Pre-Application Discussions
The council welcomes and encourages pre-application discussions
on development proposals. However, this service takes up a
significant proportion of planning officers’ time and since 1
April 2011 charges have applied in certain cases (check
the guidance notes below). The Local Government Act 2003
permits councils to operate such a scheme of charging in order to
reduce the burden on taxpayers, it has been decided to introduce
fees for written advice and meetings where planning advice is
sought to recoup the costs in part.
The benefits of obtaining pre-application planning advice include
the following:
- Establish a degree of certainty to developers over the
scope of information in the application and whether planning
permission is likely to be granted
- Understanding how national and local policies will be
applied to development and addressing whether proposals may
need to be amended to comply with these policies
- Assisting in the preparation of proposals before formal
submission, which, if the advice is followed, should reduce any
unexpected delays and be more likely to result in a positive
outcome
- Enhance officer responses in terms of quality and
timeliness
- Indicating those proposals that are completely unacceptable, so
saving the cost of pursuing a formal application
- Reducing the time spent by professional advisors in working up
a proposal
- Identify if specialist input will be required
This advice is given without prejudice to the final
recommendation on the proposal, which will be made in the light of
consultation responses and detailed consideration of the
application.
A guidance note and form have been prepared which are
attached below. This sets out the levels of charges which
are proportionate to the scale of development. It also clarifies
those circumstances in which they would be levied.
Pre-Application Planning Advice Guidance Notes (PDF, 71k).
Pre-Application Planning Advice Request Form (PDF,
42k).
If you are making a request for pre-application planning advice
which would be subject to the charges, then the request form should
be completed and submitted to the Council together with the
appropriate fee and other information indicated in the guidance
note.