Planning permission
Encyclopedia
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom
in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or building
s. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title
to that land or building (i.e. "ownership"), but will also need "planning title" or planning permission. Planning title was granted for all pre-existing uses and buildings by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947
, which came into effect on 1 July 1948. Since that date any new "development" has required planning permission. "Development" as defined by law consists of any building
, engineering
or mining
operation, or the making of a material change of use in any land or building. Certain types of operation such as routine maintenance of an existing building are specifically excluded from the definition of development. Specified categories of minor or insignificant development are granted an automatic planning permission by law, and therefore do not require any application for planning permission. These categories are referred to as permitted development
.
In the case of any proposal there is therefore a two stage test: "is the proposal development at all?" and, if the proposal is development, "is it permitted development?" Only if a development is not permitted development would an application for planning permission be required. An application for planning permission should be made to the local planning authority
(LPA).
Local Planning Authorities are generally the local borough
or district council ('local authority' in Scotland), although an application for a mining operation, minerals extraction, or a waste management
facility would be decided by the local county council
in non-metropolitan
areas. Within a national park
planning applications are submitted to the national park authority
.
All LPAs have their own website which will access relevant application forms, contact details and other relevant documents. They are generally receptive to pre-application discussion in order to clarify whether a proposal will require planning permission and, assuming that it does, the probability of such planning permission being granted.
" – unless material planning considerations indicate otherwise. The decision on any planning application is therefore "policy-led" rather than "influence-led". Although the public and nearby residents will be consulted about almost any planning application, the decision will not be made on the grounds of popularity or unpopularity. The framing of the decision by reference to published planning policy prevents the decision on a planning application being made on grounds which are arbitrary, perverse, or subject to impropriety.
It is therefore most important that applicants for planning permission satisfy themselves about the relevant local development plan policies before making an application. These can also be viewed via the LPA's website, or the UK government's Planning Portal, which provides a nationwide clearing house on planning information and advice for both government and local planning policies. As a practical matter it is very advisable to discuss proposals with the LPA before incurring the fees and other costs that are involved in making a planning application, or the delays and abortive costs that would arise from the refusal of planning permission.
Most conditions imposed on a granted planning permission will relate to implementation of works within the actual site of the application (the edges of which must be defined by a red line marked on an accurately scaled map of the site, usually an Ordnance Survey
extract, accompanying the application). If there is a need to control aspects of the development which are required to occur outside the defined application site (such as related highway improvements) then the implementation of those aspects can be required by a Grampian condition
. This would be worded to the effect that the development being permitted must not be commenced (or must not be occupied, as appropriate), until the required off-site works had been completed.
Planning conditions are imposed to require that something is done or not done by the developer in order to make the development acceptable. Sometimes, planning permission will only be granted subject to the applicant entering into a legal agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act requiring that certain things be done or money be paid to the local planning authority e.g. to contribute towards the improvement of a highway junction serving the development before the development commences. Such contributions can only be required if they are necessary to make the development acceptable and relate directly to the development proposed.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
s. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title
Title (property)
Title is a legal term for a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or an equitable interest. The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by different parties. It may also refer to a formal document that serves as evidence of ownership...
to that land or building (i.e. "ownership"), but will also need "planning title" or planning permission. Planning title was granted for all pre-existing uses and buildings by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947
Town and Country Planning Act 1947
The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom passed by the post-war Labour government...
, which came into effect on 1 July 1948. Since that date any new "development" has required planning permission. "Development" as defined by law consists of any building
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
, engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
or mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
operation, or the making of a material change of use in any land or building. Certain types of operation such as routine maintenance of an existing building are specifically excluded from the definition of development. Specified categories of minor or insignificant development are granted an automatic planning permission by law, and therefore do not require any application for planning permission. These categories are referred to as permitted development
Permitted development
Permitted development is an aspect of town and country planning in the United Kingdom which allows people to undertake minor development under a deemed grant of planning permission, therefore removing the need to submit a planning application...
.
In the case of any proposal there is therefore a two stage test: "is the proposal development at all?" and, if the proposal is development, "is it permitted development?" Only if a development is not permitted development would an application for planning permission be required. An application for planning permission should be made to the local planning authority
Local Planning Authority
A local planning authority is the local authority or council that is empowered by law to exercise planning functions for a particular area of the United Kingdom. Although, in Scotland, where all of the local authorities are unitary, the term 'planning authority' is used without the 'local'...
(LPA).
Local Planning Authorities are generally the local borough
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
or district council ('local authority' in Scotland), although an application for a mining operation, minerals extraction, or a waste management
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
facility would be decided by the local county council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
in non-metropolitan
Shire county
A non-metropolitan county, or shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.4 million. The term shire county is, however, an unofficial usage. Many of the non-metropolitan counties bear historic names...
areas. Within a national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
planning applications are submitted to the national park authority
National Park Authority
A national park authority is a special term used in the United Kingdom for the legal body in charge of a national park. The powers and duties of the authorities are all similar, but do vary somewhat depending on the country in which they are situated....
