- extension and alteration to an existing dwelling / house
- development ancillary to the enjoyment of the dwelling / house within its curtilage
- target timescale four to six weeks
- written advice service £150
- one meeting and written advice service £360
In response to a valid request for pre-application advice, we will:
- allocate the request to an appropriately experienced officer and inform you of the name of the officer dealing with your enquiry
- provide a formal written response in the form of a letter within the target timescale for a response, unless an extension of time is agreed to enable further information/clarification, to be sought from the enquirer
- this response will provide details of any constraints applicable to the site/proposal
- the opinion of a planning officer as to issues or merits of the proposal
- details of what information should be provided with any planning application
- once a formal written response has been provided the pre-application will be closed
Where a meeting has been selected, we will normally seek to set up a meeting within 21 working days. However, we have a limited number of planning officers, and the time taken to respond will depend upon the availability of officers and the complexity of the case.
At the meeting, we will aim to provide a comprehensive assessment of the proposal. There may be some scope for specialist internal consultees to attend the meeting with the case officer, but external consultees are signposted to.
Following the meeting, we will provide you with written advice. We will aim to do this within the target timescale for a response, unless an extension of time is agreed to enable further information/clarification, to be sought from the enquirer.
For cases where a meeting is not part of the pre-application advice service, we will aim to provide you with written advice within the target timescale for a response.
The precise nature of the advice will vary depending upon the nature of the proposal, but will typically include:
- identification of key planning policies and constraints which may affect the proposed development
- a broad assessment of whether the principle of the proposed scheme and its detailed layout/design is acceptable or not
- an indication of factors which require further investigation or could lead to the scheme being refused planning permission
- an indication of matters which may need to be addressed by a Section 106 legal agreement and/or planning conditions
- any recommendations relating to pre-application community involvement
What not to expect:
- a guaranteed outcome on a planning application
The final written advice will be considered by an experienced officer who has the delegated authority to determine planning applications, but please be aware the advice will be an informal officer opinion only that is not formally binding on ourselves. The final decision on applications may be made by our members and will only be taken after consultations with neighbours, statutory consultees, and other interested parties. You should therefore be aware that pre-application advice cannot give any guarantees about the decision that will be made on any subsequent application(s).