Articles – page 217

9221 articles
Templates, Checklists and Examples7 min read

What to photograph on a site visit for a planning application

The photographs that win an application are rarely the attractive ones. Here is the systematic set to capture on one visit, against a numbered position plan.

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Which Reports Do I Need8 min read

Documents for a house to small HMO in an Article 4 area

An Article 4 direction turns a permitted change into a full application judged on concentration policy. Here is the document set and the evidence that carries it.

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Report Deep Dives7 min read

The obtrusive light section of a Lighting Assessment

Obtrusive light limits are set by environmental zone. Here is how to choose the zone, report against the limits and design a scheme that meets them after curfew.

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Glossary7 min read

Deemed advertisement consent and areas of special control

Most fascias and boards are displayed under deemed consent. Here is what the classes allow, what an area of special control removes and when to apply.

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Neighbours, Objections and Community7 min read

Judicial review as a last resort for objectors

A successful claim quashes the decision and sends it back to the council. Here is what judicial review can and cannot do, and the deadline that governs it.

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Use Classes and Change of Use7 min read

Class MA: commercial to residential prior approval

Class MA turns Class E buildings into homes without a full application. Here are the qualifying conditions, the matters a council can refuse on, and the submission.

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Professionals and Qualifications7 min read

Ecologist licences for protected species survey work

A survey licence is specific to the species, the methods and the named holder. Here is how to check one, and why a mitigation licence is a separate consent.

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Permitted Development7 min read

Permitted development on a site in Flood Zone 3

Permitted development rights survive in Flood Zone 3, but flooding is a prior approval matter for most change of use classes. Here is what councils actually test.

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Fire, Structural and Basements7 min read

Crane oversailing and third party land

A planning permission grants no rights over a neighbour's airspace. This covers the oversail licence, its terms, the programme risk and how to design the need out.

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Templates, Checklists and Examples8 min read

Worked example: TM59 inputs for a single aspect flat

Weather file, openable free area, shading and whether windows can be opened at night decide a TM59 result. Here is an illustrative input set for a single aspect flat.

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Which Reports Do I Need7 min read

Document set for converting a shop to a hot food takeaway

Hot food takeaways sit outside Class E, so there is no prior approval route. This is the document set a case officer and environmental health will look for.

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Report Deep Dives7 min read

The residual land value section of a viability assessment

Residual land value decides whether a scheme is said to be unviable. Here is how the section is built, which inputs reviewers test, and how to evidence them.

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Glossary8 min read

Stopping up and diversion orders under section 247

Planning permission does not touch public highway rights. Here is how section 247 and section 257 orders work, who makes them, and how long they take.

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Templates, Checklists and Examples7 min read

Checklist: discharging a landscaping condition

Most refusals to discharge a landscaping condition come down to an under-specified planting schedule. Here is the document set, the schedule fields officers check, and how to time the submission.

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Which Reports Do I Need7 min read

Which reports a 0.5 hectare site needs that a smaller one does not

Site area matters in only a handful of places, and each is consequential: major development status, the flood risk trigger, the small sites metric and EIA screening.

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Permitted Development8 min read

Permitted development and Community Infrastructure Levy

There is no planning permission for the council to attach a liability notice to, so the duty to notify falls on you. The in-use building test decides whether a conversion is chargeable at all.

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Report Deep Dives8 min read

The viewpoint selection section of an LVIA

Choose the viewpoints and you have largely chosen the answer. Here is how the zone of theoretical visibility, viewpoint types and photographic method are handled so a reviewer can retrace every step.

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Glossary8 min read

Listed building enforcement notices and unauthorised works

There is no immunity period for listed building enforcement, so historic unauthorised alterations remain live indefinitely. Here is what a notice can require and how these cases are usually resolved.

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Neighbours, Objections and Community8 min read

Construction hours, dust and how to raise them

Construction noise, dust and lorries are controlled by conditions set at the decision, and by environmental health powers afterwards. Here is which door to knock on, and what evidence each one needs.

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Use Classes and Change of Use8 min read

Class Q: agricultural building to dwellinghouse

Class Q now allows up to 10 dwellings and 1,000 square metres, with 150 square metres per dwelling. Most refusals still turn on structural suitability or on the location being impractical for residential use.

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Professionals and Qualifications7 min read

Who can prepare a Flood Risk Assessment

The competence needed depends on whether a flood level is looked up or derived. Here is the line between the two, and the review list that prevents a holding objection.

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Fire, Structural and Basements8 min read

Cellar conversion or new basement excavation

One project needs no planning application and a few weeks. The other brings Class A arguments, party wall notices, a basement impact assessment and the highly vulnerable flood classification.

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Templates, Checklists and Examples8 min read

Biodiversity metric baseline for a grazed pasture field

Baseline units are area multiplied by distinctiveness, condition and strategic significance. This illustrative worked example shows how a grazed pasture field is classified, scored and measured.

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Which Reports Do I Need8 min read

Report bundle for a self-build plot with a boundary ditch

Riparian ownership, land drainage consent and seasonal ecology surveys all follow from a boundary ditch. This is the report bundle for a single self-build plot and the sequence that avoids wasted fees.

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