Planning Permission

Guide to Planning Permission

Between a homeowner carrying out a simple loft conversion and an accomplished developer working on a large site, it is vital to understand the part played by the planning system.

To help planners of all levels, our planning permission hub serves as a beginner’s guide to the rules, helping you to move your planning project from a simple sketch to a finished build.

By following our step-by-step guide to planning permission, you will have the best chance of planning approval. Our goal is to help you understand how local government manages growth, how you can align your vision with their requirements, and navigate the entire process with the confidence to achieve the best outcome for your plans.

What is Planning Permission?

In simple terms, planning permission is the formal consent from a local authority to carry out building work or make a major change to the use of land or existing premises.

With planning permission, you can ensure that developments are attractive, safe and appropriate for their surroundings. It acts as a check and balance to make sure that a proposed project doesn’t negatively impact the local community or the environment.

When Was Planning Permission Introduced?

The modern town planning system we use today was established by the original Town and Country Planning Act 1947, which came into effect in 1948.

Before this, development was often unregulated. The landmark legislation gave the local planning authority the power to control how land is developed, ensuring that new builds and infrastructure serve the public interest.

When Do You Need Planning Permission?

You generally need planning permission if you intend to build something new from scratch or significantly alter the footprint of an existing building.

Not all building work, however, requires a full planning application. Many residential projects, for example, fall under permitted development rights, allowing for certain minor alterations or larger home extensions without a full submission.

Whatever the situation, it is always worth checking if your planning project falls within these rules before you begin work.

Planning Permission Information

Our team offers comprehensive support to help you handle the planning application process.

With our extensive knowledge, we help you navigate local planning policies that often vary across different parts of the country.

Guidelines for Planning Permission

The planning process is governed by both national and local guidelines.

Planning regulations cover everything from the density of single dwellings to the preservation of listed buildings. If your project is in a conservation area, the rules are often much stricter to protect the historic character of the surrounding neighbourhood.

Considering all of these factors, we work hard to ensure that your design respects planning conditions while still meeting your goals.

Drawings for Planning Permission

High-quality visuals reduce the risk of delays and help the planning committee understand your vision during a public consultation.

Accuracy is vital when you apply for planning permission, so precise drawings play a key role in applications for planning permission.

You will need to submit a clear site plan, floor plans and elevations to the planning portal, with the drawings allowing the case officer to see exactly how the development fits into the landscape.

Cost of Planning Permission

More than any other factor, the fee for getting planning permission depends on the scale of your work.

Beyond the base fee, you should budget for the community infrastructure levy (CIL), and you might need to factor in environmental impact assessments (EIAs) if the project is large.

You must pay the correct fee when submitting your application form via the planning portal.

Based on the details of your development, we can work with you to estimate the likely cost of your application for planning permission early in the process.

Planning Permission Support

Our team provides expert guidance for everything from major applications to minor adjustments.

For a developer or planner, having the right team behind you makes a massive difference in how the local authority’s planning department views your proposal.

Planning Permission Services

We offer a diverse range of services to address every concern the local planning authority could have about your site and project.

The team at Arbtech specialises in technical surveys to make it possible for a development to move forward.

Examples of How Our Services Support Planning Permission

If your project involves existing buildings or rural areas:

You may need ecology surveys like preliminary ecological appraisals (PEAs), an ecological walkover survey or more detailed ecological impact assessments (EcIAs).

If your project involves impacting conservation areas or the countryside:

You may need a landscape and visual impact assessment (LVIA), heritage impact assessment, historic landscape characterisation (HLC) or a viewpoint assessment.

If your project involves significantly altering a greenfield area:

You will likely need a biodiversity net gain (BNG) assessment and plan, a habitat management and monitoring plan (HMMP), a river condition assessment (RCA) or a BNG rapid risk report to check your development potential.

If your site has old buildings, vegetation or water:

You may need protected species surveys such as bat surveys, dormouse surveys, great crested newt surveys or bird surveys.

If your site has trees:

You may need a BS5837 tree survey, a mortgage tree report or a VALID tree risk assessment.

If your site is in a busy urban area:

You may need air quality assessments, dust risk assessments, odour assessments or noise surveys to satisfy building regulations.

If your site is near a river or in a flood-prone area:

The Environment Agency (EA) will often require flood risk assessments (FRAs), drainage surveys, flood modelling or environmental permits for flood risk activities.

If your site was previously used for industry:

You may need a phase 1 contaminated land assessment, coal mining risk assessment, ground stability assessment or asbestos risk assessment to ensure the site is safe for building work.

If you need accurate drawings for your planning application:

We can recommend a trusted partner to provide the technical foundations, such as topographical surveys, measured building surveys, 3D surveys or utility mapping.

Planning Permission Advice

If you are unsure of your next steps, it is best to seek advice early.

We offer pre-application support, effective feasibility studies and professional planning advice to help you engage with the local authorities before a formal submission is made.

Planning Permission Consultancy

As a leading planning consultancy, we specialise in helping developers and planners to secure planning permission across the UK.

Our team knows planning policies inside out and uses that level of expertise to your advantage.

Planning Permission Consultants

The planning consultants at Arbtech work alongside the guidance of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) to provide all clients with a seamless service.

Our surveys are the primary evidence used by any homeowner, architect, developer or chartered town planner to argue their case and overcome planning issues.

Using a team of numerous experts in various fields, we can help with different types of planning applications, including full planning permission for detailed builds, outline planning permission to test the principle of the development, listed building consent for working on protected buildings, and reserved matters to settle the fine details later.

Our team can also guide you with handling prior approval, obtaining a lawful development certificate, managing planning appeals if your project has been refused planning permission or launching additional applications if needed.

We provide the expert guidance you need to discharge planning conditions and move your project from a proposed development to a completed project.p

Help with Planning Permission Near Me

Between new builds, extensions and major applications, our reports and plans are designed to meet the exact standards needed to get planning over the line.

When you are ready to submit your application to the planning portal, you will need to ensure that your ownership certificate is in order. In most cases, as soon as your application is in, the process usually takes eight weeks for small jobs and 13 weeks for larger ones.

Once your decision notice is granted, you then usually have three years to start work, and you can consider other issues, like getting building regulations approval.

If you want the comprehensive support of our team or further information about planning permission, contact us today for a quote and let a planning consultant at Arbtech take the lead.

You can message us by filling out a form on our website, calling us over the phone or sending us an email. Just give us as much detailed information about your site and project as you can, and we can then go on to work out exactly what you need.