PlanScope Blog – Page 359
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 359
8682 articlesOdour assessment for a takeaway: what the report contains
Councils refuse hot food applications on odour more than on anything else, usually because a supplier quotation was submitted instead of an assessment. Here is what the report has to establish and in what order.
Opening a children's nursery: planning permission steps
A nursery sits in Class E(f), which means a shop or office unit needs no change of use application at all. Houses and community halls are different. Here is the evidence that decides those applications.
Prior approval: the halfway house before permission
Prior approval is permission already granted, subject to the council checking a fixed list of matters. Here is which classes use it, what an officer may consider, and what happens when the period runs out.
Class MA office to residential: the prior approval evidence
Class MA turns Class E buildings into homes without a full application, but only if the prior approval submission answers the Order's fixed list of matters. Here is the evidence councils expect and the traps that cause refusals.
Loft conversion rooflights: the 150mm projection rule
Class C of the GPDO lets you fit rooflights without permission, provided they project no more than 150mm from the roof plane and sit below the original ridge. Here is how the limits are measured and where they bite.
LVIA or TVIA: choosing the right visual assessment
Landscape and townscape assessments share a method but not a receptor. Here is how to choose between them, how GLVIA3 sensitivity and magnitude judgements are built, and what a verified view has to prove.
Micro-pub or taproom planning permission in a shop unit
A shop unit cannot become a micro pub or taproom without full planning permission, because drinking establishments sit outside Class E. Here is the application, the noise case and the hours conditions to expect.
Material change of use: the test councils apply
Material change of use is judged as a matter of fact and degree, on the character of the use rather than the activity on any one day. Here is the test officers apply and the evidence that settles it.
Section 106 heads of terms on a nine-unit scheme
Nine homes sits one unit below the major threshold, which narrows what a council can ask for. Here is the realistic shape of the heads of terms, the monitoring fee, and how to stop the deed delaying your decision notice.
Two-storey rear extensions: the 3m and 7m rules
Two numbers decide whether a two-storey rear extension is permitted development, and neither depends on the house type. Here are the limits, the roof pitch and window conditions, and when to apply instead.
PEA or protected species survey: reading the ecology scope
The appraisal can be done any time of year and tells you which surveys you need. The species surveys are locked to seasons. Here is how the two documents differ and how to programme around them.
Hot food takeaway planning permission and extraction
There is no permitted development route from a Class E unit into a takeaway. Here is what the application turns on: flue termination, odour abatement, plant noise, health policies and the conditions to expect.
Development: what section 55 actually means
If it is not development, planning control does not apply. Here is the two-limb test in section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the express exclusions, and where de minimis fits.
Tree Preservation Orders: how to check and apply for works
Felling a protected tree without consent is a criminal offence carrying an unlimited fine. Here is how to check for an Order, apply for works, use the exemptions safely and evidence the application.
Mansard roof extensions: policy tests and design rules
A mansard rebuilds the roof rather than adding to it, so permitted development is out and the whole argument moves onto design and terrace precedent.
Historic Building Recording: Level 2 versus Level 3
A Level 2 record describes the building. A Level 3 record explains how it came to be that way, with measured drawings and a phasing argument behind it.
Glamping site planning permission: pods, yurts and safari tents
Temporary use rights cover a seasonal campsite, not a year-round pod site. Knowing where the line sits saves an enforcement case later.
Very special circumstances in the Green Belt
Substantial weight attaches to Green Belt harm, and the considerations relied on must clearly outweigh all of it. Most cases fail by arguing the wrong half of the balance.
Local plan policy references to quote for a rear extension
Section 38(6) makes the development plan the legal test. Quoting the right three policies and answering them with dimensions does most of the officer's work.
Roof terraces and balconies on house extensions
Every relevant class excludes verandas, balconies and raised platforms above 0.3 metres, so a roof terrace always needs permission. Here is what mitigates overlooking and what to put on the drawings.
Fire Statement or Fire Safety Strategy: which one you need
One is a planning form, the other a fire engineering document, and they sit at different gateways. Here is the Article 9A trigger, what each document contains, and the validation failures to avoid.
Padel and tennis court planning permission with floodlights
The surface may be permitted development, the 3 metre glass enclosure and the lighting columns are not. Here is what a court application has to answer on noise, floodlighting, openness and drainage.
Permitted development rights: what they actually cover
The rights are permission, not an exemption from planning. Here is where they come from, how each class is structured, the five things that remove them, and how to prove your works were lawful.
Your council's SFRA: what it means for your site
The flood map gives you a zone. Your council's strategic flood risk assessment gives you the local modelling, the functional floodplain, the critical drainage areas and the sequential test evidence.
Not sure which documents your council will ask for?
Enter your postcode and PlanScope recommends the right reports for your project, then drafts them in minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanScope