Planning approval

What is planning permission?

Planning Permission relates to changes in the appearance or use of buildings such as an extension to a house, or a conversion of a house into flats. Planning Permission should not be confused with the Building Regulations. Planning Permission can be one of the main hurdles to clear when thinking about making changes to your home and needs to be given consideration from the start, at dddesign ltd will be able to advise you during our initial visit. Planning Applications are handled by Planning Officers in the Planning Department of your Local Authority. For some minor or non-controversial issues the planning officers can approve an application under "delegated powers", for the most part however, the decisions are taken by a committee of Local Councillors based upon the recommendations of the planning officers. It is usual for a planning application to take eight to ten weeks to process, so make sure that you have allowed for this time within your timetable, remember that there is always the possibility that your application may be refused, in which case the time needed for amendments and re-submissions can be even lengthier. A common misconception is that because other houses in the street have, for instance, roof extensions, this will automatically mean that yours will be allowed. Planning policy changes over time and has become much more stringent in recent years, the existing examples may have been allowed under rules that have now changed.

Making a planning application

Planning Application are made to the local authority. You will need to pay an application fee which is generally £150.00 for extensions. The application includes several copies of drawings showing the existing state of the building and the proposals, site location plan and various certificates. dddesign ltd can perform this service for you. You will also need a 'location plan' at 1:1250 scale (usually an extract from an Ordnance Survey Map in digital data). We can get this for you. Planning applications take 8 weeks from the received date by the local authority.

Permitted development

For small extensions and alterations, your proposals may fall within your 'permitted development rights' which means that planning permission will not be necessary. dddesign ltd can give advice on this, but it is still very important to check with your local planning department before proceeding. There are a number of limits on height, and building length etc. that your proposals need to be within for permitted development to apply.