WHAT DO I NEED BEFORE APPLYING FOR PLANNING PERMISSION?
What to check before spending money on a planning application
Before applying for planning permission, it is worth understanding what information you actually need, what the main planning risks are and which professional reports are necessary for your particular site.
A common mistake is to start by commissioning drawings and numerous specialist reports before establishing whether the development itself has a realistic prospect of securing permission.
At the other extreme, submitting an underprepared application can result in delays, requests for additional information or refusal.
The right approach is usually to investigate the development in stages.
Start with the fundamental planning and development questions, identify the issues that could determine whether the project works, and then commission the detailed information needed to support the application.
WHAT SHOULD I CHECK BEFORE APPLYING FOR PLANNING PERMISSION?
Before developing a detailed proposal, it is worth establishing the basic planning position.
This will normally involve considering:
Relevant planning policy
Settlement boundaries and site designations
Planning history
Nearby planning applications and decisions
Site dimensions
Access
Surrounding development
Neighbouring properties
Flood risk
Trees
Ecology
Heritage
Other obvious constraints
The objective is to understand whether there is a credible development opportunity before significant money is spent pursuing it.
SHOULD I CHECK THE PLANNING HISTORY?
Yes.
Planning history can provide extremely useful information about both the site and the surrounding area.
Previous applications may reveal:
Earlier development proposals
Reasons for refusal
Planning officer concerns
Appeal decisions
Technical problems
Development principles previously accepted
Changes in planning policy
Nearby planning applications can also help show how the authority has approached similar development.
However, another site's permission does not automatically mean your proposal will be acceptable.
The circumstances, planning policies and material considerations may be different.
Planning history is evidence to understand — not simply precedent to copy.
DO I NEED AN ARCHITECT BEFORE APPLYING FOR PLANNING PERMISSION?
Many development proposals benefit from architectural input.
But the level of design work required should reflect the stage of the project.
At an early feasibility stage, you may only need enough design work to establish:
What could fit
Approximate development capacity
Access arrangements
Relationship with neighbours
Broad building form
Whether a credible scheme can be created
Once the planning strategy is established, the design can be developed to the level required for the application.
This avoids spending heavily detailing a scheme before knowing whether the fundamental development proposition is sound.
WHAT DRAWINGS DO I NEED FOR A PLANNING APPLICATION?
The drawings required depend on the proposal and application type.
For a typical development, these may include some combination of:
Location plan
Site or block plan
Existing plans
Proposed site layout
Floor plans
Elevations
Sections
Roof plans
Site levels
Landscaping information
Larger or more complex developments may require considerably more information.
The local planning authority's validation requirements should be checked before submission because the precise requirements vary according to the proposal and location.
WHAT REPORTS DO I NEED FOR A PLANNING APPLICATION?
There is no single package of consultant reports required for every development.
The necessary information depends on the site.
Potential requirements can include:
Planning Statement
Explains the proposal, relevant planning policy and planning case supporting the development.
Design and Access Statement
May be required for certain developments and can also be useful in explaining the design approach where appropriate.
Transport or Highways Information
May be needed where access, parking, traffic or highway safety requires assessment.
Flood Risk Assessment
May be required depending on the site's flood risk, location and nature of development.
Drainage Strategy
Can demonstrate how surface water and foul drainage are intended to be managed.
Ecology
Depending on the site, ecological surveys or assessments may be necessary.
Biodiversity Information
Development proposals may require information addressing biodiversity requirements and the ecological effects of development.
Arboricultural Information
Where trees could be affected, a tree survey and associated assessment may be required.
Heritage Assessment
May be necessary where development could affect listed buildings, conservation areas or other heritage assets.
Noise Assessment
Potentially relevant where noise-sensitive development is proposed near significant noise sources or where the development itself could generate noise.
Contamination Assessment
May be required for land where previous uses could have resulted in contamination.
Landscape Assessment
Potentially important for rural, edge-of-settlement or visually sensitive sites.
This is not an exhaustive list.
The key point is that the reports should respond to the issues affecting the particular development, rather than every consultant being commissioned automatically.
DO I NEED ALL THE SURVEYS BEFORE I START DESIGNING?
Not necessarily.
But some constraints can fundamentally affect the design and should therefore be understood early.
Imagine designing a housing layout and only later discovering that:
An important tree prevents the proposed access
A significant part of the site is at flood risk
Ecology creates an important constraint
Highway visibility cannot be achieved
A heritage issue restricts the proposed scale
Drainage requires substantial land
That can result in significant redesign.
The objective should therefore be to identify the development-critical constraints early, even if every detailed report is not completed immediately.
WHICH CONSULTANT SHOULD I APPOINT FIRST?
There is no universal answer.
The first specialist should usually be the person capable of answering the issue that represents the greatest risk to the development.
For one site, that could be a highways consultant.
For another, it might be:
Flood risk consultant
Ecologist
Arboriculturalist
Heritage consultant
Drainage engineer
Landscape consultant
Before appointing anyone, ask:
Could this issue fundamentally affect whether the development works?
If yes, investigating it early may be money well spent.
SHOULD I GET A TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY?
For many development sites, a topographical survey becomes an important part of the design process.
It can provide accurate information about matters such as:
Site boundaries
Levels
Existing buildings
Trees
Roads
Physical features
This information can provide the base for more accurate architectural and engineering work.
