PlanScope Blog – Page 59
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 59
9539 articlesPlantation on an ancient woodland site and its protection
A plantation on an ancient woodland site is still ancient woodland, because the designation attaches to soil continuity rather than to the trees standing on it.
Designing a basement under a terraced house
Depth, extent beneath the garden, soil cover and light well design decide most householder basement applications. The structural and hydrogeological evidence does the rest.
Separation distances for intensive livestock odour
Separation distance is a screening tool for intensive livestock odour, not a standard. Clearing it decides how much evidence you need, and ammonia screening against designated habitats often decides the application.
Tree planting conditions: species, size and maintenance
Tree planting conditions ask for a plan, a species schedule, a specification and a maintenance period. A complete discharge package is usually determined without correspondence.
Car club spaces as transport mitigation
A car club space is inexpensive mitigation and easy to deliver badly. Operator viability, traffic order risk and location accessibility decide whether it works.
Infiltration drainage where the ground is contaminated
Clean water entering contaminated soil becomes a flushing mechanism towards groundwater. That is why the drainage hierarchy and groundwater protection pull in opposite directions on brownfield sites.
A designations checklist before exchanging contracts
Standard searches cover local land charges, not environmental designations. The constraints that stop a self-build plot being developable usually have to be looked up directly.
Loft conversion stairs and the planning drawings
The staircase decides how much of a loft is usable and where the dormer has to go. The section through the stair is the drawing that settles whether a conversion works.
Odour units and dynamic olfactometry explained
An odour unit is a dilution factor, not a mass. Dynamic olfactometry produces the number, and reviewing what sits behind it separates a defensible odour assessment from an impressive-looking one.
Pruning specifications councils will condition
Reduce by 30 per cent means nothing to a tree officer. BS 3998 specifies pruning by the dimensions of the crown that remains, and a specification written that way can be approved in one pass.
Framework travel plans for phased schemes
A framework travel plan sets the objectives, measures and monitoring for a phased scheme and commits to a full plan per phase. Its value depends entirely on the triggers attached to it.
Separating foul and surface water on a conversion
Councils and sewerage undertakers expect foul and surface water to be separated on a conversion. On an older building served by a combined drain, partial separation with a stated reason is usually the honest answer.
Safeguarding directions for major infrastructure schemes
A safeguarding direction tells councils to consult the scheme promoter and to refuse development that would prejudice a major project. It will not show up in the local plan or a standard search.
Flat roof against pitched roof on a rear extension
The 4 m overall and 3 m eaves limits in Class A decide most rear extension roof forms. Once you are applying for permission, the design guide takes over and often prefers a pitch.
Carbon filtration for commercial kitchen odour control
Activated carbon only controls kitchen odour if the grease filtration upstream of it works. The cooking process, not the equipment list, sets the specification an environmental health officer will accept.
Soil volumes and pit design for new street trees
Soil volume decides whether a street tree reaches the size on the drawing or dies at fifteen years. Sizing it from mature canopy area, and specifying the pit, matters more than species choice.
Travel plan bonds and penalty payments in an obligation
A travel plan bond holds money the council can draw on if modal share targets are missed. A penalty payment becomes due on failure. Both have to satisfy regulation 122, and the drafting matters more than the figure.
Attenuation beneath a car park: loading and access
Below ground attenuation under a car park has to carry vehicle loads and stay maintainable for decades. Most failures on these schemes are maintenance problems created at design stage.
Marine licensing where a site reaches the tideline
A site that reaches the foreshore sits in two consent regimes at once. Planning permission runs to the low water mark, while marine licensing starts at mean high water springs.
Co-living schemes and what use class they fall into
Large-scale purpose-built shared living fits no class in the Use Classes Order, so it is sui generis. That shapes room sizes, affordable housing contributions and the conditions on any consent.
When a scheme needs environmental impact screening
More than 150 dwellings or more than five hectares puts a scheme into Schedule 2 of the EIA Regulations 2017. Crossing a threshold does not mean an environmental statement is needed, but it does make screening unavoidable.
Setting back a two storey side extension
A two storey side extension always needs planning permission, and setting the front wall back from the original frontage is usually the change that turns a refusal into an approval.
Planning permission for a zip wire course in woodland
A woodland zip wire course needs full planning permission, and the case turns on ancient woodland status, what the anchors and platforms do to the trees, and whether the access can take visitor traffic.
Reports for a rooftop pool on a flat conversion
A rooftop pool on a converted block turns on three pieces of evidence: the weight of water on the existing structure, the noise of wet plant, and what the enclosure does to the roofline.
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