Advice Note 1 - An Introduction To Planning PermissionEnquire Now
What Is Planning Permission ?
Planning Permission, in simple terms, is asking if you can undertake certain building works. It will be granted (possibly with certain conditions) or refused. It is your responsibility for seeking planning permission from your local planning authority. If required, it should be granted before any work begins.
Factors Affecting Planning Permission
There are many factors that will affect whether or not you need to apply for planning permission or affect your chances of gaining planning approval. You should think about the following:
Your Neighbours
Let your neighbours know about work you intend to carry out.
Design
A well designed building or extension will be more attractive to you and your neighbours and is likely to add more value.
Nature and Wildlife
Consider the effects on wildlife, plants and habitats that may be protected under their own legislation, such as bats and Great Crested Newts.
Environmental Health
This covers the safety of people living or working in an area. A proposal could cause air pollution, unfit housing or unhygienic food preparation and would be the concern of Environmental Health Officers.
Failure To Obtain Or Comply With Planning Permission
The failure to obtain planning permission or comply with the details of planning permission is commonly known as a 'planning breach'. A planning breach usually occurs when either:
1) a development that required planning permission is undertaken without the permission being granted either because the planning application was refused or was never applied for, or
2) a development that has been given permission subject to conditions but breaks one or more of those conditions.
A planning breach in itself is not illegal and the council will often permit a retrospective application where planning permission has not been sought. However, if the breach in itself involves a previously rejected development (or the retrospective application fails) the council can issue an enforcement notice requiring you to put things back as they were. Your local planning authority can serve an enforcement notice on you when they consider you have broken planning control rules. It is illegal to disobey an enforcement notice unless it is successfully appealed against. You can appeal against both refusals of permission and enforcement notices but if the verdict comes out against you, and you still refuse to comply, you may be prosecuted.
Let Agrarian Help
Please feel free to contact Peter Hall either by telephone or email peter.hall@agrarian-uk.com to discuss a project you may have in mind. We provide a FREE, no obligation, initial telephone consultation to discuss your project and we would welcome your call.
Local Authority Partnering Scheme
Agrarian are registered with the Local Authority Partnering Scheme. This means we get a consistent interpretation of the Building Regulations on our projects, a single point of contact, less paperwork and fewer queries. This means fewer delays for our clients and reduced project timescales.
