How do I apply for planning permission?

A householder planning application is a document exercise judged against policy, not a negotiation and not a popularity contest. Applications that fail usually fail for reasons the applicant could have discovered before spending money on drawings, which is why the order of the steps below matters more than any single one of them.

What you'll need

• Scale drawings — existing and proposed, plans and elevations
• A location plan and a site plan at the required scales
• The application fee
• A design and access statement where the council requires one (optional)
• Photographs of the site and its context (optional)

Step by step

1. Check whether you need to apply at all.Work through permitted development first, using the rules for your nation, because England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each set their own. If the project is permitted development, a lawful development certificate is cheaper and quicker than an application and gives you a stronger document.
2. Read the council's local plan policies for householder development.Extensions are judged against specific policies on scale, design, overlooking, overshadowing and character. Applications that quote and answer those policies do markedly better than ones that do not.
3. Use the pre-application service if there is one.A fee, and a written officer view on the proposal before you commission full drawings. On anything unusual or borderline this is the cheapest money in the project.
4. Get proper drawings.Existing and proposed plans and elevations to scale, a location plan and a site plan at the scales the council specifies. Councils validate applications against a checklist and an incomplete submission is returned, losing weeks.
5. Talk to the neighbours before you submit.They will be consulted anyway. A conversation and a look at the drawings turns a large share of objections into non-events, and objections that do arrive are then about substance rather than surprise.
6. Submit online with the fee.Through the national planning application service or the council's own portal. Fees change; take the figure from the council's current schedule.
7. Expect validation, consultation and a case officer.The council validates, publicises the application, consults neighbours and statutory consultees, and allocates a case officer. Contact the officer politely once, and respond promptly to anything they ask for.
8. Expect a target determination period, not a guarantee.Householder applications have a target period, and councils often ask for an extension of time. Do not book a builder against the target date.
9. Read the decision notice and every condition on it.Conditions can require materials to be approved, obscure glazing, restricted use, or work to start within a stated period. They are enforceable, and breaching one is a breach of planning control.

Tips

• Objections are not votes. A single well-argued objection about overshadowing carries more weight than twenty saying they do not like it.
• If your officer signals a problem, ask whether an amendment would resolve it. Amending during the application is far cheaper than a refusal and a resubmission.
• A permission carries a condition requiring development to begin within a stated period. Check the wording on your own notice rather than assuming a standard figure.

Common mistakes

• Commissioning full drawings before checking policy — Design fees are the main sunk cost in a refused application. An hour spent on the local plan, or a pre-application fee, protects the whole of it.
• Treating the decision notice as the end — Conditions frequently require details to be submitted and approved before work starts. Ignoring them means building without a lawful permission even though it was granted.

Questions people ask