PlanScope Blog – Page 104
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 104
9458 articlesLimitations statements in an ecological appraisal
The limitations section fixes the point at which an ecological appraisal stops being reliable. Written properly it protects the author, gives the council something to condition and tells the applicant which surveys are still to come.
Document bundle for a Class Q barn conversion
Class Q prior approval tests six listed matters and a set of hard limits. Here is the evidence that answers each one, and the point at which a full application is the better route.
Writing a non-technical summary that matches the chapters
Most people who read an Environmental Statement read only the non-technical summary. Here is how to write one that covers every topic and survives scrutiny.
Document bundle for a rear dormer in a conservation area
A rear dormer in a conservation area always needs permission because Class B is withdrawn. Here is the drawing set and the evidence that gets one approved.
Nomination agreement with a registered provider
A nomination agreement decides who moves into affordable rented homes. It is a housing document, not a planning one, and it often sits on the critical path.
Measured building surveys for a conversion scheme
A measured survey is priced by detail and access, not floor area. Here is how to specify one so the quotes are comparable and the assumptions list stays short.
Reconciling Environmental Statement chapters that disagree
Chapters written by different firms from different scheme versions contradict each other. Here is the control system that prevents it and the check to run before submission.
Documents for a crane oversailing neighbouring land
Oversailing a neighbour's airspace is trespass without a licence. Planning controls the method statement instead. Here is what each document has to carry.
Curtilage of a listed building and how it is determined
Curtilage is a question of fact, not a line on a map. Here are the three factors the courts apply, the 1948 test for ancillary structures, and how to get certainty.
Committee or delegated: the scale that triggers referral
Committee referral is set by each council's scheme of delegation, not by national rules. Here are the usual triggers and what a committee date does to your programme.
Larger home extension prior approval or standard limits
The larger home extension route doubles your permitted depth and hands your neighbours a say. Here is how the consultation works and when the standard limits win.
Hedgerow removal notices and the cost of getting it wrong
A hedgerow removal notice costs nothing and takes 42 days. Removing an important hedgerow without one is a criminal offence with an unlimited fine and replanting.
What makes a Planning Statement too long
A Planning Statement is too long when the officer stops reading before your conclusion. Here is how to set a proportionate length and what to cut first.
Documents for an attenuation pond or balancing lagoon
An attenuation basin needs more than storage calculations. Here is the document set, the reservoir threshold that changes everything, and the adoption questions to ask first.
Searching the Historic Environment Record
An HER search is the archaeological baseline for most applications. Here is how to request one, what the records mean, and what the search cannot tell you.
Planning publicity requirements by scheme scale
Whether a council must display a site notice, write to neighbours or advertise in a newspaper depends on the scale and type of development. Here is the rule, and how to check it.
Part 1 Class A or Class AA for more space
Class A gives ground-floor space with no application. Class AA adds a storey but excludes designated land and houses built outside a set window. Here is the comparison.
Flood modelling where no model exists for your river
No hydraulic model for your watercourse turns a desk assessment into a commission. Here is the cost structure, the survey traps, and why scoping first saves a rerun.
Figures and plans a Heritage Statement has to carry
A heritage argument is tested on its drawings. Here is the figure set a conservation officer expects, how to grade significance on a plan, and how to key it all together.
Documents for a single wind turbine on a farm
A single farm turbine needs full permission and a heavier evidence base than its size suggests. Here is the pack, from EIA screening to the decommissioning commitment.
Scheduled monument consent and who decides it
Works to a scheduled monument need consent from the Secretary of State, not the council. Here is what counts as works, where class consents help, and what the pack contains.
Affordable Housing Statement content at ten units
At ten dwellings an Affordable Housing Statement becomes a validation item. Here is the content councils expect, table by table, and the omissions that stall validation.
Nutrient neutrality: on-site mitigation or credits
On-site nutrient mitigation costs less per kilogramme and takes longer. Credits cost more and move faster. Here is how to choose, and what each route has to prove.
Bat licence costs: the ecologist's time and the fee
A European protected species licence for bats is priced in ecologist days, not regulator fees. Here is where the money goes, and why a missed survey season costs more than the licence.
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