However, whether it needs to be commissioned immediately depends on the stage of the project.
For very early feasibility, existing mapping may sometimes provide enough information to test the broad development concept before more accurate survey information is commissioned.
DO I NEED AN ECOLOGY SURVEY?
Potentially.
The need for ecological work depends on the site, existing habitats and development proposed.
Sites containing or adjoining features such as:
Mature trees
Hedgerows
Ponds
Watercourses
Woodland
Grassland
Agricultural buildings
Older structures
may require ecological consideration.
An important practical issue is that some ecological surveys can be seasonally constrained.
Identifying potential ecology requirements early can therefore be important to the project programme.
Waiting until an application is almost ready before considering ecology can create avoidable delays.
DO I NEED A FLOOD RISK ASSESSMENT?
That depends on the site's flood risk and the development proposed.
Flood risk should be checked early because it can influence:
Whether development is acceptable
Where buildings should be positioned
Development capacity
Site access
Drainage strategy
The planning case
For sites where flooding is a significant issue, it may be sensible to obtain specialist advice before progressing substantial design work.
A beautiful housing scheme has little value if a fundamental flood risk issue prevents it being developed.
DO I NEED A HIGHWAYS CONSULTANT?
Not for every planning application.
But access can be one of the most important constraints affecting development land.
Highways advice may be particularly useful where there are questions around:
Creating a new access
Visibility
Road width
Traffic generation
Parking
Turning
Servicing
Pedestrian access
Highway safety
For some development sites, establishing that a suitable access can be achieved is one of the first things worth investigating.
SHOULD I GET PRE-APPLICATION ADVICE FIRST?
Sometimes.
Pre-application advice can be useful where there is a specific issue on which the local planning authority's initial view could materially affect the proposal.
But it should not automatically be the first stage of every project.
Before approaching the council, it can be more useful to understand:
What does planning policy say?
What development could realistically fit?
What are the principal constraints?
What questions remain unanswered?
The pre-app can then be targeted at the issues where the council's view genuinely adds value.
DO I NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I WANT TO BUILD?
Not necessarily at the very beginning.
Part of the feasibility process is often determining what development is appropriate.
A landowner might begin with the question:
“Could I build houses on this land?”
The initial work might then establish that the site could potentially accommodate:
One larger house
Two smaller houses
Several homes
A different type of development
The planning and architectural work should help establish the appropriate proposition rather than simply drawing whatever number of buildings the landowner initially imagined.
HOW MUCH SHOULD I SPEND BEFORE SUBMITTING A PLANNING APPLICATION?
Enough to understand the significant risks and prepare a credible application — but not necessarily everything at once.
A staged approach can be more efficient:
Stage 1 — Planning and development feasibility
Understand policy, history, constraints and development potential.
↓
Stage 2 — Initial design
Test development capacity and establish a credible proposal.
↓
Stage 3 — Investigate critical constraints
Resolve issues capable of fundamentally affecting the scheme.
↓
Stage 4 — Confirm planning strategy
Decide whether to pursue pre-app, Permission in Principle, outline or full planning permission where those routes are available and appropriate.
↓
Stage 5 — Develop the application
Progress the architecture and commission the supporting technical work required.
↓
Stage 6 — Submit and manage the application
Submit a coordinated planning package and respond to matters arising during determination.
This allows investment to increase as confidence in the development opportunity increases.
WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE BUYING LAND FOR DEVELOPMENT?
If you are considering purchasing a development site, many of the same principles apply — but the consequences can be considerably greater.
Before committing to an acquisition, it can be worth investigating:
Planning policy
Development capacity
Planning history
Access
Title and rights
Physical constraints
Technical risks
Infrastructure
Likely development value
Development costs
Planning potential and commercial viability should be considered together.
Land can have a credible planning case but still represent a poor development opportunity if the resulting scheme cannot be delivered economically.
WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE SUBMITTING MY APPLICATION?
Before submission, carry out a final review.
Ask:
Is the planning principle properly understood?
Does the proposal respond to the site?
Have the important constraints been investigated?
Do the drawings agree with each other?
Do the consultant reports agree with the drawings?
Have the relevant planning policies been addressed?
Are the local validation requirements satisfied?
Does the application clearly explain why planning permission should be granted?
A coordinated application is much stronger than a collection of drawings and reports prepared independently.
SWAP VIEW
The first question we ask on a new development site is not:
“Which consultants do we need?”
It is:
“What could stop this development working?”
Those are the questions worth answering first.
If access could prevent development, investigate access.
If flood risk could prevent development, investigate flooding.
If the principle of housing is highly uncertain, understand the planning case before spending heavily on detailed architecture.
As confidence increases, expenditure can increase with it.
This is particularly important for small landowners and development sites, where commissioning £10,000–£20,000 of professional work before understanding the basic planning opportunity can quickly make a project uneconomic.
Good planning strategy is therefore partly about knowing what work needs doing — and when it needs doing.
THINKING ABOUT MAKING A PLANNING APPLICATION?
If you have land or property with development potential, SWAP can help establish what needs to happen before money is committed to a planning application.
We can review the planning position, planning history and site constraints, test development capacity and identify the architectural and technical work likely to be required.
From there, we can establish a proportionate planning strategy and coordinate the work needed to progress the application.
Send us the site address or location, a plan if you have one, and a brief description of what you're considering.