.
All LPAs have their own website which will access relevant application forms, contact details and other relevant documents. They are generally receptive to pre-application discussion in order to clarify whether a proposal will require planning permission and, assuming that it does, the probability of such planning permission being granted.
Determination
The law requires that all applications for planning permission should be decided in accordance with the policies of the "development planDevelopment Plan
A development plan is an aspect of town and country planning in the United Kingdom comprising a set of documents that set out the local authority's policies and proposals for the development and use of land in their area...
" – unless material planning considerations indicate otherwise. The decision on any planning application is therefore "policy-led" rather than "influence-led". Although the public and nearby residents will be consulted about almost any planning application, the decision will not be made on the grounds of popularity or unpopularity. The framing of the decision by reference to published planning policy prevents the decision on a planning application being made on grounds which are arbitrary, perverse, or subject to impropriety.
It is therefore most important that applicants for planning permission satisfy themselves about the relevant local development plan policies before making an application. These can also be viewed via the LPA's website, or the UK government's Planning Portal, which provides a nationwide clearing house on planning information and advice for both government and local planning policies. As a practical matter it is very advisable to discuss proposals with the LPA before incurring the fees and other costs that are involved in making a planning application, or the delays and abortive costs that would arise from the refusal of planning permission.
Types of application
A number of different types of planning permission can be applied for:- Full planning permission: A full planning permission would grant permission for all aspects of the proposed development, although it would generally be subject to various conditions (see below).
- Outline planning permission: Outline planning permission cannot be granted for a proposed change in the use of land or buildings. It might be appropriate when an applicant is seeking an agreement "in principle" to a proposed development, without being committed to a particular form of design or layout.
- Approval of "reserved matters" Seeking permission for those aspects that were not dealt with in an outline planning permission, or seeking approval of aspects of a development which were reserved by a planning condition in an earlier grant of full planning permission.
- Renewal of planning permission: This would arise when an earlier outline or full planning permission was subject to a time-limiting condition which has since expired. In essence this requires the entire planning application to be reviewed in light of current rather than previous planning policies. Applications for renewal of an earlier planning permission are usually granted anew, unless there has been a significant change in the relevant material considerations which are to be weighed in the decision.
- Removal or alteration of a planning condition: As a matter of law, conditions should only be imposed on a grant of planning permission when compliance with that condition is essential to make an unacceptable development acceptable – so it would be refused planning permission were it not for that condition. If the applicant or developer wished to proceed with a development without compliance with a condition, or perhaps with the condition in an alternative form, then an application can be made to "vary" the condition concerned – possibly by deleting it or offering an alternative form of words. Note that the LPA cannot alter any planning condition which imposes a time limit when the development is to be commenced. That would require a re-application for full or outline planning permission, but since October 2009 it has been possible to apply to extend an existing consent.
Conditions
Planning permissions are usually granted subject to a planning condition which requires the development to be commenced within three years. Typically they will also include a number of other conditions, for example the scheme to be built in accordance with the approved drawings, trees to be planted as per the landscape scheme and replaced if they die in the first few years, or the colour and finish of external materials to be approved by the local authority. Some of these will need to be complied with before any work starts on site; others will take effect once the development is commenced, or later.Most conditions imposed on a granted planning permission will relate to implementation of works within the actual site of the application (the edges of which must be defined by a red line marked on an accurately scaled map of the site, usually an Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
extract, accompanying the application). If there is a need to control aspects of the development which are required to occur outside the defined application site (such as related highway improvements) then the implementation of those aspects can be required by a Grampian condition
Grampian condition
The Grampian condition is a facet of planning Scottish case law established by Grampian Regional Council v City of Aberdeen District Council 47 P&CR 633...
. This would be worded to the effect that the development being permitted must not be commenced (or must not be occupied, as appropriate), until the required off-site works had been completed.
Planning conditions are imposed to require that something is done or not done by the developer in order to make the development acceptable. Sometimes, planning permission will only be granted subject to the applicant entering into a legal agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act requiring that certain things be done or money be paid to the local planning authority e.g. to contribute towards the improvement of a highway junction serving the development before the development commences. Such contributions can only be required if they are necessary to make the development acceptable and relate directly to the development proposed.
- See Development control in the United Kingdom for an explanation of the general principles which apply to the deciding of planning applications by a local planning authority.
See also
- Land bankingLand bankingLand banking is the practice of purchasing raw land with the intent to hold on to it until such a time as it is profitable to sell it on to others for more than was initially paid...
- Town and country planning in the United KingdomTown and country planning in the United KingdomTown and Country Planning is the land use planning system governments use to balance economic development and environmental quality. Each country of the United Kingdom has its own planning system that is responsible for town and country planning devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the...
- Town and Country Planning Act 1990Town and Country Planning Act 1990The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is an act of the British Parliament regulating the development of land in England and Wales-Section 1:...
- Construction permitConstruction permitA construction permit or building permit is a permit required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existing structures, and in some cases for major renovations. Generally, the new construction must be inspected during construction and after completion to ensure compliance...