PlanScope Blog – Page 127
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 127
9415 articlesSection outline: design and access statement for an infill plot
A single plot statement should run to eight or twelve pages and answer one question: why this house, on this plot, in this street, at this size.
Receptor sensitivity and magnitude in a visual impact chapter
Sensitivity and magnitude drive every conclusion in a visual impact chapter. Here is how each is built, and how to tell a reasoned judgement from an assertion.
A site with no constraints: what is still required
An unconstrained site means fewer technical reports, not fewer drawings. Here is the minimum document set, the common validation failures and why over-submission costs you.
Acting as an expert witness at a planning appeal
An expert witness owes a duty to the inquiry before the client. Here is what that means for a proof of evidence, cross-examination and costs exposure.
Fabric first: the U-values officers look for
Planning wants the strategy and the committed performance. Building control wants proof. Here is how to set U-values, airtightness and bridging targets for a self-build.
Running events from a warehouse unit
Hiring out a warehouse for events is a material change of use. Here is the classification position, the noise problem with metal cladding, and the conditions to expect.
Worked example: daylight distribution and the no-sky line
An illustrative worked example of the no-sky line, the 0.8 times former area test, and why room geometry rather than the proposal often drives the result.
Trading rules and unit deficits in a net gain assessment
Trading rules decide whether created units can count against lost ones. Here is how the distinctiveness bands bind, and what a deficit really costs.
Which reports arrive after permission, not before
Some evidence is deliberately deferred to a condition. Here is which reports arrive after permission, what each trigger means, and how to keep the programme intact.
Statements of common ground and what to concede
A statement of common ground agrees facts and keeps judgements out. Here is what belongs in it, how to concede cleanly, and how to use it to shorten an inquiry.
Reporting a suspected breach and what enforcement can do
Most things that look unauthorised are not a breach. Where there is one, enforcement is discretionary, and evidence is what moves a case forward.
What a professional reviewer takes responsibility for
Signing another party's draft means taking responsibility for the judgements in it, within a defined scope. Here is how to set that scope and when to decline.
Travel plan monitoring fees and default bonds
Monitoring fees and default bonds in a travel plan obligation are negotiable. Here is how to test the quantum, the trigger and the duration before completion.
Reusing existing foundations on a redevelopment site
Retaining existing piles saves carbon, cost and programme, but only where the investigation happens before the structural grid is fixed. Here is the sequence that works.
Which windows to survey and how to record refused access
Most urban daylight assessments rely on assumptions for at least some neighbouring rooms. Here is how to screen the windows, document refused access and state the assumptions.
Electric vehicle charging in planning conditions
Part S sets a floor for charging infrastructure. Planning conditions sit on top of it. Here is how to tell which applies, and how to draft and discharge a condition that works.
An adult gaming centre: planning and the gambling licence
An adult gaming centre needs planning permission and a premises licence, decided separately by the same council. Here is how each test works and how to sequence them.
Worked example: attenuation storage volume for a driveway
An illustrative storage volume calculation for a domestic driveway, how a soakaway is sized from an infiltration rate, and when front garden surfacing needs permission.
Baseline biodiversity value sections and their evidence
Every unit of biodiversity gain is measured against the baseline. Here is what the baseline section should contain, what evidence to ask for, and where it gets contested.
Appeal submissions and the evidence an inspector expects
An appeal re-determines the application you submitted. The document set exists to answer the refusal reasons and refresh expired survey data, nothing more.
Call-in under section 77 and what triggers it
A called-in application is decided by the Secretary of State, not the council. Here is what attracts the power, what it does to your programme, and how to remove the hooks.
Article 31 directions restricting the grant of permission
A direction under article 31 stops an authority granting permission but not refusing it, and the statutory period keeps running. Here is what triggers one and how applicants get it lifted.
The be lean chapter of an energy statement
The first stage of the energy hierarchy reports the saving achieved by fabric, form and services efficiency alone. Here is what belongs in it, in what order, and what does not.
Section 73 applications and which reports must be refreshed
A section 73 application produces a new permission in today's policy context, so regulatory change and expired surveys can expand the evidence base even for a trivial variation.
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