PlanScope Blog – Page 46
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 46
9564 articlesPlanning permission for a micro-distillery
A micro-distillery is a Class B2 general industrial use. Vapour and odour control, spirit storage separation and plant noise are what decide the application.
Why word count is no measure of a planning statement
Nothing in validation sets a word count for a planning statement. Count the material considerations instead, give each one a section, and cut everything a drawing already shows.
Commenting on listed building consent next door
Listed building consent turns on the effect of works on special architectural or historic interest. Overlooking, light and parking belong in a comment on the planning application instead.
Spatial risk multipliers and where off-site BNG units sit
Off-site biodiversity units are discounted by the statutory metric according to where they sit. Cost per credited unit, not headline price, is what decides the right purchase.
The 50 per cent curtilage test on a subdivided plot
The coverage test limits buildings other than the original dwellinghouse to half the curtilage. Subdividing a plot shrinks the denominator permanently.
Reports needed on former industrial contaminated land
A former industrial site needs a Phase 1 desk study with the application, and a Phase 2 investigation where the conceptual site model identifies a plausible pollutant linkage.
Planning permission for a model aircraft flying site
Regular club or commercial model aircraft and drone flying from open land is normally a material change of use. Noise and breeding birds decide most applications.
How a case officer reads your planning statement
A case officer reads your statement looking for sentences they can use in their own report. Structuring the document around the assessment headings is what gets your reasoning into the recommendation.
Which reports cover the setting of a listed building
Development affecting the setting of a listed building engages section 66 of the 1990 Act. Here is the document set that answers the duty, and when listed building consent is needed too.
Objecting to a dropped kerb or vehicle crossing
Vehicle crossings are authorised by the highway authority under the Highways Act 1980, not by planners. Here is where planning permission does apply and how to make a representation that lands.
The 30 January 2020 BNG baseline and degraded land
Where habitat was cleared after 30 January 2020 without the consent it needed, the biodiversity net gain baseline reverts to the value immediately before that clearance.
Converting an integral garage: do you need permission?
Most integral garage conversions need no planning permission. The thing that catches people out is a condition on the original permission requiring the garage to be kept for parking.
Planning permission for an adventure golf course
Adventure golf needs planning permission as a sui generis leisure use. The application turns on themed structure heights, evening lighting, summer noise and peak parking.
Mast planning permission in a conservation area
Designated land cuts back telecoms permitted development, so a mast in a conservation area often needs a full application. Here is the evidence that carries it and the design decisions that matter.
Promoting land through a local plan call for sites
A call for sites is the point at which land can enter the local plan evidence base. Here is the information councils ask for, how the availability assessment screens sites, and how to follow one through examination.
How a draft should handle an unresolved policy conflict
A planning statement can identify a conflict between adopted policies, quote both accurately and set out the facts each one engages. It cannot decide which prevails, and a draft that pretends otherwise is worse than one that flags it.
Objecting to a short term let change of use
Letting a dwelling for short periods is not automatically a change of use. Whether permission is needed turns on intensity and character, and that is where an objection has to start.
What counts as the original house on a post-1948 build
On a modern estate the permitted development baseline is the house as first built, evidenced by the approved drawings rather than by a historic map. Here is how to establish it and what counts against the allowance.
Which reports a protected tree on the boundary needs
A protected tree on or near the boundary brings a defined set of documents: a BS 5837 survey, an impact assessment, a method statement and a tree protection plan. Here is what each one does.
Pet crematorium planning permission and emissions rules
Animal cremation sits outside the Cremation Act siting rules but needs an environmental permit and an emissions case. Here is how the use is classified and what the council will ask for.
Crown development: planning applications by government bodies
Crown bodies lost planning immunity in 2006 and normally apply to the council like anyone else. Separate routes exist for urgent and nationally important development, where the Secretary of State decides.
Local development orders and what they permit
Local development orders let a council grant permission in advance for specified development in a defined area. Here is how an order is made, what conditions it can carry and how to check whether one covers a site.
Swapping the policy framework for a devolved application
Policy sections written against the NPPF and English local plans have to be replaced rather than adjusted for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Here is what changes and who should check it.
Objecting to a battery energy storage scheme
Battery storage schemes are decided by the local planning authority in England whatever their capacity. The grounds that carry weight are fire safety management, tonal noise, firefighting water and restoration.
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