock does not stop while you look.
Where a right has been used before on the same building, check whether the allowance has been exhausted. Cumulative limits catch people out on conversions and on agricultural buildings in particular.
The matters the authority may consider
Each class lists the matters for which prior approval is required, and the authority may only consider those matters. That list is the agenda for your application.
Depending on the class, it can include transport and highways impacts, contamination risk, flooding risk, noise from commercial premises, the provision of adequate natural light in habitable rooms, the impact of the change of use on the local provision of services, design and external appearance, and fire safety for taller buildings.
Address each listed matter with its own short section and, where the matter is technical, with the supporting evidence the council will otherwise ask for. A desk study under the Contaminated Land Assessment heading answers the contamination matter. A Flood Risk Assessment answers the flooding matter where the site is in Flood Zone 2 or 3. A Noise Impact Assessment answers noise from nearby commercial premises, which is the matter that most often defeats residential conversions in mixed areas. Highways matters usually need no more than a short Transport Statement unless the site generates real traffic.
Do not volunteer material on matters outside the list. It invites comment the authority cannot act on and slows the determination.
What has to be submitted
The Order sets out what accompanies a prior approval application, and the requirements are lighter than for planning permission.
- A written description of the proposed development, precise enough to identify what is permitted.
- A plan indicating the site and showing the proposed development, at a recognised scale with a north point.
- The developer's contact address and email address.
- The fee, from the current fee schedule.
- Any further information the class specifically requires, such as floor plans, a statement on natural light, or evidence of previous use.
Draw the plans properly even though the requirement is modest. Where the class limits floorspace, the drawing has to demonstrate that the limit is met, and a dimensioned plan with an area schedule does that in a way a sketch does not.
Check the council's own validation page as well. Some authorities publish additional expectations for prior approval, and although the Order sets the legal requirement, an application the council considers invalid is not one that starts the clock.
Fees and the determination period
Prior approval fees are set nationally and are lower than the fee for a full application. They are revised periodically and indexed, so take the figure from the current fee schedule rather than from a previous submission.
The determination period for most prior approval classes is 56 days beginning with the day the valid application is received. The authority must give notice of its determination within that period.
Within the 56 days the council may ask for more information. Providing it quickly matters, because in most cases the clock does not restart. Some authorities will seek an agreed extension of time, and whether to agree is a commercial judgement: an extension removes the deemed consent route but keeps a refusal off your record.
Deemed consent and how it arises
For most prior approval classes, if the authority does not notify the applicant of its determination within the 56 day period, the development may proceed in accordance with the details submitted. This is the deemed consent mechanism, and it is the reason the date of receipt matters so much.
Three cautions apply before relying on it.
The application must have been valid. If the council never received a valid application, the period never began, and an authority can take that position months later.
The development must comply with the class in full. Deemed consent confirms nothing about whether the class conditions were met, and an enforcement notice remains available if they were not.
And the development must be carried out in accordance with what was submitted. Building something different from the plans removes the protection.
Record the date of receipt, keep the acknowledgement, and diarise the expiry. Where you intend to rely on deemed consent, a Lawful Development Certificate is the only formal way to confirm the position, and on a scheme being sold or financed it is usually worth the fee.
Neighbour notification and publicity
Several classes require the authority to notify neighbours or display a site notice, and to take representations into account on the listed matters.
Objections carry weight only where they relate to those matters. A neighbour who objects to the principle of losing a shop is raising something the authority cannot consider under most change of use classes, whereas one raising noise from the adjoining takeaway at midnight may be raising exactly what the class asks about.
Anticipate the predictable objections and answer them in the submission. On residential conversions the recurring ones are parking, refuse storage, noise and the quality of the accommodation, and dealing with them up front usually shortens the process.
When prior approval is refused
A refusal is not the end. Three routes remain.
Appeal to the Planning Inspectorate against the refusal, which is worth considering where the refusal turns on a matter outside the list or on a misreading of the class conditions. Resubmit with the identified matter addressed, which is often faster. Or apply for full planning permission, where the proposal is sound but does not fit the class.
Read the refusal notice carefully to see which of the two possible grounds was used. A refusal because prior approval is refused on a listed matter is a different problem from a refusal because the development does not fall within the class at all. The second usually cannot be fixed by resubmission.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. A Lawful Development Certificate is the only formal way to confirm that works are lawful.
Browse all 66 PlanScope report types to see which supporting documents a prior approval application is likely to need. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a prior approval application take?
For most classes the determination period is 56 days beginning with the day the valid application is received. The authority must notify its determination within that period. Requests for further information do not usually restart the clock, so assemble the evidence before submission rather than in response to a query.
What is deemed consent in prior approval?
For most classes, if the authority does not notify its determination within the 56 day period, the development may proceed in accordance with the details submitted. It depends on the application having been valid, on the development complying with every condition in the class, and on the works matching what was submitted.
Can a council consider anything it likes in a prior approval application?
No. Each class lists the matters for which prior approval is required, and the authority may only consider those. Depending on the class these can include transport and highways, contamination, flooding, noise, natural light in habitable rooms, design and external appearance, and fire safety for taller buildings.
Does prior approval make a development lawful?
Only if the development actually falls within the permitted development class. Prior approval confirms the listed matters have been dealt with; it does not confirm that the qualifying conditions were met. If the proposal never fell within the class, enforcement action remains available despite the approval.
What can be done if prior approval is refused?
Appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, resubmit with the identified matter addressed, or apply for full planning permission. Read the refusal notice to see which ground was used. A refusal on a listed matter can often be fixed by resubmission; a refusal because the development does not fall within the class usually cannot.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.