PlanScope Blog – Page 206
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 206
9240 articlesHow viability changed the affordable offer on a mixed use scheme
Viability arguments turn on six or seven numbers. Here is how one negotiation moved from 18 to 26 per cent, and what the section 106 review mechanisms did.
A design and access statement outline for a minor scheme
Amount, layout, scale, landscaping and appearance are a convention, not the legal requirement. What article 9 actually asks for, and a twelve page outline.
Extending a house on a corner plot with two frontages
Two highway frontages mean two restrictions in Class A. Why a side extension is usually unavailable on a corner plot, and which design moves get permission.
Construction noise limits and section 61 prior consent
Section 61 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 lets you agree method, plant and hours before work starts, and section 65 then bars a section 60 notice.
Veteran trees: identification and buffer distances
Ancient and veteran trees are irreplaceable habitat, and the buffer they need exceeds a BS 5837 root protection area. How to identify one and size the buffer.
Using historic maps in a heritage or archaeology assessment
A half-day of historic map research feeds the heritage statement, the archaeology assessment and the contamination desk study. Here is the method and its limits.
Watercourse units and how the metric treats a ditch
A dry field ditch is a watercourse for metric purposes, and its units cannot be made up with grassland elsewhere. What that means for a small site.
Who prepares an equalities impact assessment
Section 149 puts the duty on the decision maker. Your assessment is the evidence that lets an officer record due regard properly, which is what protects the permission.
Measuring height under Part 1 from adjacent ground
One datum governs the height limits in Part 1: the highest adjacent ground. Here is how it works on slopes, what reprofiling does, and what to show on the section.
Self-build and custom build duties on larger sites
Plot requirements on larger sites come from the register duty in the 2015 Act. What serviced means, how to draft the marketing obligation and where CIL bites.
How a householder appeal was won on a single point
The householder appeal service gives you one statement and no second chance. How to narrow the case to a single issue, and what evidence decides it.
Windows closed noise strategies and Part O overheating
Approved Document O ended the free ride on closed window acoustic strategies. Here is how to reconcile BS 8233 internal targets with TM59 overheating criteria.
A heritage statement outline for a Grade II house
Describe what is special, then what you propose, then the effect of each on each. A working outline for a Grade II heritage statement, with the research sources.
Party wall notices running alongside a planning application
The council has no role in party wall matters, but the two month notice period can decide your start date. How to sequence notices against a planning application.
Energy statement for a listed building with limited fabric change
On a listed building the energy hierarchy meets a statutory duty. Which fabric measures are usually acceptable, which are refused, and how to document the balance.
The dead tree exemption and the five day notice
The 2012 Regulations dropped dead, dying or dangerous. Two narrow exemptions replaced it, each with its own notice requirement and a replanting duty.
Heritage statements for a solar array on farmland
A farmland solar array harms setting rather than fabric, and reversibility only reduces the weight of that harm. How to assess and present it properly.
Off-site biodiversity gain: section 106 or conservation covenant
Off-site habitat can be secured by a planning obligation or by a conservation covenant under the Environment Act 2021. Ownership, geography and unit sales decide which.
Designing out overlooking: layout moves that protect privacy
Obscure glazing protects the neighbour and fails the new occupant. The plan, section and elevation moves that design overlooking out before it becomes an objection.
Who provides the public health input to an HIA
No licence governs who writes a health impact assessment, but planning expertise alone shows. Where public health input belongs, and how to scope proportionately.
Article 4 directions: how a council makes and confirms one
Article 4 directions come in immediate and non-immediate form. Here is the Schedule 3 procedure, the compensation position under section 108, and how to check the status of one.
When drainage needs lead local flood authority approval
At 10 dwellings or 0.5 hectares the lead local flood authority becomes a statutory consultee on surface water. Here is what changes, and what small sites still need.
EIA screening: when a sensitive area catches a small scheme
Schedule 2 thresholds are only half the test. If any part of a development lies in a sensitive area, screening is required, and this walkthrough shows what that costs.
A construction management plan checklist for a tight site
A construction management plan discharges a pre-commencement condition. Here is what to include for a tight urban site, and how it differs from a traffic management plan.
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