Making a planning pre-application

What happens after a planning pre-application is submitted

How we deal with your request for pre-application advice

Your application is acknowledged in three working days

You'll be notified of the case officer who is dealing with your enquiry.

Invalid applications

If the request for advice does not contain the required information or fee, you will be notified that there is information missing and it will not be progressed.

If we do not receive the requested information within 20 working days the enquiry will be closed and any fee paid will be refunded.

How long does it take?

Timeline

We will provide a full response within 20 working days.

Meetings

You can request a meeting or a written response except for advice relating to householder works which will be a written response only.

If the case officer considers the matter can be adequately dealt with via a written response, a meeting will not be held and the fee will be partially refunded. 

Where a meeting is considered appropiate, it will be held virtually using Teams unless the case officers considers a site meeting is essential.

Some consultees such as the Highways Authority and the Environment Agency charge for pre-application advice so you will need to contact them directly.

Listed building applications will take longer

The officer dealing with listed buildings only works two days a week.

You should therefore allow sufficient time for pre-application discussions before commencing any work.

What if I revise my scheme?

If after receiving pre-application advice you revise the development and further advice is required, you must submit a new request for pre-application advice and pay the associated fee.

Include pre-application advice to support your planning application

We expect you to include details of the advice given within the planning statement that you submit with your planning application.

If your application deviates from the advice given, you should include clear reasons why you decided not to follow the given advice.

Please note that we will not normally negotiate on a planning application if advice given at the pre-application stage has not been followed. If any required changes necessitate reconsultation, the application will be refused regardless of whether or not pre-application advice has been sought.