If you want to get planning permission for your site, it is important to go in with a good understanding of the process and how long this may take. Whilst minor applications (up to 9 dwellings) should in theory be decided (or ‘determined’, in planner-speak) in 8 weeks, many first time applicants are baffled by the number of ways that a local authority can slow down or even completely de-rail the process! Depending on the complexity of the site, the process may extend beyond a year, whereas a smaller, simpler site might take several months.

So let’s break the process down into steps, highlighting some of the pitfalls to avoid along the way!

1. Validation

Before submitting your planning application, check for your local authorities (LA) ‘validation checklist’ (Google your LA name and validation checklist).

This is a list of things that the council require to be submitted on or alongside the plans. This may be a biodiversity checklist, a structural survey (if you are converting) or simply the requirement to show measurements from your proposed development to the site boundaries on the drawings.

Not meeting all these validation requirements will mean that the local authority will ask for these additional details before your application is validated. So stay on top of the local authority, they should validate your application in around 5 working days. If they do not, call and find out why, remembering that the clock is not ticking until your application is validated!

2. Consultation

Once your application is submitted, the LA will send it out to various ‘statutory consultees’ for their comments. This may be the heritage department (if your site is in an area where remains of historical interest might be encountered), the highways authority (who will comment of matters relating to access for vehicles to your site) and the waste management department (for comments on waste management and collection from the site). Depending on your LA, they may or may not make you aware of comments that will impact you application during the time your application is being considered.

By monitoring the comments received from consultees (look for the ‘consultee comments’ tab on your application on the planning section of the LA’s website) you may be able to address any comments as part of your application. If you do not monitor these comments, the LA may simply refuse your application at the end of their determination period, using these comments as a reason for refusal. If you are pro-active and address these comments during the lifetime of the application, you may be able to submit revised drawings and get an approval first time round.

3. Conditions

So you have chased your validation, addressed consultee comments during the lifetime and got yourself a planning consent! Congratulations! You are likely to have massively increased the value of your land.

However, the hard work doesn’t stop here. If you are looking to build out, you will have to pay close attention to the conditions attached to your planning application. These are the conditions that you will need to satisfy to ensure that your planning consent is valid. The first of these will generally tell you how long your planning is valid for. The second will state that must build as per the approved plans. There will probably be conditions relating to the materials used for the development, and the landscape and boundary treatments.

The remaining conditions will vary depending on the specifics of your site. So if you have contamination issues, further investigations and reports will be required. If you have protected species on the site, a method statement for working around them may be required.

Watch out for pre-commencement conditions!

Pre-commencement conditions state that you cannot start your development until you have addressed them to the LA’s satisfaction. And how do you address these? You’ve guessed it – another application! So factor in time to get the reports, design work or investigations required, then an additional 8 weeks for the council to approve these conditions.

If you have land that you wish to sell and want to maximise it’s value by getting planning, we can help. We specialize in taking sites through the planning system and avoiding the pitfalls of the planning system. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss in confidence, without obligation.

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