PlanScope Blog – Page 306
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 306
8931 articlesReports needed for a natural burial ground application
A natural burial ground stands or falls on the groundwater risk assessment. Here is the full document pack a rural application needs, and the order to commission it in.
Appropriate assessment: the Habitats Regulations stage explained
The competent authority carries out the appropriate assessment, but the applicant supplies the evidence it rests on. Here is what the 2017 Regulations require at each stage and where schemes come unstuck.
Pubs after 2020: why a drinking establishment is sui generis
Drinking establishments sit outside Class E and outside permitted development. Here is what that means for changing a pub, and the evidence councils expect.
Bin storage, drag distances and collection points
Bin storage is decided by the waste service, not the highway authority. Here is how to size stores, set drag distances and agree the collection point before layout freeze.
Upward extensions of blocks and terraces under Part 20
Part 20 upward extension rights turn on building type, construction date and excluded land. Here is how the limits are measured and what prior approval covers.
Nesting birds and the vegetation clearance window
Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act protects the nest, not the calendar. Here is how to programme clearance, check properly and record what you did.
Reports needed for a vertical farm in an industrial unit
Controlled environment growing in an industrial unit is judged on power, water and noise. Here is the evidence base and why it is not treated as agriculture.
The 45 degree rule: how councils test loss of light
The 45 degree rule is a council rule of thumb for loss of light to a neighbour's window. Here is how it is measured, what weight it carries and how to design around it.
Community land auctions and how the pilot works
Under Part 5 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 landowners bid binding options into plan making. Here is the mechanism and what it means for land strategy.
Dead, dying and dangerous: the exemptions from TPO control
The exemptions from tree preservation order control are narrower than most owners think. Here are the tests, the notice rules and the evidence to keep before felling.
Betting shops, payday lenders and the sui generis trap
Taken out of Class A2 in 2015 and left outside Class E in 2020, betting shops sit in a class of their own. Here is what that means for occupiers and landlords.
Swept path analysis for refuse and emergency vehicles
Refuse vehicles and fire appliances set the geometry of a residential layout. Here is how to track them properly and present drawings a highway engineer can check.
Telecoms masts and cabinets under Part 16
Part 16 lets code operators install masts and cabinets with a prior approval limited to siting and appearance. Here is how the process works and where objections land.
Barn owls in a barn conversion: survey and mitigation
A resident barn owl changes a conversion scheme. Here is the Schedule 1 protection, how occupation is evidenced and the design detail that keeps the birds in the building.
Neighbourhood priorities statements and what they can do
Created by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, a priorities statement is a light touch way for a parish to influence a local plan. Here is what it can and cannot do.
Reports needed for a care home extension
Class C2 schemes are shaped by sleeping risk and shift change parking. Here is the evidence base a care home extension normally needs and where applications come unstuck.
Previously developed land: what counts as brownfield
Agricultural buildings, gardens in built up areas and blended remnants are all excluded from previously developed land. Here is how to evidence the status properly.
What a tree preservation order actually protects
A tree preservation order covers roots and overhanging branches as well as the trunk. Here is the scope of control, the four order types and who carries the risk.
C3 to C4: small houses in multiple occupation
Two sharers is C3 and three is C4. How the Use Classes Order draws the line, the amenity standards councils apply and what an HMO application has to prove.
What a highway authority wants in a construction traffic plan
A construction traffic management plan is read by a highway engineer checking routes, mud and pedestrian safety. Here is what to put in it and what gets it returned.
Class L and switching between C3 and C4 housing
Class L permits movement between a dwellinghouse and a small HMO without an application. Article 4 directions remove it in most university towns, in one direction only.
Badger setts, licensing and the closed season
A badger sett on site does not stop a scheme, but it does control when you can clear the ground. Here is the licensing regime, the closed season and the working distances.
Reports needed for a waste transfer station
A waste transfer station needs planning permission and an environmental permit, decided by different bodies on different tests. Here is the evidence each one expects.
Deed of variation: changing a section 106 agreement
Most section 106 changes happen by agreement, not by statute. Here is how a deed of variation works, when section 106A applies and who has to be a party.
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