PlanScope Blog – Page 264
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 264
9135 articlesWater vole survey season and works near a watercourse
The water vole survey season, why two visits are expected, when displacement can be carried out, and the consents that sit alongside planning permission.
Planning conditions: the national restrictions on drafting
What the six tests mean in practice, why pre-commencement conditions now need your written agreement, and the three routes to changing a condition after permission.
Petitions and template objections: the weight they carry
How councils record petitions and duplicate objection letters, why identical representations are counted once, and what makes an objection reach the officer's assessment.
Who can prepare an air quality assessment
How environmental health officers judge the author of an air quality assessment, the difference between monitoring and modelling competence, and how to scope the work.
Walkthrough: a scheme in a nutrient neutrality catchment
An illustrative walkthrough of a residential scheme in a nutrient neutrality catchment, from the nutrient budget to the appropriate assessment the council must adopt.
Proof of evidence: a working structure for a witness
The structure an inspector expects in a proof of evidence, from the expert declaration to the summary required once the proof passes 1,500 words.
Open space assessment or play space assessment
The two assessments overlap on the site plan and diverge in method. Child yield, age band walking distances and maintenance liability decide which one your scheme needs.
Planning fees for a householder extension: what you pay
What the householder application fee covers, when no fee is payable, how the planning guarantee refund works, and the costs that sit outside the fee.
The SuDS maintenance schedule in a Drainage Strategy
The maintenance schedule is the part of a Drainage Strategy the lead local flood authority reads hardest. Here is what it needs to say about adoption, access, intervals and enforcement.
Article 9A fire statements: when your application needs one
Article 9A of the DMPO 2015 requires a fire statement with planning applications involving relevant buildings, and triggers consultation with the Health and Safety Executive at Planning Gateway One.
Walkthrough: a shop becoming a children's nursery
An illustrative shop to day nursery change of use: why a condition on an old permission made an application necessary, and how drop off and play noise were dealt with.
Statement of common ground: structure for an inquiry
A statement of common ground records what the parties have stopped arguing about. Section by section, what to put in it and where the drafting usually goes wrong.
Archaeological desk assessment or field evaluation
The desk study collates existing records and decides where trenches go. The evaluation puts holes in the ground. Most sites with potential need both, in sequence.
VAT on planning and professional fees for self-builders
Construction services on a qualifying new dwelling are zero-rated. Professional fees are not, and the self-build refund scheme does not cover them. Budget them gross.
Nutrient budget
A nutrient budget compares the nitrogen or phosphorus load from a scheme with the existing land use. A positive figure means mitigation before permission can be granted.
Budgeting an air quality evidence base
Air quality budgets usually price the report and forget the monitoring. Where the money and the months actually go, from screening through to the damage cost calculation.
Reports for a scheme next to a designated wildlife site
Next to a designated site the assessment follows the pathways: land take, hydrology, air quality, recreation, lighting and noise. What to map, survey and submit.
Planning contravention notice
A planning contravention notice is a demand for information about a suspected breach, not enforcement action. There is no appeal, but failing to reply within 21 days is an offence.
Dormouse survey season and what it costs a scheme
Hazel dormouse surveys need most of the April to November season to reach the accepted probability threshold. What that means for licensing, clearance and the programme.
Neighbourhood plans: weight, review and referendum
Once made, a neighbourhood plan sits in the statutory development plan. How the stages work, what the basic conditions test, and what happens when a later local plan conflicts.
Speaking at planning committee as an objector
Committee speaking rules sit in your council's constitution: a registration deadline, a short slot often shared between objectors, and a narrow set of things members can act on.
Conflicts of interest when your designer writes the reports
Advocacy documents are expected to argue for the scheme. Assessment documents are meant to report what the method produces. The conflict lives in the second group.
Walkthrough: retrospective application after enforcement
An illustrative householder case: an over-deep rear extension with a roof terrace, a planning contravention notice, and why applying before a notice is issued matters.
Discharging conditions or amending a permission
A discharge application supplies details a condition asks for. An amendment changes what the permission authorises. Picking the wrong one costs a determination period.
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