PlanScope Blog – Page 128
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 128
9414 articlesWorked example: BS 4142 rating level arithmetic
Rating level minus background is the number a BS 4142 assessment turns on. This illustrative worked example shows how each quantity is derived and how mitigation at source changes the answer.
The deposit model in an archaeological desk-based assessment
The deposit model answers the question a planning archaeologist actually asks: at what depth and in what condition would remains survive here. Here is how it is built and how it should conclude.
Reserved matters submissions and the reports that return
A reserved matters application resolves what the outline left open and refreshes what has gone out of date. Here is which reports return, which can be carried over, and how to show it.
Tailpiece conditions and why they are unlawful
A condition that lets the authority approve something materially different from the permission, by correspondence and without publicity, is unlawful. Here is how to spot one and what to do about it.
Who signs the ownership certificates on an application
The applicant or their agent signs the ownership certificate, and the signature is a statement of fact. Here is what it warrants, who counts as an owner, and what to do when it is wrong.
Ground rents, service charges and the value input
Ground rent income has largely gone from new long leases, and service charges quietly reduce the sales values an appraisal rests on. Both sit on the value side and both are easy to get wrong.
The notional building and why baselines confuse officers
Energy statements are measured against a notional building generated from the regulations. State which edition, which metric and which scope, or the percentage you quote cannot be compared with anything.
A pharmacy next door to a surgery
Dispensing premises sit inside Class E, so most pharmacy conversions need no planning application. The exceptions are conditions, Article 4 areas, sui generis units, shopfronts and signage.
Worked example: parking stress survey arithmetic
Parking stress is occupancy divided by kerbside capacity. This illustrative worked example shows the deductions, the 5.5 metre module, the survey timing and how the final percentage is read.
Damage cost calculations in an air quality assessment
The damage cost approach converts a development's extra emissions into a contribution towards air quality measures. Here is the arithmetic, the inputs that move it, and how to test the result.
Hybrid applications and which reports cover which part
A hybrid application grants detailed permission for one part of a site and outline for the rest. Here is which reports cover the whole site, which cover only the detailed part, and how to avoid a validation refusal.
Windfall sites and the housing supply calculation
Authorities may count an allowance for unidentified sites in their housing land supply, but only on compelling evidence. Here is what that evidence has to show and where it usually fails.
Independent audit of a basement impact assessment
Where a council has an adopted basement policy, it appoints an independent auditor to review your assessment and recharges the fee. Here is what the auditor checks and how to get through it in one round.
Residual valuation against comparable land transactions
A residual appraisal works backwards from the finished scheme; comparables work from what land sold for. The gap between them is usually policy, and national guidance says which one wins.
Battery storage alongside a solar scheme
Electricity storage is determined locally whatever its capacity. Co-locating it with solar changes the application in four places: fire safety, night-time noise, compound layout and decommissioning.
Vehicle repair and MOT premises: class, noise and permits
A repair workshop or MOT bay normally needs planning permission for a Class B2 use, and a spray booth needs an environmental permit on top. Here is what each one assesses.
Checklist: what a lead local flood authority asks for
Lead local flood authorities are statutory consultees on surface water drainage for major development. Here is the information they expect, and the gaps that produce a holding objection.
Land Registry and title costs a planning project triggers
Ownership certificates A to D decide who has to be told about your application. The searches behind them cost a few pounds; discovering a covenant or a missing easement after permission costs far more.
The construction noise and vibration chapter
A construction noise and vibration chapter predicts levels from real plant data, judges them against a stated threshold method and sets out mitigation an officer can condition. Here is how each part works.
What an 18 metre building height adds to a submission
Crossing 18 metres or seven storeys with a residential building engages Planning Gateway One and a Fire Statement. Here is how the height is measured and what else the application has to carry.
Conditions you must discharge before work starts
Pre-commencement conditions stop a permission being implemented until the authority approves the details. Here is how to spot them, how long discharge takes and how to keep the programme intact.
Material change of use: the test and the evidence
Section 55 gives no threshold for materiality. The method is to fix the planning unit, describe the character of each use and ask whether the difference matters in planning terms.
What suitably qualified means for an air quality assessment
Credentials are not the test environmental health officers apply first. Verification against local monitoring data is, and an unverified model gets the report returned.
Grant assumptions and registered provider bids
Whether a viability appraisal assumes grant changes the affordable housing offer. The additionality rule, how to brief registered providers and what the reviewer reads.
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