PlanScope Blog – Page 26
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 26
9600 articlesCharacter corrections for tonality and impulsivity in BS 4142
The acoustic feature correction is where a BS 4142 assessment is won or lost. What each correction covers, the ranges the standard allows, and how to defend the figure under review.
Pre-commencement conditions and the written agreement rule
A pre-commencement condition must be met before any work begins. Since October 2018 an authority cannot impose one in England without your written agreement or a prescribed notice first.
Designated authorities and applying direct to the Secretary of State
Section 62B lets the Secretary of State designate a poorly performing authority, and section 62A lets applicants in that area bypass it. Here is how the route works and what it does not fix.
Running an enforcement and a planning appeal together
Two appeals on the same land, different deadlines, different grounds. How to ask for them to be linked, share the evidence, and avoid contradicting yourself.
Trade effluent consent or an environmental permit
Where the effluent goes decides the consent. Trade effluent consent from the undertaker, or an environmental permit from the Environment Agency, and what each application needs.
Which reports a crematorium on a village edge needs
A crematorium is sui generis, so every proposal is a full application. The reports it needs, in the order to commission them, starting with the 1902 Act distances.
Building a significance matrix in an Environmental Statement
A significance matrix makes a contestable judgement legible. How to define both axes, publish the criteria at scoping and record departures honestly.
Protect duty premises and the planning interface
The 2025 Act grades duties by capacity at 200 and 800. The measures that follow often need planning permission, and the duty itself grants none.
The tilted balance and what replaced it
The tilted balance weighted the planning balance where plan policies were out of date. What engaged it, what limited it, and why the current Framework changes the drafting.
Tanking an existing cellar for habitable use
A cellar conversion is mostly a Building Regulations project. Waterproofing grades and types, pumped drainage resilience, ventilation and escape, in the order they matter.
A mezzanine in a warehouse and the floorspace question
A mezzanine inside a distribution unit normally needs no planning permission. In a retail building over 200 m2 it does. An illustrative walkthrough of the consents that followed.
Noise or odour: which assessment a kitchen needs
A commercial kitchen usually needs both a noise assessment for the plant and an odour assessment for the cooking. What each one tests, and why the survey order matters.
Stop notices, loss and the compensation provisions
Stop notices halt work before any appeal is heard. When section 186 compensation is available, why ground (a) success defeats a claim, and how to evidence the loss.
Thirty year management and monitoring under BNG
Significant habitat enhancement under biodiversity net gain has to be maintained and monitored for 30 years. How that is secured, who pays and what happens when a parcel fails.
High street rental auctions and the planning side
Rental auctions let a council grant a tenancy over a landlord's head. Class DB covers the resulting change of use for the tenancy, but external works still need permission.
Pavement vaults under a building and who owns them
The vault belongs with the building, the footway above it belongs to the highway authority. What that split means for converting, strengthening or infilling a pavement vault.
A loft conversion that needed a sprinkler system
Adding a third storey to a house with an open plan ground floor removes the protected stairway option. An illustrative walkthrough of the fire safety route taken instead.
Householder appeal or full written representations
A householder appeal must be lodged within 12 weeks and argues only the evidence already before the council. Written representations is slower and more generous. How to choose.
Hedgerow removal notices and the right of objection
Countryside hedgerow removal runs on notices, not applications. The 42 day response period, the Schedule 1 importance criteria and how to appeal a retention notice.
Public transport accessibility levels and their limits
PTAL measures proximity to scheduled services, not where they go or how full they are. How the bands are derived, where policy relies on them, and how to use them honestly.
Losing ground (a) after a refused retrospective appeal
The 2023 Act closed the third bite at the planning merits. When a dismissed retrospective appeal removes ground (a), and how that changes the order you do things in.
Part 9 Class A: repairs to a private road or track
Repairing a private track is usually permitted development under Part 9 Class A, within the existing boundaries. Where that right stops, and which other consents still apply.
Soil scientist competence for land classification
There is no licence for ALC survey work, so competence is judged on method. What a defensible Agricultural Land Classification report contains and how to brief one.
Facade retention and the temporary works consents
The consents that delay a facade retention scheme are rarely planning consents. Temporary works design, highway licences, party wall notices and the monitoring regime, in the order they are needed.
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