Pre-application enquiries |
| Pre-application
enquiries | |
If you are unsure about any aspect of your proposal we
would prefer to discuss this with you before you submit an
application. Our Planning Advice Officer will give help and advice
on simple enquiries, as well as procedures, decisions and dates for
Plan Board meetings. A Planning Advice officer is available at the
Darby House reception between Monday to Friday 8.30am and
5.15pm.
If you want a response in writing, you can request a
Householder Development Planning Questionnaire which
you complete and return to Planning Control. A response will
usually be dealt within 14 days. There is no fee for this
service.
Alternatively, you can submit an application for a Certificate of
Lawfulness which will confirm whether planning permission is
necessary and is the only lawfully binding decision available. This
does involve payment of a fee.
Developers and professional advisors are asked to write to us with
their proposal and sketch plans. The council welcomes new
businesses to the area and will try to deal with any planning
application for new industrial, office or commercial development as
quickly as possible. Further advice and guidance on making planning
applications for businesses can be obtained from the Department for
Communities and Local Government website (DCLG), using the link on
the right of this page.
The council also has specialists who give advice on both design and
building conservation.
Advice given will be accurate and objective but will be without
prejudice to the formal consideration of any subsequent
application. The service will give:
1. Advice on the development plan background to your proposal
2. Advise you of any guidance relevant to your proposal, such as
car parking standards
3. Provide you with any leaflets/explanatory notes which may assist
in the formation of your proposal
4. Provide you with a set of application forms
5. Provide you with a written summary of the advice you have been
given, if required
6. Provide you with a named contact and telephone number should you
wish to make further contact before you submit your
application.
On the developer's behalf, it allows detailed advice from the
council to be incorporated into any scheme before it is submitted.
The intention of pre-application enquiries is to :
1. Deliver high quality development.
2. Avoid costly mistakes being made at the application stage.
3. Speed up the processing of the application.
4. Ensure that statutory consultees outside the control of the
council are engaged as early as possible in the process.
5. Contribute to a development team approach.
6. Provide valuable face-to-face control and identify an eventual
case officer.
7. Identify schemes which are unlikely to receive favourable
consideration.
8. Assist businesses in applying for planning permission.
The council is required to determine applications quickly in order
to meet government targets.
We will therefore try to determine all applications within the
periods prescribed by the Department for Communities and Local
Government. It is unlikely that this will be achievable unless
applications are submitted in a way that meets and respects the
council's approved standards. For these reasons the following
principles will apply:
1. Applications which are submitted fully in accordance with the
council's approved policies and standards will be given priority.
It will be expected that applications which are the product of
pre-application advice will meet these criteria if both parties
have followed this guidance. Inevitably the council cannot prejudge
the comments that may be received on individual proposals, nor give
a guarantee that consent will be forthcoming.
2. Applications which are submitted which do not accord with the
council's approved policies and standards are likely to be refused
without discussion with the applicant/agent.
3. Applications which are submitted following pre-application
advice and which have clearly not followed the advice given will be
refused without the opportunity for further discussions and
negotiation.
If your application is granted planning permission, and you decide
to go ahead with your proposal, the work should match exactly the
plans approved by the council and should comply with any
conditions, which are attached to the planning permission. The
Decision Notice will give the reasons for any conditions that have
been attached. If it becomes necessary to alter your proposals
after planning permission has been granted, you should inform your
case officer in Planning Control immediately.
You may be required to submit another application depending on the
scale of alterations. Planning permission for a detailed proposal
normally lasts for three years, so you must start on your
development within the time limit, or apply for planning permission
again after three years.
Remember, in many instances you cannot start work until you have
got both planning permission and Building Regulations
approval. | |
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| Please note - Some documents published before
1st December 2006 may contain incorrect contact
numbers. |
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