PlanScope Blog – Page 224
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 224
9207 articlesCheck SSSI condition data before you commission surveys
SSSI condition data, citations and impact risk zones are published free. Reading them first tells you which surveys a site needs and when Natural England will be consulted.
Local Green Space or Green Belt: which protects a field
Local Green Space and Green Belt both restrict development, but only one can be started by a community. A practical comparison of the routes, tests and evidence.
Obtaining modelled flood levels from the Environment Agency
The flood map gives a zone, not a level. Here is how to request the Environment Agency's detailed modelled data, which events to ask for, and how to use it against surveyed site levels.
Costs award or judicial review after a decision
One route recovers wasted expense, the other sends a decision back to be retaken. Here is what separates a costs application from a statutory challenge, and how to decide which you need.
Fabric energy efficiency and the glazing ratio trade-off
More glazing worsens the fabric figure, less glazing fails daylight, and south glazing risks overheating. Here is the order to work the three tests in, and how to write it up.
Drafting a response to objections without inflaming them
A response to objections is written for the case officer, not the objectors. Here is how to separate material points, answer with evidence and avoid the tone that loses committee votes.
What structured to UK planning policy actually means
The phrase describes document structure and policy citation. It says nothing about whether the evidence exists or the application will succeed. Here is how to tell the difference.
Seasonal flood risk evidence and the winter check
National flood maps miss surface water, ditches and groundwater. Here is how to gather winter evidence for a site, where the historic records sit, and how to report it credibly.
Trees and drainage: soakaways, sewers and root ingress
Drainage and trees want the same ground. Here is how to site soakaways around root protection areas, install services without trenching, and deal with root ingress claims.
Tree planting conditions: species, stock size and establishment
Planting conditions are easy to discharge and hard to survive. Here is how species, stock size, soil volume and aftercare decide whether the trees are alive at the end of the establishment period.
Checking the ancient woodland inventory for a site
The Ancient Woodland Inventory is a record, not a legal boundary. Here is how it was compiled, what the categories mean, how far to trust the edge and how to get an entry revised.
Using Environment Agency LiDAR for site levels
Free national LiDAR gives ground levels for almost anywhere in England. Here is how to download it, which model to use, where it misleads and how to cite it in a planning submission.
Appeal timetables and the six month deadline
Appeal deadlines run from the date on the decision notice and the appeal must arrive complete. Here is the period for each appeal type and how to use the window rather than sit in it.
How to challenge a daylight report you did not commission
Daylight objections succeed on factual errors, not on general concern. Here is how to obtain the full report, test the baseline and assumptions, and write an objection an officer can act on.
Light wells, sunken gardens and basement amenity policy
A basement scheme is often refused for the light well rather than the basement. Here is how front light wells are assessed on street character, daylight, drainage and trees.
Who is competent to author a fire statement
A fire statement is a statutory submission with no licensed author. Here is how competence is evidenced, what membership grades and certification actually cover, and what to ask before appointing.
Wind microclimate and pedestrian comfort at street level
Wind assessment asks whether the ground around a building suits the activity planned there. Here is how the comfort categories work, which method to use and what mitigation survives value engineering.
EV charging: Approved Document S and local policy
Part S sets minimum EV charge point provision for new buildings and major renovations. Local plan policy often asks for more. Here is how to work out which applies and how to draw it.
What an EPC does not prove in a planning application
Energy Performance Certificates are asset ratings produced from standardised models. Here is what they can and cannot evidence in a planning application, and which document answers an energy policy.
Curfew hours and part night lighting conditions
Obtrusive light guidance sets tighter limits after a curfew hour, which is why conditions use them. Here is how to specify the hours, the controls and the verification that makes a condition work.
Extract termination height and odour control selection
Most kitchen extraction refusals come down to a flue that stops below the ridge or abatement that does not match the cooking. Here is how to specify both and what evidence a council expects.
Odour assessment and the FIDOL factors
Odour in planning is judged on five characteristics rather than on strength alone. Here is what each of the FIDOL factors means, how field assessment and modelling are used, and what a workable condition looks like.
Hearing or inquiry: choosing an appeal procedure
Hearings are inquisitorial, inquiries are adversarial, and the Planning Inspectorate decides which you get. Here are the criteria, the evidence each procedure needs and how to make the case.
Class MA or Class Q prior approval
Class MA converts Class E premises to homes and Class Q converts agricultural buildings. The qualifying periods, prior approval matters and designated land rules are different in every respect that counts.
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