Pre-application planning advice for householders

It is possible to carry out certain changes to your home without planning permission. However, you may still need building regulations approval. Special rules and regulation may also apply to conservation areas and listed buildings.

View visual guides for householders.

When to use our pre-application advice service for householders

You can use our pre-application service to obtain advice on proposed alterations/extensions and to establish whether planning permission is required for changes to your home. Examples where this service could apply are:

Erection of an extension (including a conservatory or a porch)
Erection of a garage or outbuilding
A new or altered access
Dormer windows/roof alterations
Erection of a wall or fence
Installation of a satellite dish
Establishing whether any restrictive condition applying to the property necessitates submission of a planning application eg, in the case of a garage conversion

If your enquiry relates to the following please visit our page for non-householder pre-application enquiries:

Change of use or subdivision of a house
Change of use of land to garden
Replacement of a house
Erection of non-ancillary buildings within the garden eg. erection of a new dwelling within the garden.

Making your enquiry

Before contacting us, with your draft development proposals please:

Prepare draft design principles for the property based on the findings of the site survey work.
Approach your neighbours regarding your proposed development. All too often the failure to engage with neighbours early on in the process leads to objections that could have been avoided.

You may also wish to include additional information with your enquiry such as:

Photographs of the property.
Any letters of support from neighbours

Please note that we reserve the right to reject requests for pre-application advice if you have ignored advice previously given on the same site.

Download the householder enquiry form.

There is a fee of £40. Exemptions from a fee apply in the following cases

Where the works are required to meet the needs of a person's disability
The proposal only relates to works requiring listed building/conservation area consents.
Following refusal of an application which has been submitted in line with advice given on an earlier pre-application enquiry.

What happens next?

Once we receive your request for pre-application advice we will acknowledge it within five working days and tell you the name of the planning officer who is handling your enquiry. All communication from you to the council should be via this officer.

If on our initial assessment we consider the pre-application process is not the most appropriate course to follow, we will tell you what alternatives are available.

Should further information or a meeting be required the case officer will endeavour to let you know within 15 working days of the enquiry being received. You will be charged for meetings. The fee is £85 per officer in attendance at a meeting.

Where additional information is not required our aim is to respond to you within 15 working days. Your case officer will advise you, with an explanation, if this cannot be achieved.

What advice can I expect to receive?

Once the information has been assessed and any negotiations concluded your case officer will provide you with constructive and relevant written comments and where planning permission is required advice to help you submit an application.

What if I disagree with the advice received?

In most cases, it is differences of opinion rather than factual errors that give rise to disagreement, and these can only be resolved through the formal planning process. However, if you feel that something has gone wrong, please explain to the officer involved, as he or she may be able to clarify the situation further.

Where an applicant fails to incorporate advice given at the pre-application stage into a formal planning proposal it is likely the application will be refused without any further negotiation.

If you are still dissatisfied with the service provided, you can make a formal complaint. For further information on the complaints procedure, please visit our comments, compliments and complaints page.