PLANNING Q & A

DO I NEED PLANNING PERMISSION

Under the Town & Country Planning Act planning permission is required for development.  Development is defined under section 55 of the Act as ‘The carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land’.  This is a very comprehensive description and would apply to home extensions, loft conversions, conversions from single dwellings to flats or business premises, change of use of a building or land and many other operations.

There are however exceptions.  The General Permitted Development order excludes various operations from requiring an application for planning permission.  That applies also to some of the items mentioned above, most items of internal alteration that do not change the use or the external appearance of the building and other domestic and commercial operations.  There are however a series of complex constraints put upon the extent and type of works that can be undertaken without the need for planning permission and you should seek professional advice prior to commencing works.  

HOW LARGE AN EXTENSION CAN I BUILD ON MY HOUSE WITHOUT THE NEED FOR PLANNING PERMISSION

The General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) allows you to carry out enlargement works to your property without having to apply for planning permission.  The extent to which you can enlarge your property depends upon a number of factors including the type of property you have (e.g terrace, semi detached etc.), the proximity of your property to your neighbour’s property and a number of other factors.  The 2008 amendment to the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) changed the way permitted development allowances are calculated.  Instead of basing the enlargement on cubic measurement, they are now subject to a number of set dimensions based on various criteria.  The allowance rules are complex and it is advised that professional advice is sought prior to commencing any building works in reliance upon permitted development regulations.

IF MY PLANNING APPLICATION IS REFUSED DO I HAVE TO PAY AGAIN TO RESUBMIT IT WITH SMALL CHANGES

Under the Town & Country Planning (Fees For Applications and Deemed Applications) Regulations, if you resubmit an amended application for planning permission following refusal of your first application, you do not have to pay a local authority application fee for that second application.  It should be noted however that there are strict criteria that the second application must meet if a second application fee is to be avoided e.g., the application must be submitted within 12 Months of refusal of the first application.  There a number of other criteria and it is recommended that you seek advice in order to ensure you are in compliance.

IS IT TRUE THAT THE PLANNING SYSTEM IS CHANGING UNDER THE NEW COALITION GOVERNMENT

Under the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, there have already been a number of fundamental changes to planning permission and to the planning system.  The main thrust of the change is a move away from central government control over planning to local Government control over planning for their own regions.  This has already effected some important changes to the planning permission system.  An example refers to the scrapping of minimum regional house building targets set by central Government aimed at catering for the general housing shortage in the country.  Local authorities now have the power to set their own new housing targets and a recent report shows that 51 percent of local authorities are intending to review their house building strategy in line with the new powers.  It is variously thought that this move will result in fewer houses being built and in added difficulty in securing planning permission for new houses. 

DO I HAVE TO COMPLY WITH A PLANNING ENFORCEMENT NOTICE

Local authority planning enforcement departments issue enforcement notices under powers given to them under section 172 of the Town & Country Planning Act.  Enforcement notices are issued when the local authority believe you have breached planning controls.  There is however various defences and grounds of appeal against enforcement notices and advice should be sought immediately a notice is received.

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PLANNING ISSUES

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