PlanScope Blog – Page 327
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 327
8754 articlesWhy flats and maisonettes have no Part 1 permitted development
Permitted development for flats is far narrower than for houses, because Part 1 of the GPDO applies only to a dwellinghouse. Here is what that leaves, and where Part 20 helps.
Planning application fees by unit count and floorspace
Planning fees are set by regulations and banded by dwellings, floorspace or site area. Here is how the bands work, what is exempt and where to find the current figures.
Infrastructure Levy powers and how they differ from CIL
The Infrastructure Levy sits on the statute book as a set of powers that need regulations before anything changes. Here is how it was designed, and what developers pay in the meantime.
How councils apply the BRE daylight and sunlight guidance
The BRE guide sets numerical guidelines that councils treat as a starting point rather than a pass mark. Here is how officers use them and how to present an assessment they can follow.
Energy statements for minor residential schemes
Small residential schemes are increasingly asked for an energy statement at validation. Here is what the document has to prove, and how to write it from SAP output.
Applying for permission inside an Air Quality Management Area
An AQMA declaration does not block development, but it changes what the council asks for. Here is how screening works, what mitigation is accepted and how it gets conditioned.
Searching a Historic Environment Record before you apply
The Historic Environment Record holds the local archaeological and heritage data that national lists do not. Here is how to request a search and what to do with the results.
Flood risk activity permits for works near a main river
A flood risk activity permit sits alongside planning permission, not inside it. Here is which works trigger one, the byelaw distances that matter and how to design the requirement out.
EV charge points under Part 2 Classes D and E
Most home EV chargers do not need planning permission, because Classes D and E of Part 2 of the GPDO cover them. The limits that catch people out are the 2 metre highway rule and listed building curtilage.
Planning determination periods by scheme size
The statutory period for deciding a planning application depends on whether the scheme is major, EIA development or neither. Here is how the clock runs and how to programme around it.
Field to garden: extending a curtilage in the countryside
Enclosing a paddock or field as domestic garden is a material change of use under section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Here is what the council will look at and what to submit.
Landscape and visual evidence for a countryside application
Landscape and visual work fails when it answers the wrong question. Choose viewpoints that address the objections, separate landscape effects from visual effects, and be honest about how long planting takes.
Street votes: the power and what it would allow
Street vote development orders would let residents of a single street grant themselves planning permission for agreed forms of development, subject to examination and a referendum.
Assessing a heat pump after a neighbour complains
A complaint about an installed heat pump raises two separate questions: was the installation permitted development, and is it a statutory nuisance. The answers are found in different places.
Watching briefs and archaeological conditions on small sites
A watching brief means an archaeologist attends your groundworks. It is the proportionate answer on most small sites, and the programme risk is manageable if you plan for it.
Ordinary watercourse consent: when planning is not enough
Building a culvert or an outfall in a ditch needs consent under the Land Drainage Act 1991, from the lead local flood authority. Planning permission does not authorise it, and building first is an enforcement risk.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest: consent inside the boundary
Owning land inside an SSSI brings a separate consent regime under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Routine farming operations on the notified list need Natural England's written consent.
Class MA prior approval: the use history and natural light tests
Two things sink most Class MA notifications: an unproven qualifying use history and habitable rooms without adequate natural light. Both are fixable before you apply.
Fire Statement thresholds for residential schemes
A Fire Statement is a validation requirement, not a supporting document. If your building is a relevant building under Article 9A, the application is invalid without one.
Class Q or a full application for a barn conversion
Class Q is faster and narrower. A full application is slower, costs more in evidence and carries mandatory biodiversity net gain, but it lets you design the building the barn deserves.
Enforcement time limits under the 2023 Act
The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 moved enforcement immunity in England to a single ten year period. Which rule applies to your client depends on when the breach happened.
How councils word plant noise conditions and why
A plant noise condition set below background sounds reasonable until the second unit is installed. The wording you agree before the decision decides whether you can ever discharge it.
Replacement windows in a listed building
Windows carry a large share of a listed building's interest, so consent starts from repair. Secondary glazing is the usual answer, and slim double glazing succeeds only on the right building.
Foul drainage on unsewered sites: package plants and permits
On a site with no mains sewer, the drainage answer has to satisfy building regulations, the general binding rules and the planning officer. Percolation testing is the step that decides most of it.
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