PlanScope Blog – Page 136
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 136
9399 articlesSection 278 and section 38 against section 106
A major scheme usually needs all three instruments. The difference that matters to a developer is which carries the bond, which carries the fees and which sits on the critical path.
Privacy in a mews where windows face under 18 metres
The 21 metre convention has no statutory source. Where facing windows sit under 18 metres apart, the case is made with annotated sight lines, staggered openings and a plan that puts the right rooms on the right elevation.
Primary energy rate against emission rate in policy
Local plan carbon policies rarely say which Part L metric they mean. Emissions and primary energy diverged once grid carbon factors fell, so the baseline has to be stated before a percentage means anything.
Writing a fire statement section by section
Article 9A of the Development Management Procedure Order requires a fire statement on the published form for relevant development. Here is what each part has to say and why statements get returned.
Levy liability notices, notices to start and surcharges
The Community Infrastructure Levy runs on a fixed sequence of notices. Assuming liability and serving the commencement notice both happen before a spade goes in, and self-build exemptions depend on it.
Daylight to a school classroom next door
Classroom windows attract the vertical sky component and no sky line tests, while the sunlight criteria written for living rooms carry little weight. The playground overshadowing study is the one that decides objections.
Notional building comparison in a Part L submission
The notional building in Approved Document L generates three separate targets per plot. Fabric energy efficiency is the one renewables cannot fix, and primary energy is where all-electric designs run tight.
Shoring a party wall during conversion works
Temporary support to a party wall is notifiable work under section 2 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. The notice periods, the award and the condition survey all sit outside planning, and they drive the programme.
Invasive species on site and what the law requires
Having Japanese knotweed is not unlawful. Causing it to grow in the wild and moving contaminated soil are both controlled, and treatment programmes are measured in growing seasons rather than weeks.
Mineral consultation areas against safeguarding areas
A minerals safeguarding area is a plan designation protecting the resource. A mineral consultation area is the referral trigger in two-tier areas. The difference changes what you submit and how long determination takes.
Fire access for sites served by a private drive
The 45 metre rule, a 3.7 metre clear width, a 3.1 metre gateway and a turning facility on any dead end over 20 metres. Check these before fixing the house position.
Landlord and communal energy use in a residential block
The dwelling emissions calculation stops at the flat's front door. Communal loads are assessed under the non-domestic methodology and paid for through the service charge.
Electric vehicle charge points on a house frontage
Part 2 of the GPDO covers wall mounted charging outlets and freestanding upstands. Cables across the pavement are a highway offence, and no permitted development right helps.
Woodland creation and when planning permission is needed
The trees need no planning permission. The screening opinion, the access track, the designated site consent and the grant conditions are four separate processes with four timescales.
Spoil removal from a basement dig and highway impact
A small residential basement generates hundreds of cubic metres of bulked clay and dozens of lorry movements. Put the calculation and the logistics in the application, not in a later condition.
Energy statements for a phased masterplan
Fix the approach, the infrastructure and the measurement mechanism at outline; leave plant and fabric to each phase. The condition wording matters as much as the strategy.
Front boundary walls and the one metre limit
A front wall adjacent to a vehicular highway is limited to one metre, including coping and trellis. Rebuilding an existing wall to its former height is a separate and more generous right.
Financial year end and section 106 monitoring budgets
Indexation base dates and trigger events are often worth more than the headline contribution figures. Monitoring fees fall due when outgoings are heaviest and nothing has sold.
Overbearing effect and how it differs from lost light
Overbearing effect is a site judgement about mass, outlook is about what fills the window, and daylight loss is a calculation. Loss of a view is not a planning consideration at all.
Applying for tree consent when you do not own the tree
A TPO consent or an expired section 211 notice lifts the statutory prohibition. It confers no civil right over your neighbour's tree, which is where most of these cases come unstuck.
Balcony design and combustibility at planning stage
On a relevant building above the regulation 7 threshold, a balcony is a specified attachment. Timber decking, soffits and handrails all change, and so does the elevation.
Energy centre siting and its effect on the street
An energy centre has a footprint, a height, a flue, a delivery requirement and an acoustic envelope. Treat it as a building from the first massing study, not as a hatched rectangle.
Garden rooms with plumbing and where incidental use ends
Class E covers buildings incidental to enjoyment of the house. A WC and shower normally qualify; cooking provision and sleeping accommodation are the features that take a building outside it.
Archaeological geophysics and trenching seasons
Magnetometry needs short vegetation, earth resistance needs a moisture contrast, and trenching needs firm dry ground. The post-harvest window is short and books out early.
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