PlanScope Blog – Page 193
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 193
9296 articlesCinemas, theatres and concert halls as sui generis uses
Since 2020 cinemas and concert halls have been sui generis, outside the use classes. That means permission both ways, and a technical case built on noise isolation.
Who should write a basement impact assessment
No single engineer is competent across groundwater, surface water, ground movement and structural damage. Here is the team a basement assessment needs, and the order.
Daylight and sunlight results tables an officer can check
A daylight results table exists so an officer can verify your conclusions without the model. Reference every window, show before, after and ratio, and band the shortfalls.
Planning permission for a gypsy and traveller pitch
Pitch applications turn on the planning definition, the authority's five year supply of deliverable sites and whether the land is Green Belt. Here is how to build each.
Evidence base for an equestrian yard and manege
Stables and arenas get no help from agricultural permitted development. The application turns on levels, arena drainage, floodlighting and the landscape case.
Approved Document O and its two compliance routes
Approved Document O offers a tabulated simplified method and a TM59 modelling route. They are not calibrated to each other, so choose at concept stage.
Setting a discharge rate with no greenfield record
A brownfield site has no greenfield record and often no documented existing rate. Here is how to derive both, and how to get a limiting rate agreed before design freeze.
Ancient woodland buffers and the 15 metre minimum
The 15 metre ancient woodland buffer is a floor, not a target. Fix it at layout stage, keep gardens out of it, and deal with light, water and recreation.
Nail bars, tattoo studios and the Class E boundary
Salons and nail bars are Class E uses and can change freely within the class. Tattoo and piercing studios are less settled, and old A1 conditions still bite.
Great crested newt eDNA: choosing an accredited laboratory
Great crested newt eDNA results are only as good as the laboratory and the chain of custody. Here is what reviewers check, and what a negative result does not prove.
Planning fee bands for dwellings, and how they are worked out
Residential planning fees run per dwelling to a threshold, then a base plus an incremental rate, then a cap. The structure rarely changes even though the figures do.
Whole life carbon assessment outline, module by module
Report whole life carbon module by module, in order, with one set of units. Here is the structure a sustainability officer can verify, and the assumptions to declare.
Planning permission for a temporary surface car park
A temporary car park needs permission for the surfacing and for the change of use. The drainage, lighting and restoration evidence decides whether it is granted.
Evidence base for a waste transfer station application
Waste transfer station applications turn on odour and HGV evidence. Here is what the waste planning authority expects, and where the environmental permit takes over.
Ownership certificates A to D and who must be told
Planning permission can be granted over land you do not own, which is why every application carries an ownership certificate. The verge you cross for the access is the usual trap.
Planning permission for a climbing centre in a warehouse
A climbing centre in a warehouse is a Class E(d) use needing full permission. Slab capacity for wall loads and evening parking accumulation decide the application.
Overheating Risk Assessment outline to the dynamic method
The dynamic route under Approved Document O stands or falls on the weather file and the window opening assumption. Here is the structure of a report that survives review.
Planning permission for a last-mile logistics depot
Urban parcel depots are Class B8, but nothing else about them resembles a regional shed. Van trip profiles and electrical capacity decide whether the scheme works.
Evidence base for a rooftop extension adding storeys
Most of the evidence for adding storeys concerns the building you already own: its structure, the light its top floor flats enjoy, and the residents living below the works.
The August 2026 NPPF and citing policy codes correctly
Paragraph 11(d) points at nothing in the current Framework. Here is how to convert citations from earlier editions and cite policy codes so a reader can check them.
Veterinary practices and the Class E use position
Vets are usually treated as Class E(e), but boarding healthy animals is sui generis. The line between inpatient care and boarding is where enforcement problems start.
Hedgerow assessments under the Hedgerows Regulations 1997
Removing a farm hedge needs a removal notice and a 42 day wait. Whether the hedgerow is important depends on criteria that need both ecological and historical competence.
Noise Impact Assessment outline for a mixed use scheme
A mixed use noise assessment carries three assessments in one report: transport noise inward, plant and servicing outward, and sound insulation between the uses.
Planning permission for a rooftop telecoms installation
Most rooftop telecoms apparatus goes up under Part 16 permitted development, with prior approval limited to siting and appearance and an ICNIRP declaration required.
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