With all building work, the owner of the property (or land) in
question is ultimately responsible for complying with the relevant
planning rules and building regulations.
Most kinds of development require planning permission, however
there are a number of circimstances where certain types of
development are automatically permitted. The Town and Country
Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (as amended)
contains a number of 'blanket permissions' for a variety of
different works.
If your proposed development falls within what is termed
'permitted development' you will not need formal planning
permission to carry out the works. Please be aware that
permitted development rights (as explained above) are often subject
to compliance with standard conditions such as materials must match
those used on the existing property. It is the
owner/developer's responsibility to check and comply with these
conditions.
Where do I start?
Before you proceed with your proposed works you should check and
satisfy yourself as to whether or not planning permission is
required.
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Planning Portal
The Planning Portal is one of the best online resources for
advice relating to planning and building regulations in the UK.
This site contains a wealth of information together with a number
of interactive guides that will help you visualise and understand
whether or not you need to apply for planning permission.
Go to www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/ to
view guidance on whether or not you need planning
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Things to be aware of
Whilst permitted development rights apply to selected groups of
potential developers - such as householders, there may still be
other restrictions imposed on specific properties that
should be taken into account. If your property is located within a
Conservation area or is subject to an
Article 4 Direction, you may find that you have
fewer permitted development rights than other properties nearby.
Owners of Listed Buildings should be especially cautious
when planning to carry out works on their property, as
undertaking unauthorised works to a listed building could be a
criminal offence.
You can check the status of your property using the Council's
Hawkeye
interactive mapping system. If you discover that your property
is subject to one of these restrictions we recommend speaking to
the Council's Conservation Officer before proceeding.
It may also be the case that there is a condition on
a previous planning permissions relating to your property that
restrict your Permitted Development rights. Sometimes the Local
Planning Authority will choose to remove or restrict certain types
of development on a site when granting planning
permission. With this in mind it is important to be sure
that know the planning history of your property before you start
any works.
Getting it in writing
If you are confident that the works you are proposing to carry
out do not need planning permission you are free to proceed without
contacting the planning office, however it is worth bearing in mind
that should you ever come to sell your property you might be asked
to provide evidence that you did not need permission for the works.
In addition it is always possible that the works you are
undertaking may get reported to the Council and become the subject
of a Planning Compliance investigation. With this in
mind, even if you are certain that the work you are undertaking
does not need planning permission, it would be prudent to contact
the planning office to obtain written confirmation, if
only for peace of mind.
The Council offers two levels of service to customers who wish
to obtain confirmation that planning permission is not required for
their proposed works.
Permitted development enquiry: If you submit a
permitted development enquiry a planning officer will consider the
details you have submitted and respond with their professional
opinion as to whether or not planning permission is required for
your proposed works. Whilst this is a relatively informal process
the letter you receive should be sufficient for most purposes,
however the opinions stated within the letter will not bind the
Local Planning Authority in the event of subsequent enforcement
action.
To send your Permitted Development Enquiry to us all you need to
do is write to us with a description of the works you are looking
to carry out together with any sketch drawings or photographs you
think may be of assistance. There is a fee for this service
and the target response time is 21 days, for more
information please refer to our schedule of
fees and charges.
Lawful Development Certificate (proposed):
This is a formal process through which the Council will consider
your proposed development in detail and issue a lawful development
certificate stating whether or not planning permission is required.
This certificate will have full legal weight and will be considered
binding on the Local Planning Authority. If the Council declare
that your proposed development is not 'permitted development' you
have a further right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. The
statutory timescale for dealing with an application for a Lawful
Development Certificate is 8 weeks.
Details of how to submit a Lawful Development Certificate,
together with our schedule of
fees and charges can be found on the submit a planning
application page.
Applying for permission
If you know you are going to need planning permission for your
proposed development you have two paths open to you.
If you are unsure whether or not your proposed
works will be granted planning permission and
want further advice before submitting the formal
application, you can prepare and submit a pre-application advice enquiry to the
Council.
Alternatively you can simply proceed and submit your planning
application for consideration. Please refer to the submitting a planning application page to
determine which type of application you need to submit and what
supporting documentation you need to provide as part of your
application.
Don't forget Building Regulations
Getting planning permission is only the first step in the
process, you will probably also require Building Regulations
approval for any building work that you are undertaking. Whilst
these two functions are closely related Planning Control and
Building Control are two completely separate processes - Planning
relates to the principle of any proposed development in respect
of its appearance and likely impact on surrounding amenity;
whilst Building Regulations seeks to ensure that any structure is
built correctly and is within established safety standards. If you
have obtained planning permission for a project you will still need
to apply for Building Regulations approval
separately.
Further guidance