PlanScope Blog – Page 12
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 12
9624 articlesOff sales from a brewery or bottle shop
Retail from a production unit is lawful while it stays ancillary. Here is how officers test that, the conditions that follow, and how planning and licensing hours interact.
An ice cream servery hatch onto the street
Hatches serving the street are decided on footway obstruction rather than internal floorspace. Here is what the highway authority measures and the conditions to expect.
Vape and specialist retail in a protected frontage
Specialist retail sits in Class E(a), so moves within Class E need no permission and frontage protection policies cannot attach. Here is when they do apply and how to answer them.
Solar PV on a commercial roof: planning and structure
Most non-domestic rooftop arrays fall within Part 14 Class J of the GPDO 2015. Here are the dimensional limits, the structural checks that decide feasibility and when an application is needed.
The fabric first argument and how it is tested at appeal
Where a local policy prescribes a proportion of energy from on-site renewables, excellent fabric performance is not compliance. Here is how the argument is framed and evidenced on appeal.
Comparing refurbishment and rebuild on whole life carbon
Retention of structure and substructure avoids the largest slice of upfront embodied carbon. Here is how to set the two options on a comparable basis and present the result honestly.
Play noise from a nursery or school: how it is judged
BS 4142 excludes the sound of people, so nursery and school play noise is assessed on effect rather than rating level. Here is what actually decides these applications.
Dust and noise from a concrete batching plant
Batching plant applications turn on dust containment and on BS 4142 noise assessment of a yard full of moving sources. Here is how each is handled and what to submit.
Trees overhanging a highway and the council's notice powers
A section 154 notice can require growth overhanging a highway to be cut back in 14 days, and the council can do the work and recharge you. Here is how the power works and how to respond.
Tree works for electricity line clearance
Network operators can fell or lop trees obstructing an overhead line under the Electricity Act 1989, and protected tree consent does not apply. Here is the procedure and how to respond to a notice.
Tree works in a churchyard and the faculty jurisdiction
A churchyard tree sits under two systems at once: the faculty jurisdiction of the consistory court and ordinary tree protection law. Here is how the two fit together and what a petition needs.
Bat roost potential in trees before felling
Bat roosts in trees are protected whether or not bats are present. Here is how potential roost features are assessed, when a licence is needed and why the survey season drives the programme.
Gate setbacks and electric gates on a new access
A gate within 2m of a highway is limited to 1m in height under Part 2 Class A, must not swing over the footway, and needs enough setback for a car to wait off the road.
Access onto a classified road: when permission is needed
Part 2 Class B of the GPDO 2015 excludes trunk and classified roads, so a new access onto an A, B or C road needs an application. Here is the evidence the highway authority will expect.
Blue badge bay provision in a commercial car park
Accessible bays in a commercial car park are set by local standards and the accessible buildings guidance, not the Blue Badge scheme. Here are the proportions, dimensions and the evidence a council expects.
Tandem and stacked parking: whether spaces count
Tandem and stacked spaces are counted against adopted parking standards in different ways. Here is how authorities test usability, which dimensions matter and how to present the count on the drawings.
Tree constraints plans at concept design stage
BS 5837 puts the constraints plan before the design. What it shows that a survey does not, how to work inside the envelope, and what it costs to commission it late.
Parking stress thresholds and what counts as capacity
A parking stress percentage depends on the assumed length per vehicle and the kerb lengths excluded. Both decide borderline results, and both have to be stated to be checkable.
Wales: Developments of National Significance and PEDW
In Wales, applications meeting prescribed criteria are determined by Welsh Ministers and examined by Planning and Environment Decisions Wales. What the route requires and how to programme it.
Mezzanine insertion in a trade or retail unit
Section 55 makes a retail mezzanine over 200m² a material change of use. What that means for permission, retail policy, Building Regulations and the levy.
CIBSE TM59 inputs and the criteria a scheme fails on
TM59 applies an adaptive criterion to living spaces and a fixed night criterion to bedrooms. Which inputs decide the result, where schemes fail, and what an auditable report contains.
Where to place a noise logger and for how long
The logger position and the survey duration decide whether a noise assessment can be relied on. How to choose both, what weather and timing to avoid, and what the appendix must show.
Tree related subsidence and consent to reduce the tree
Consent to fell or reduce a protected tree for subsidence turns on root identification, soil testing and a seasonal monitoring record. What the authority weighs and what the alternatives are.
Dropped kerb refusals and how to answer them
Dropped kerb applications are decided by the highway authority under section 184 of the Highways Act 1980, not by the planning department. What the refusal reasons mean and which are fixable.
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