PlanScope Blog – Page 337
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 337
8675 articlesBudgeting the evidence base for a nine unit scheme
Staying below ten units changes which reports a council can reasonably ask for. Knowing the thresholds is what turns an open-ended evidence budget into a list.
Section 73: varying a condition without losing the permission
Section 73 is the workhorse of post-permission change, and the traps are consistent: the description of development, the conditions that must be re-imposed, and the levy.
The free go: a second application without a fee
The fee exemption for a resubmission is real, and it is lost more often through carelessness than through ineligibility. Same applicant, same site, same character, 12 months.
Original dwellinghouse: the date that decides your allowance
Every Part 1 allowance is measured from the original dwellinghouse, not the house you bought. Extensions built by previous owners come out of your budget.
Who can write a Fire Statement for Planning Gateway One
The fire statement is a planning document with an engineering author. Getting the appointment right, and early, is what keeps the Building Safety Regulator's response constructive.
Vacant premises: business rates, planning and reoccupation
Vacancy does not by itself extinguish a lawful use, but long closure, physical decay and an intervening use can. Here is what to check before taking on empty premises.
Daylight for offices and schools: what changes
Non-residential receptors are not ignored in a daylight assessment, but they are treated differently. Knowing which ones attract protection changes the scope and the argument.
What a measured and topographical survey costs to commission
A survey commissioned to the wrong scope gets bought twice. Getting the datum, the extent and the deliverables right first time is what keeps the fee down.
Extensions of time: when to agree one and when not to
Councils ask for extensions of time as a matter of routine. Whether to agree depends on what is actually holding the application up and what the delay costs you.
Class A side extensions: the half-width rule explained
The half-width restriction in Class A catches far more householder schemes than the rear projection limits, and it is the reason most wrap-around extensions need permission.
What competent person means for biodiversity net gain
The statutory biodiversity metric expects a competent person, but no licence or register defines one. Here is what councils look for and how to brief an assessor properly.
Infrastructure funding statements: what your council collected
The annual infrastructure funding statement shows what a council took in developer contributions, what it spent and what is still sitting unspent. Here is how to read one.
Loss of outlook as a planning ground in its own right
Outlook and daylight are different tests, decided in different ways. Understanding which one an objection is really about changes how you argue it and how you fix the design.
Budgeting an ecology survey programme around the seasons
Survey windows are fixed by the animals, not the consultant. Sequencing the appraisal early is what keeps an ecology budget from doubling on a small housing site.
How much weight an appeal decision carries elsewhere
An inspector's decision letter can help your case or sink it. The weight it carries depends on how close the facts are, how current the policy is, and how you present it.
The 21-day publicity period and neighbour notification
Site notice, letter or newspaper advert: the method depends on the type of development, and each carries its own minimum period before the council can decide.
Prior approval fees under the permitted development order
The fee is a flat sum that varies by class, not by scheme size. Paying it correctly matters more than the amount, because an invalid application never starts the clock.
Pre-application advice: what to ask for and what you get
The response is officer opinion and binds nobody. What it can give you is the validation list, the policies and the pushback points, in writing, before you submit.
Meanwhile use and temporary permissions: the commercial case
Check whether you need permission before applying for it. Class E covers most meanwhile uses. Where it does not, duration is the negotiation that decides the business case.
Who can carry out a bat survey and hold the licence
Bats are European protected species, so most survey work needs a licensed ecologist. The two licence types, how to check credentials, and why the calendar rules.
When a daylight assessment is disproportionate for a householder
Most householder schemes do not need modelling. How to check the validation list, what to submit instead, and how to draw the 25-degree section yourself.
Refused over trees: root protection and appeal evidence
Most tree refusals are evidence gaps rather than judgement calls. The survey, drawings and root investigation that answer each of the four reasons councils give.
Prior approval procedure: the clocks and the traps
Prior approval is not permission. It only works if the class conditions are met, and the 56-day deemed consent only runs from a valid application with the right fee.
Open space and play space contributions on small schemes
A contribution must be necessary, directly related and fairly proportionate. On schemes under ten units many requests are formulas without evidence. Five questions to ask.
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