PlanScope Blog – Page 112
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 112
9445 articlesRainwater goods on a conservation area extension
Material and profile are what the officer is looking for. Name both on the drawings, show the downpipe positions, and the materials condition becomes trivial.
Section 96A non-material amendments in practice
A 28 day determination, no publicity and the original permission left intact. The limits are that the change must be non-material and there is no right of appeal.
Eaves and fascia details where an extension meets the house
Fascia depth, overhang projection and the gutter line are read together. Match all three and a contemporary material palette becomes much easier to justify.
Solar panels and loss of sunlight to a neighbour's array
There is no policy test for solar access to a panel array. The objection has to be built from the geometry, the benchmark dates and the string layout.
Domestic wind turbines and the Class H limits
The swept area cap and the one-turbine-or-heat-pump condition rule out most useful domestic machines. What Part 14 controls and when a full application is needed.
Gym noise: impact from free weights and classes
A gym under flats has two separate noise problems. Impact from dropped weights travels through the frame; class music defeats the floor at 63 Hz.
Tree pits, structural soils and street tree establishment
Street trees fail on soil volume, not species choice. Work backwards from the mature canopy, put the volume on the drawing, and resolve the service corridor first.
Sustainable drainage on a site with contaminated ground
Contaminated ground rules out infiltration, which overturns the standard drainage hierarchy. Lined attenuation and a positive outfall are the answer, if the sequencing is right.
Walkthrough: a place of worship in a light industrial unit
A place of worship in an industrial unit needs permission, and the case turns on employment land policy, parking at the peak hour and noise in both directions.
Utilities capacity as a scheme grows past fifty units
Utilities rarely cause refusal and often cause delay. Capacity enquiries change layouts, so make them before the engineering drawings start.
Enforcement appeal ground (g) and the compliance period
Ground (g) argues the compliance period falls short of what should reasonably be allowed. Inspectors extend periods on evidence, not on assertion.
Determination periods, extensions and the planning guarantee
The clock starts at validation, not submission. Agreeing an extension of time delays your appeal right and can displace the planning guarantee fee refund.
Matching roof tiles when the original is unavailable
A concrete interlocking tile beside a clay plain tile roof reads wrong whatever the colour. Profile, lap and unit size are what a case officer actually sees.
What the Gateway One consultee looks for
At Gateway One the statutory consultee reads your planning drawings as a fire engineer. Access, water supply, wall build-up and stair strategy are what it comments on.
Obscure glazing and fixed panes as a planning solution
Obscure glass with a fixed lower pane solves overlooking cleanly for a bathroom and awkwardly for a bedroom. The specification and the condition wording decide which.
Ground-mounted solar and best and most versatile land
Provisional ALC mapping is a risk indicator, not evidence. A detailed soil survey splitting grade 3a from 3b is what decides how hard the policy argument becomes.
Noise from a sports pitch with floodlit evening use
Pitch noise is mostly people, so BS 4142 is the wrong tool. What an evening baseline, an acoustic fence and a floodlight curfew should actually show.
Tree roots and proximity to a public sewer or drain
Most undertakers control building and planting within around 3m of a public sewer. Resolving that against retained trees is a layout decision, not a condition to discharge later.
Local nature recovery strategies and the metric multiplier
A habitat identified in a local nature recovery strategy attracts a higher strategic significance multiplier. That makes the local habitat map a layout document, not a submission document.
Discharge rates: greenfield, brownfield and betterment
The permitted discharge rate shapes the whole drainage design. Here is how greenfield rates are estimated, how brownfield betterment is argued, and when a rate becomes undeliverable.
Personal service uses and Class E(c)(iii)
Class E(c)(iii) covers services appropriate to a commercial locality, which captures most salons. Conditions on the unit, extraction and sui generis uses are where the risk sits.
Walkthrough: an HMO application in an Article 4 area
An illustrative walkthrough of a C3 to C4 conversion in a city with a citywide Article 4 direction, from confirming the direction to the conditions imposed.
Enforcement appeal ground (f): the notice asks too much
Ground (f) accepts the breach and attacks the remedy. Whether it works depends on whether the notice sets out to remedy the breach or to remedy injury to amenity.
Invalid applications and challenging a local list item
A local validation requirement only bites if it is proportionate, relates to a material consideration and was published within the preceding two years. Here is how to test each limb.
Not sure which documents your council will ask for?
Enter your postcode and PlanScope recommends the right reports for your project, then drafts them in minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanScope