Prior Approval

Understanding a Prior Approval Application

As planning permission can be difficult to obtain, prior approval offers a much faster and more streamlined route for eligible developments.

Instead of having to work through a drawn-out and full planning assessment, prior approval offers a bridge within the UK planning system.

With prior approval, you can carry out specific works under permitted development rights while giving your local council the opportunity to check and approve key technical details before any work starts on the development site, such as impact on highways, transport, flood risk or natural light.

What is Prior Approval in Planning?

The concept of prior approval is used by your local planning authority to check specific aspects of a development scheme before any works start. It sits comfortably between permitted development rights and a full planning permission.

Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the broader general permitted development order, many straightforward building works don’t need a standard planning application.

Alternatively, the development order of prior approval grants automatic consent as long as the proposed development meets strict criteria.

For certain permitted development, however, the local council needs to check specific details first, ensuring that the planning project won’t cause any issues with traffic, privacy or visual impact.

In simple terms, the general role of prior approval is to give local councils oversight on targeted issues without forcing developers to apply for planning permission from scratch.

The government’s view is that the approach speeds up suitable development and protects nearby communities.

When is Prior Approval Required?

Prior approval is required any time you need to make certain changes to a property or construct extensions under specific permitted development rights.

It will save you both time and money to work out whether your planning project falls under the framework as soon as possible.

On the other hand, the following exceptions exist where standard rights don’t automatically apply without prior council review:

• Adding additional storeys to an existing building as a means of creating extra living space or a new residential development.
• Building a larger home extension to a single dwelling house, such as extending beyond the rear wall.
• Constructing rear or side extensions on other houses, as long as they meet specific height and boundary restrictions relative to the original house.
• Converting a site into a state-funded school or altering a sui generis property.
• Establishing a flexible commercial use, a mixed-use setup or developing previously vacant commercial land.
• Extending detached houses further than standard permitted limits allow.
• Making a material change or undertaking operations to support a temporary use of land.

As a general rule, minor internal alterations don’t need prior approval.

For bigger projects, however, the local authority needs to review key details. It’s worth noting that sites in conservation areas or places of historic interest (such as a listed building) face stricter controls, where standard development rights are often restricted or removed.

Prior Approval Conditions

When it comes to reviewing your submission, the planning department of your local council will examine a set list of specific matters.

The local authority can’t assess policy issues from the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) or other national policy unless the relevant legislation explicitly permits it.

Key conditions and planning matters typically account for:

• Adequate natural light in all habitable rooms within new residential layouts
• Contamination risks from previous land uses or stored waste material
• External appearance and design of principal elevations, remaining similar to neighbouring structures
• Flood risks, especially if the land sits in a designated flood zone
• Potential impacts on the local amenity of neighbours, such as loss of privacy or increased noise
• Transport and highway impacts on local roads

If your planning proposal fails to satisfy the above criteria, the local council can refuse prior approval.

Application for Prior Approval

Submitting a prior approval request involves careful preparation to ensure that your application moves through the local council without unnecessary delays.

By following the correct process, you can guarantee that you’re offering all of the important details upfront.

Prior Approval Process

1. Prepare Your Documentation

You need to submit a written description of the development, along with a clear site plan indicating the position of the building relative to adjoining properties.

2. Gather Supporting Information

Depending on the planning project, the local council may request supporting information, such as ecology surveys, tree surveys or details relating to cumulative floor space.

3. Submit to the Council

Send the complete application forms and all supporting information to your local council.

4. Consultation Stage

The local council will issue a written notice to adjoining neighbours, giving them an opportunity to comment on the proposed works before they go ahead.

If you want more detail on your development site’s history or want formal confirmation that your planning project falls within permitted boundaries without needing prior approval, you can apply for a lawful development certificate.

As soon as the local council confirms that approval is not required or chooses to grant approval with conditions, you can then move forward.

Prior Approval Application Timescale

In any development, timing is crucial, and knowing statutory deadlines helps to keep your planning project on schedule.

Local councils operate within a strict statutory time period to process prior approval requests. In most cases, the local planning office has either 28 or 56 days to deliver a decision.

If the local council fails to give a decision within this timeframe, the development can often proceed under your permitted rights. You should, however, avoid any works until this statutory period or until you’ve received written confirmation.

Prior Approval Application Fee

With an understanding of the financial costs, you can budget accurately for your submission ahead of time.

In terms of the fee for a prior approval application, the total cost depends on the nature of your scheme.

For instance, a housebuilder extension carries a relatively low fee compared to converting a larger commercial building into residential units.

Whatever the circumstances, the fees are considerably lower than the cost of full planning permission, making prior approval an efficient route for eligible developments.

Support with Prior Approval for Planning Consent

Although it can look straightforward on paper, working with complex site features or local restrictions can appear as unexpected hurdles on the path towards prior approval.

For instance, if your planning proposal involves a change of use across different use classes, the local council will scrutinise the details, such as in the case of converting agricultural buildings on an agricultural unit or redeveloping a non-residential commercial space. Even under certain permitted development rights, the local authorities will hold the power to assess the key technical criteria.

Depending on certain classes or certain types of schemes, you could need a specialist ecological, tree or traffic survey to deal with potential transport impacts or prove that the proposed visual changes remain broadly similar to surrounding structures.

If your development site involves other operations that fall outside of standard permitted thresholds, we can help, whether you need a full planning application, a prior approval route or something somewhere in between.

By getting the details right well before commencing works, we can help you avoid unnecessary delays, wasted fees and outright refusals.

Contact Our Helpful Team for Advice

Formed from several specialist areas to cover a variety of needs, Arbtech supports architects, developers and landowners across the UK every day with meeting the local council’s exact prior approval conditions.

Our team understands that time is a critical factor in any build, so we focus on delivering fast, effective and actionable advice that keeps your planning project moving forward.

Once you’ve reached out to our team, you can speak directly with an experienced ecological or arboricultural consultant, or whichever other specialist you need to meet the needs of your development and the expectations of your local authority.

Email us, call us or visit our contact page, and we can create a free quote for whatever you need. From help with meeting certain requirements to confirming if you could get prior approval, our team can do it all. And for anything we can’t do, we are able to refer you to a trusted partner company instead.