How the prior approval procedure actually works
The GPDO grants the permission; prior approval asks the council to consider a short list of specified matters. What the application must contain, how the 56-day period works, and why refusals for insufficient information are so common.
Prior approval is not a small planning application. The permission has already been granted, by the General Permitted Development Order 2015, and the prior approval procedure is a condition attached to it: before you use the right, you have to ask the council whether it wants to approve specified matters, and wait. That structural difference explains most of what confuses architects about the process, including why a council cannot refuse on grounds that would be obvious in a full application.
Get the framing right and the rest follows. The Order grants the permission. The class lists the matters the authority may consider. The procedure sets out what you submit, how long the authority has, and what happens if it says nothing.
What prior approval is, and what it is not
The authority is answering two questions in sequence: is prior approval required for the specified matters, and if it is, is it granted. It can decide that prior approval is not required at all, which is a positive outcome and allows the development to proceed.
It cannot refuse because it dislikes the principle of the development. The principle has been settled by Parliament through the Order. It cannot refuse because a neighbour objects to something outside the listed matters, and it cannot impose conditions about matters outside them either.
What it can do is refuse for insufficient information, which is the most common trap and the easiest to avoid.
What the application has to contain
The standard procedure for Part 3 change of use classes sits in paragraph W of Schedule 2, and the other Parts of the Order carry their own versions with local variations. Read the procedure that belongs to your class rather than assuming they are identical.
Under the Part 3 procedure the submission needs a written description of the proposed development, a plan identifying the site and showing the proposed development, the developer's contact address and email address, and the fee. On top of that, each class requires evidence going to the specific matters it lists, and this is where applications fail.
The practical version: submit as though the assessment mattered. A flood risk statement where flooding is a listed matter, a contamination desk study where contamination is listed, a transport note where highways impacts are listed, a daylight assessment where natural light is listed. An authority that receives a bare description and a site plan is entitled to refuse for want of information, and it will, because a refusal costs it nothing while a deemed consent costs it control.
The clock, and what starts it
The authority has 56 days, beginning with the day after a valid application is received, to notify the applicant of its decision. If it does not, the development may be begun, provided it is carried out in accordance with the details submitted.
Three things habitually go wrong. The application is not valid because the fee was not paid or a required document is missing, so the clock never started. The authority asks for further information and the applicant assumes the period restarts, or the authority assumes it does. Or the decision is issued within 56 days but posted so that it arrives after, which is a question about notification rather than about the decision date.
The mechanics of that period, including what counts as notification and how the days are counted, are set out in detail in the 56-day prior approval deadline. Diarise the date on the day you submit and keep proof of what was sent and when.
Which matters the authority may consider
The list is class-specific and it is exhaustive. Depending on the class, it can include transport and highways impacts, contamination risks, flooding risks, noise from commercial premises, the impact of the loss of a use on local provision, design and external appearance, the provision of adequate natural light in habitable rooms, fire safety, and the effect on the amenity of adjoining premises.
The authority must have regard to the National Planning Policy Framework so far as it is relevant to the subject matter of the prior approval. That is a narrower duty than in a full application, and it is the sentence most often over-read by objectors. Framework policy on, for example, the character of an area does not become relevant simply because the Framework contains it: it has to bear on a listed matter.
Where the class allows design and external appearance to be considered, the assessment becomes broader and a short design note with elevations and materials is worth preparing. Where it does not, drawings showing character and context will be read with interest and cannot ground a refusal.
Consultation, site notices and neighbours
Authorities are required to publicise prior approval applications, generally by site notice or by notifying adjoining owners and occupiers, and to consult specified bodies where the class or the circumstances require it. Neighbours therefore get a say, but only on the listed matters.
For householder classes with a neighbour consultation scheme, an objection from an adjoining occupier triggers an assessment of the impact on their amenity, and the authority then decides. For change of use classes the consultation is wider but the grounds remain narrow.
The useful move for an applicant is to answer the predictable objection in the submission. If the class lists transport, include the parking and servicing arrangement. If it lists noise, state the plant specification and hours. Objections that have already been answered on paper carry less weight than objections that arrive into a vacuum.
Conditions on a prior approval
The authority may grant prior approval subject to conditions, but only conditions reasonably related to the subject matter of the prior approval. A condition about contamination remediation on a class where contamination is a listed matter is proper. A condition about opening hours on a class where noise is not listed is not.
Conditions attached to the class itself sit alongside those, and they bite whether or not the authority mentions them. Completion within three years of approval is one such condition in several Part 3 classes, and missing it is the kind of thing nobody notices until the building is being sold.
Refusal, appeal and resubmission
A refusal of prior approval can be appealed to the Planning Inspectorate under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and householder appeals run on a shorter timetable than others. Appeals against refusals for insufficient information rarely succeed, because the inspector is reviewing the decision the authority made on what it had.
The faster route in that case is resubmission with the missing material. There is no statutory bar on submitting again, the fee is modest relative to an appeal, and a second application with a fuller evidence base is usually determined without difficulty. Where the refusal is on the merits of a listed matter, an appeal is the right route and the evidence should address that matter specifically rather than arguing the general case for the scheme.
Where the development falls outside the class altogether, the answer is a full planning application, and a Planning Statement setting the proposal against the development plan replaces the narrow prior approval submission.
Confirming the position afterwards
Prior approval leaves a thin paper trail. The permission comes from the Order, so there is no decision notice granting permission, and a purchaser's solicitor two years later is looking at a letter saying prior approval was not required.
A lawful development certificate under section 192 of the 1990 Act is the formal way to confirm that proposed works are lawful, and a certificate under section 191 does the same for works already carried out. For anything where the class limits are finely balanced, particularly where cumulative allowances since 1948 or the meaning of the original dwellinghouse are in play, a certificate is money well spent.
The same structure appears across the Order, including Part 11 demolition prior approval, so learning the procedure once pays off repeatedly.
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. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Can a council refuse prior approval because it objects to the development?
No. The permission is granted by the General Permitted Development Order, so the principle is settled. The authority may only consider the matters listed in the relevant class, and may only impose conditions reasonably related to those matters. It can, however, refuse where the applicant has supplied insufficient information.
What must a prior approval application contain?
For the Part 3 procedure, a written description of the development, a plan identifying the site and showing the proposal, the developer's contact address and email, and the fee. Beyond that, each class requires evidence going to the matters it lists, such as flood risk, contamination, highways or natural light.
What happens if the council does not respond in 56 days?
If no notification is given within 56 days beginning with the day after a valid application is received, the development may be begun, provided it is carried out in accordance with the details submitted. Disputes usually turn on whether the application was valid, so keep proof of what was sent and when.
Is it better to appeal or resubmit after a refusal?
Where the refusal was for insufficient information, resubmission with the missing material is usually faster and cheaper, because an inspector reviews the decision on what the authority had. Where the refusal turns on the merits of a listed matter, appeal under section 78 and address that matter specifically.
How do I prove later that development was lawful?
Prior approval leaves a thin paper trail, because the permission comes from the Order rather than a decision notice. A lawful development certificate under section 192 confirms that proposed works are lawful, and section 191 does the same for completed works. It is worth the fee where class limits are finely balanced.
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.