Permission in principle by application: what it does
The permission in principle route fixes the principle of housing and leaves everything else to technical details consent. Here is what it covers and where it pays.
A permission in principle application settles three things about a site and nothing else: its location, the land use, and the amount of development expressed as a range of dwellings. It cannot carry conditions, it cannot carry a section 106 agreement, and it says nothing about layout, access, drainage, design or ecology. Those all wait for the second stage, technical details consent, where the council can still refuse.
The route came from the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and opened for applications in 2018. It is narrow, it is quick, and for a self-builder with a small infill plot it can be the least expensive way to establish that housing is acceptable before spending on a full design.
What permission in principle establishes
Section 58A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 creates permission in principle as a form of consent in two stages. One stage grants the principle. The other grants the detail.
Once permission in principle is granted, the local planning authority cannot revisit whether housing is acceptable in that location when it deals with the technical details consent. It must determine that application in accordance with the permission in principle. What it can do, and regularly does, is refuse the technical details on matters the principle did not settle.
Permission in principle granted on application lasts three years. If no technical details consent is obtained in that period, it expires. Entries on a council's brownfield land register work differently, and council brownfield registers and permission in principle covers that route.
The prescribed particulars: use, amount and location
The application itself is unusually thin, which surprises people used to full applications.
Location is fixed by a red line plan. Land use is stated as housing, with any compatible non-housing element described. Amount is given as a minimum and a maximum number of dwellings, and getting that range right matters more than anything else in the submission, because it binds the technical details stage. Too narrow and you lose flexibility. Too wide and the council may refuse on the basis that the upper figure is undeliverable on the site.
You do not submit drawings of buildings. You do not submit a design and access statement. You may submit a short supporting note, and on a site with an obvious constraint it is worth doing so, since the authority can refuse permission in principle where the principle of housing is unacceptable for reasons it can identify at that stage.
Which sites can use the route
The route is limited to minor housing-led development. In broad terms that means fewer than ten dwellings on a site of less than one hectare, with housing as the predominant use.
It is not available for development requiring environmental impact assessment, or where the proposal would be likely to have a significant effect on a European site and require appropriate assessment. It is not available for householder development or for a change of use that is not housing-led.
The scale limits are the practical constraint. A nine dwelling scheme on 0.9 hectares qualifies. A ten dwelling scheme does not, and the difference between the two is the whole difference between this route and an outline application. The small site limit is worth checking against your own numbers before you commit, particularly where a site might grow during design.
The technical details consent stage
This is a full application in all but name. The authority assesses layout, scale, appearance, landscaping, access, drainage, contamination, ecology, parking, amenity and everything else, and it can impose conditions and require a planning obligation.
The evidence base looks like any other minor application. Expect to need a location and site plan, floor plans, elevations and sections, and whatever technical reports the constraints demand: flood risk where the site is in zone 2 or 3 or over a hectare, ecology and biodiversity net gain information, arboricultural evidence where trees are affected, contamination where the history suggests it, and drainage. The biodiversity gain condition applies at this stage, so the habitat baseline has to be measured before you submit.
Scope it properly rather than treating it as a formality. How permission in principle and technical details consent fit together is where most of the practical difficulty sits.
Timescales and fees for both stages
The statutory determination period for a permission in principle application is five weeks, with extensions possible by written agreement. Publicity runs for a shorter period than a full application, so representations arrive quickly.
Technical details consent is determined in five weeks for minor development, longer for major schemes. In practice both stages run to their full period and sometimes beyond.
Fees work differently at each stage. The permission in principle fee is charged by reference to site area, in units of 0.1 hectare, while the technical details consent fee is calculated like a conventional application fee. Planning fees in England are subject to annual indexation from 1 April, so check the current schedule rather than a figure you remember from a previous project.
Add the two together before deciding the route costs less. On a small site it often is. On a site approaching a hectare, the area-based opening fee stops being trivial.
Where the route saves money and where it does not
It saves money where the principle is in real doubt and the design cost is substantial. A paddock behind a village frontage, a garden plot, a redundant yard: on these, spending a few thousand pounds on drawings and reports before knowing whether the council accepts housing at all is money at risk. Establish the principle, then design.
It saves time where a land transaction depends on consent. A permission in principle is a clean, quick answer to "will they allow houses here", and it is registrable and transferable in the same way as other consents.
It does not save money where the outcome was never in doubt, since you end up paying two fees and running two determination periods to reach the same place. It does not help where you need conditions or an obligation at stage one, since neither can attach to permission in principle at that point. And it does not help on a constrained site where the council's real objection is about access or flooding, because those issues simply reappear at technical details.
Deciding between this and an outline application
Outline permission remains the broader tool. It works for any scale of development, including major schemes and EIA development, it can reserve any combination of matters, it can carry conditions and a section 106 agreement at stage one, and it gives three years to submit reserved matters.
| Feature | Permission in principle | Outline permission |
|---|---|---|
| Scale | Fewer than 10 dwellings, under 1 hectare | Any scale |
| Matters settled | Location, land use, amount only | Whichever matters are not reserved |
| Conditions at stage one | None | Yes |
| Section 106 at stage one | No | Yes |
| First stage determination | Five weeks | Eight or thirteen weeks |
| Duration | Three years | Three years for reserved matters |
Choose permission in principle for a small, simple site where the principle is the question. Choose outline where you need conditions, an obligation, a larger scheme, or flexibility over what gets reserved. The fuller comparison in outline permission or permission in principle goes through the trade-offs case by case.
Reform in this area has been frequent, and proposals to widen the route have been floated more than once, so follow developments on the planning law updates timeline rather than assuming the limits are permanent.
This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
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Frequently asked questions
What does permission in principle actually grant?
It settles three prescribed particulars: the location of the site, the land use as housing-led development, and the amount of development expressed as a minimum and maximum number of dwellings. It carries no conditions and no planning obligation, and it says nothing about layout, scale, appearance, access, drainage or ecology.
What size of site can use this route?
Minor housing-led development only, meaning fewer than ten dwellings on a site of less than one hectare, with housing as the predominant use. It is not available for development requiring environmental impact assessment, or where appropriate assessment would be needed because of a likely significant effect on a European site.
How long does permission in principle last?
Three years from the date of grant where it is obtained by application. If no technical details consent is granted within that period it expires and the site reverts to needing a conventional application. Permission in principle arising from an entry on a council's brownfield land register runs for five years instead.
Can a council refuse technical details consent?
Yes, on the matters the permission in principle did not settle. It must determine the application in accordance with the permission in principle, so it cannot reopen whether housing is acceptable in that location or revisit the dwelling range. It can and does refuse on layout, access, drainage, amenity, ecology and design.
Does permission in principle cost less than an outline application?
Sometimes. You pay two fees and run two determination periods, with the opening fee charged by site area in units of 0.1 hectare and the second calculated like a conventional application fee. On a small plot where the principle is in real doubt it saves abortive design cost. On a site approaching a hectare the saving narrows.
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.