About pre-application planning advice service
The Planning Portal website provides free information about planning issues and the application process. Interactive guidance is available for residential properties.
If you would like more specific advice about your proposal you can pay for pre-application planning (pre-app) advice from the planning team.
What we offer
Our pre-app service provides an opportunity for you to discuss your proposal with us before submitting a formal application.
The service is for householders, owners of listed buildings, residential developers and commercial developers.
The online form walks you through the process, provides an opportunity to request specialist advice, calculates your fee and allows you to pay online.
It is not compulsory. However, there are many benefits from getting early advice.
Benefits of pre-app planning advice
Using the pre-app planning service can help ensure you prepare a planning application for submission which:
- Takes into consideration the requirements of local and national planning policies
- Includes the relevant supporting documents
It can also:
- Identify and offer access to relevant specialist input at an early stage
- Assist in the preparation of proposals for formal submission, which should speed up the decision making and improve outcomes
- Reduce the time you or your professional advisors spend in working up the proposals
- Identify proposals that are completely unacceptable, saving you the cost of pursuing a formal application
Any advice given by council officers for pre-application enquiries does not indicate a formal decision by the council as local planning authority. The advice we give in a pre-app enquiry relates to the merits of the proposal and planning material considerations only. We recommend using a planning agent to assist you with your planning application.
Pre-application planning advice fees
This is a paid-for service. Our online form automatically calculates a tailored fee, depending on the level of service you request and the type of proposal.
View the pre-app planning service fees.
Specialist advice
Large or complex planning proposals may benefit from early advice from specialist advisors.
The pre-app does not cover projects which may require environmental advice relating to private mitigation schemes to offset the nutrient budget of development proposals. For these you should consider the Environmental Advice Service.
Specialist advice for all other projects, in the areas listed below, is available only as part of the online pre-app planning service:
- Agricultural
- Highways and Transport
- Drainage
- Built and Natural Environment Service (Heritage & Listed Buildings, Archaeology, Ecology, Landscape, Trees, and Public Open Space provision)
- Environmental Health (Air quality, Land contamination, Nuisance, including, light, odour, noise, dust, pollution, pests)
As you complete the form any relevant specialist advice will be offered to you based on the information you provide about your proposal.
You can only select and purchase this advice through the pre-app. Fees depend on the scale and complexity of the project and will be calculated and presented to you as you complete the form.
View specialist advice, fee structures and options
Freedom of information (FOI) and Environmental Information Requests (EIR)
Members of the public can make requests to see the recorded information we hold on pre-application matters. View Pre-application advice and Environmental Information Regulations for more information.
Timescales and report
Once we've received your application and fee we will review and validate your application within 5 working days. Should we require any additional information we will contact you or your planning agent but please note this will delay the process.
Once validation is complete your application will be allocated to a Planning Officer who will contact you. A final report will be provided:
- 30 working days from validation for Householder, Other and Listed buildings development categories
- 40 working days from validation for Minor and Major development categories