I’m a town planner as well as an architect. In my professional life, I’ve submitted some very large, very complex planning applications for masterplans and regeneration projects. I’ve never done a householder application before! However, the basic principles are similar:
What does Planning Policy say? I started by looking at what planning policy in my local area had to say about my type of project. Any application – large of small - needs to demonstrate how it complies with policy. It’s no good simply saying ‘It’ll be great!’.
South Lakeland District Council is my local authority. I had a good dig around SLDC’s website to find as much relevant policy as possible. However, there wasn’t all that much specific to my very small project, so I also had a good look at the guidance on home improvement projects on the Planning Portal. The Planning Portal applies to all projects in England, and has lots of useful advice:
Early advice: It’s always a good idea to talk to the Council before submitting a planning application to make sure you get it right. Unfortunately, due to Covid, SLDC had suspended its pre-application service for small applications like mine. That meant I had to rely on my own expertise. I searched planning applications on SLDC’s website in my local area to see if I could see anything similar that might help me with mine. There was nothing exactly the same, but I did notice that even small householder applications were being required to show biodiversity net gain (i.e. leaving the natural environment in a better state than before my project).
Do I actually need planning? What are the planning issues? I wasn’t 100% sure that I needed to apply for planning, as much of the project is covered by ‘permitted development’ rights – that is, things you can do without getting planning permission. For example, building a small porch. But there were potentially two things that would trigger the need for planning: changing the external appearance from pebbledash to render; and introducing a new set of steps from the living room to the rear garden. Both of these could potentially impact on neighbours or the street scene, and it is this impact on others that is of most interest to planning officers.
What do I need to submit? A common problem is that applicants don’t submit the right information for planning, slowing the process down. This is where it really helps to know the process and the jargon. ‘Validation’ of a planning application happens when the Council is happy that all of the information needed to properly understand the project is there. Only then can the process of assessing the application take place. The requirements for information required can be difficult to find, if you don’t know that the terminology you’re looking for is ‘Validation guidance’ or ‘Validation requirements’.
I decided to submit MORE than the minimum required by the Council, and included a Planning. Design and Access Statement with the application. This is normally only required for larger applications, but – given that I hadn’t been able to talk to the Council before submitting the application – I wanted to make sure they understood what I’m trying to achieve. I was also able to explain my landscape proposals, which anticipated the requirement for biodiversity net gain that I’d picked up from other applications.
Talking to neighbours. Once I’d got the draft application drawings together (and BEFORE I submitted the application), I talked to my immediate neighbours to let them know what I was planning and see if they had any concerns. I gave them both a set of drawings to take away, so that they could have a good look and come back with any questions. Both were really interested, and started wondering how they could make their own homes more energy efficient! Neither was worried about the project. It was really helpful that – at the same time I was talking to neighbours - a nearby household had really upset the local community by not talking to anyone about their application for an enormous garden room: a great example of how NOT to get on with the people you ideally need to support your proposals.
I submitted the planning application online via the Planning Portal. The process was straightforward: no issues with validation, positive support from my neighbours, and just a little more information needed in relation to my landscape proposals to satisfy officers that I’d be improving the environment. Councils are required to determine most applications within 8 weeks. Mine was right on schedule. We could now move on to detailed design.
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