PlanScope Blog – Page 74
Practical guides to UK planning applications: which reports your council expects, permitted development, constraints, costs and how to prepare each document.
Articles – page 74
9513 articlesPadel and outdoor sport: consents and conditions
The use class is the easy part. How padel noise is assessed when there is no national method, what the lighting limits require, and when Sport England is consulted.
Launderette planning: ventilation, noise and effluent
The change of use is often the easy part. Where humid air can discharge, how continuous dryer noise is assessed, and why trade effluent consent comes early.
A forestry cabin and the functional need test
The forestry permitted development right stops at dwellings. How an essential rural worker case is evidenced, and why a temporary permission is often the outcome.
Resubmit or appeal after refusal: comparing real costs
The free second application and the appeal both cost nothing to lodge. Where the money really goes, and how to read a refusal reason to pick the right route.
Front garden parking refused: hardstanding and the kerb
Two consents, two decision makers. What the permitted development condition on surfacing actually says, and why the highway authority refuses most crossings on depth.
Deliverability and phasing in an affordable housing statement
A compliant tenure split is the easy part. How to evidence registered provider interest, set delivery triggers and keep service charges from killing the offer.
Watching a section 106 agreement being negotiated
A resolution to grant is not a permission. How obligations can change during drafting, what the council has to publish, and how to follow a specific clause.
Local validation lists: what authorities may require
A local list item only bites if it was published within two years and is reasonable for your scheme. How to check, and what to do when validation disagrees.
Registered archaeological organisations: what it means
Organisational registration assures systems, not expertise. How it differs from individual accreditation and the five questions to ask before appointing.
Dissolution features: chalk, gypsum and swallow holes
Ground that dissolves needs a different answer from ground that settles, and the usual soakaway is often the worst option. What to investigate and what to submit.
Daylight to rooms behind deep balconies and access decks
The obstruction is your own building. How projection, soffit height and balustrade choice change the daylight result, and what the assessment has to show.
Self-storage and the limits of Class B8
Self-storage sits within Class B8, but ancillary sales, trade counters and processing all test the edge of the class. Where the line falls and how it is conditioned.
Refused on infiltration drainage? Test the ground first
Assuming a soakaway will work is not evidence. What lead local flood authorities look for in infiltration testing, and the order to work through when the ground fails.
Evacuation strategy at planning stage: what to fix early
Stay put or simultaneous evacuation is a massing decision, not a Building Regulations detail. What the fire statement asks, and what the answer does to your core.
Storage and distribution in a small urban unit
For a small storage and distribution unit the application turns on vehicle movements, not floorspace. What to record, what to draw and which conditions to negotiate.
Self storage on employment land: an illustrative case
Storage is an employment use, so why do councils resist it on employment allocations? An illustrative case showing the job density argument and the evidence that answers it.
Section 278 costs: fees, bonds and commuted sums
On most section 278 schemes the kerbs and tarmac are the cheaper half. Where the rest of the money goes, and how to price it before the access drawing is fixed.
Testing a section 106 monitoring fee that looks high
A monitoring fee is tied to the authority's estimated cost over the lifetime of the obligation, not to the value of the contributions. Here is how to test the number.
Refusal for harm to a scheduled monument setting
There is no statutory duty for scheduled monument settings, so the protection is policy. Here is how to assess what setting contributes and build the balance case.
Fire service access and water supply in a fire statement
Appliance routes, standing positions and hydrants set hard dimensions at planning stage. Leaving them to the fire engineer after submission usually means moving a building.
Rights of way, access tracks and objections about them
A public right of way needs its own diversion or stopping up order with its own objection period. Private rights of access are a civil matter. Mixing them up wastes an objection.
Temporary stop notices and how long they last
A temporary stop notice halts an activity on display, with no right of appeal, and now lasts up to 56 days in England. Here is what it can and cannot prohibit.
CIEEM membership grades when appointing an ecologist
MCIEM says something about experience and nothing about which protected species licences the ecologist holds. Here is how to check all three before you accept the quote.
Scoping a ground investigation for a planning application
A day on the desk study usually halves the fieldwork. Here is how to choose between trial pits, window samples and boreholes, and what the planning submission needs.
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