Permission in principle: the two stage consent route

Permission in principle splits a housing consent into two decisions. The first stage establishes that the site is acceptable for housing in principle, fixing only the use, the location and the amount of development. The second stage, technical details consent, deals with everything else. It is a statutory route under section 58A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and for a small self-build or infill scheme it can be faster and less costly than outline permission.

It is also narrower than most people expect, and it fails for a small set of predictable reasons.

What each stage decides

The first stage settles three things and nothing more: that the use is housing, where on the land development will go, and how much of it there will be, expressed as a minimum and maximum number of dwellings.

Design, access, drainage, ecology, parking, materials and layout are all left to the second stage. So is any question about the effect on neighbours, because those are matters for technical details consent rather than for the principle.

Technical details consent then fixes the scheme. It is a full application in substance, assessed against the development plan and material considerations, but the principle of housing on that land is already settled and cannot be revisited.

That division is the attraction. A landowner can establish that a paddock behind the village hall is acceptable for four houses without paying for a full design package, then either build out or sell with a consent that has real value.

Scale limits and the housing-led requirement

The application route is limited. Permission in principle by application is available for housing-led development that is not major development, which in practice means fewer than 10 dwellings on a site of less than one hectare.

Housing-led means housing must be the predominant use. A scheme with some commercial floorspace on the ground floor can qualify, provided the residential element dominates. A scheme that is mostly commercial cannot.

Several categories are excluded. Development requiring environmental impact assessment is out. So is development requiring an appropriate assessment under the Habitats Regulations. Where a site carries either of those, the route closes and an outline or full application is the alternative.

There is a second route that does not involve an application at all. Local authorities enter suitable brownfield sites on Part 2 of their brownfield land register, and entry grants permission in principle automatically. Ask whether your site could be entered rather than applying, because it costs nothing.

Timescales, fees and what expires

The five week period for the first stage is the shortest determination period in the English system, and it is one of the route's genuine advantages. Publicity requirements still apply, so the authority must consult before deciding.

Permission in principle has a life of three years from the date it is granted, unless the authority directs a longer or shorter period. A technical details consent application must be made within that window. Miss it and the principle lapses.

Fees are indexed annually, so check the current national fee schedule before budgeting. The per-hectare basis means a large site with few dwellings can cost more at stage one than a tight infill plot.

When it beats outline permission

Outline permission with reserved matters covers the same ground in a different order. The comparison comes down to three questions.

How much information does the authority need to decide the principle. Outline requires enough to assess the proposal properly, and authorities routinely request access details, ecology surveys and drainage information with an outline application. Permission in principle limits the authority to use, location and amount, which reduces the up-front spend.

How certain is the buyer. A technical details consent gives more certainty than reserved matters approval because the principle cannot be reopened. What outline permission leaves open is a genuine risk for a purchaser, and one that a two-stage route handles differently.

How constrained is the site. On a constrained site, the constraints have to be resolved eventually, and deferring them can mean a technical details refusal after the principle is established. Nobody benefits from a consent in principle for four houses that cannot physically be drained.

For an unconstrained infill plot in a settlement with a supportive policy, the route is efficient. For a site with flood risk, protected species or a difficult access, outline is usually the better instrument.

Why applications fail

The recurring reasons are consistent.

The most common is a site that is not acceptable for housing in principle at all, whether because it lies outside a settlement boundary, in the Green Belt, or on a protected employment allocation. Permission in principle does not lower any policy bar. It changes the sequence, not the test.

The second is insufficient information about the three matters the authority can consider. An application that gives a red line and no indication of the amount of development leaves the officer unable to grant anything, because the amount has to be stated as a range.

The third is a screening problem. Where the authority concludes that the scheme is environmental impact assessment development or requires appropriate assessment, the application cannot proceed on this route, and the fee is spent.

The fourth is more practical. Where the determination period expires without a decision, the applicant's remedy is an appeal against non-determination, and on a five week clock that arrives quickly. Authorities unfamiliar with the route sometimes treat it as an outline application and ask for documents they cannot require. Point to the statutory scope politely and in writing.

Preparing the technical details application

Once the principle is granted, the second stage is where the evidence base arrives. For a four-dwelling scheme that usually means a design and access statement, drainage details, an ecology report where habitat is present, and a Planning Statement tying the scheme to the development plan and to the terms of the permission in principle.

Keep the technical details scheme inside the parameters granted. A consent for a minimum of three and a maximum of five dwellings does not support an application for seven, and a location plan showing development on the northern half does not support a southern layout.

Consultation at the second stage is a full consultation, so neighbours who did not engage with the principle will engage with the detail. Expect comments on overlooking, parking and construction access, and answer them in the design rather than in correspondence.

And read the permission in principle notice carefully. Any direction shortening its life, and any restriction on the amount, is on that document.

To scope the documents your technical details application will need, browse the report types by category and work from your site details.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.

PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.