Planning Permission Process

Planning Application Process Explained

If you want to carry out development, you need planning permission. The department responsible for the approval of development is your Local Planning Authority (LPA). However, to get permission, you need to send an application to your LPA. Interestingly, not all developments require planning permission. Let’s find out Planning Permission Process here.

Developments that do not require planning permission are mostly little changes to residential buildings. If you are not sure if the development you want to undertake requires planning permission or not, you should visit the LPA website for enlightenment. In this article, we will go through all the steps involved in the Planning application process.

Who Can Apply?

You can put in for planning permission, or you can appoint a planning consultant, architect, surveyor to apply for planning permission for you. That is because, when applying for planning permission, detailed plans are required, and a professional is best suited for this.

You can also apply for planning permission for land even if it doesn’t belong to you yet. However, if you are doing this, it is advised that you draw up an agreement with the owner to purchase or lease the land. This should be done before applying for planning permission to prevent others from using the planning permission you have suffered to get.

When filling a planning application form, there are different documents that you can sign on. This depends on the ownership of the land. You can sign Certificate A if you are the sole owner of the land. Certificate B can be signed if you are not the landowner, but you know all the owners. Certificate C is signed where you know some but not all the owners of the land. Lastly, Certificate D is signed when you don’t know any of the landowners.

How to Apply?

To apply, you need to fill the planning permission application form. You can get this form on the LPA website. The applications are submitted electronically through the Planning Portal or the website of the LPA. After submitting your application successfully, your LPA must decide if the application has all the important plans and other documents required for the LPA to determine your application.

After your LPA has certified your application to be valid, the local authority will send a formal acknowledgement, including a reference number for your planning application to you or the professional representing you.

It takes at least eight weeks before your local authority grants or rejects your application. However, for major applications, it will take 13-16 weeks before your local authority makes a decision.

After you have applied, the local authority will inform the general public. It includes advertising it in newspapers, informing your neighbours and placing a notice at the site. Before the LPA decides on your application, it needs to consult some agencies and bodies like the Highways Agency and the Parish Council.

What are The Planning Conditions?

If your planning permission application is granted, it often comes with conditions. Common conditions may include a need to commence work within a stipulated timeframe.  All conditions imposed by your local authority must be justified concerning their relevance to planning and development.

What To Do For A Rejected Application?

Where your application is disapproved, in most cases, it is because the proposal does not agree with planning policies. Your local authority will issue a refusal notice which will state valid reasons why the application is refused and how it disagrees with planning policies. In this situation, you can modify your application and resubmit.

If you modify your application and resubmit within 12 months of the previous decision, you don’t pay another application fee. However, if you want to appeal the decision, you can do that within six months after the first decision. The Planning Inspectorate is in charge of such cases.

Conclusion

The process involved in applying for planning permission can be a long one. However, with this article as a guide, you can understand the application process and what to do if any situation arises.

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