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Planning Permission

Planning permission is what turns a piece of land into a building plot, often increasing it in value very many times. Conceptually it is necessary to safeguard the interests of those who will live there and other residents nearby, but it also allows local authorities to select the areas that certain types of development can take place, restrict building in country areas, or areas of specific interest, and control the look and feel of the area.

The planning system is not run according to fixed rules but a part of local politics, so while policy may be set in a local plan councilors when looking at the advice from the planning office can and do make completely different decisions on many occasions. An appeal system, although slow gives you a route to get past being turned down irrationally, where the application you have made falls within the outline of the local plan and in some cases beyond this, but does not guarantee a solution in all cases.

We should also acknowledge that historically and still in many parts of Britain, this is an area where corruption has flourished and those with self interest have managed to manipulate. In many areas there is very little interest in local council activities so those with a desire to become influential find it quite easy to select  the right party and become elected. If you were to look at the makeup and involvement in many in local politics it is clear that acquiring planning permission, promote their business or those who support them and offering 'consultancy' services are a major motivation.  Being able to influence the area plan, redefine the edge of development and thereby decide which land can be converted from little value to great value is very profitable for some. Back some years it was not uncommon for people to be told directly that unless they paid a particular councillor a specific sum they would not get planning permission, while today maybe there are concerns, that employing a group of councilors on a retainer may be able to reduce. Most of the corruption is however invisible in that it relates now not to stopping you from building where you should be able to, but in allowing people to build beyond the established limits or larger than expected, or in redefining boundaries. With advance knowledge of changes, there is scope for considerable gain. In many areas the number of builders who are also councilors is noticeable, as is the number of councilors who have also become involved in developing properties. Likewise if you were into land banking, buying land in areas that is likely to be able in the future to be built on, then perhaps you would also be on very friendly terms with many councilors in your area of operation. Many councilors, and local political parties, see incomes derived by councilors as valid reward for the work they put in.

 Having said this, most of the information is available to the public, if they search hard enough for it, and in many cases you can deduce the likely movements of boundaries. What it does however require is a finger on the pulse and continuing research beyond what is possible unless you have a predefined area of interest. We have to accept therefore, that although all is not ideal, we can approach obtaining planning permission with some confidence as long as we can keep within the defined boundaries of policy, and we are not likely to be held to ransom if we are prepared to go to appeal, if they act irrationally. Few Councils will waste public money refusing permission that would clearly be obtained on appeal. In practice we have to work as far as we can with the local planning officers, and then where necessary canvas the support from councilors. 

Types of planning permission and process

The terms planning permission, planning consent and planning approval all relate to the same process.

There are two types of planning permission, outline and detailed. Either can be applied for directly by anyone, you do not have to own or have an interest in the land involved. Having obtained outline planning you can either then apply for detailed planning or you can choose to make an application on reserved matters, which in effects converts the outline to detailed, but without going into the original concepts again as to if a property should be built there, so this would be the normal route unless you wished to drastically change the use of the site.

Planning permission is given by district councils, who have departments specifically to look after this. Planning or development control officers each usually supervise a specific area, and work on all applications, making recommendations, although the decisions are made by elected councillors, most often as a sub committee called a planning committee.

Planning permission can be applied for by anyone, and once granted is an option available to the site, the permission is not owned by an individual. There can be a number of different approvals made that are all valid at the same time, and making a new application does not put under threat any existing ones. There are time limits associated with all approvals, outline planning permission expires after 3 years unless an application for approval of reserved matters is made within that time. Work must start then within two years of the approval of the reserved matters, or within 5 years of obtaining the outline planning permission if later. Detailed planning permission expires after 5 years unless work has started.

Outline planning looks principally at the concept of a house being built at the location, but usually also looks at access to the highway, and availability of necessary services. The reserved matters or detailed planning looks at the layout, and materials used etc. Often outline permission will specify a size and height, and maybe other limiting features. You will find some variation, and recently I have seen outline approvals for a set number of houses with a specific number of bedrooms each, and another for an estate which defined the number of rooms, but not the number of properties. With larger developments you will often see section 106 agreements, this is where the local authority say that in order to be allowed to have the financial advantage you must also build us something, maybe a new community centre or pay for some road development work. This is to be replaced  in the future by a direct land betterment tax, and will then apply to all developments possibly more fairly, but perhaps providing less benefit to the local community and more to the tax system. Section 106 agreements usually only apply to larger developments and groups of self builders in most areas will not be affected by them.

Detailed proposals (or reserved matters) includes all the detail, size, position within the plot, layout, style, access, arrangements to dispose of foul and surface water, and materials it is to be built from and possibly landscaping. It requires drawings, and possibly samples of materials to be used.

When detailed approval is given there will often be a set of conditions, things that have to be done before building commences like clearing the access, and sight lines, putting in curb and crossover, ability to turn vehicles on site, possibly demolishing something else onsite, and details of protected trees, and details that still have to be agreed separately with council officers like materials used, drainage arrangements, landscaping etc.

Making an application involves a fee, and some councils try to run the departments based upon the fee income, varying the size by the amount of development. As larger development may involve proportionately less work, turnaround with larger staff levels may be faster than in areas where all applications are for single properties. In most cases it will take several months to process, some 6 months, and can rarely be done very fast as public announcements, notices at or near the site and time for objections have to be allowed for.

Public information - the planning file

Information relating to a planning application is available to anyone at the district council offices, although it is wise to phone first and check on time restrictions, actual location and if you can get an appointment to see the relevant planning officer. The actual amount within the file that you will be allowed to see will vary between councils but a lot is public information and should be available to you. This should include:-

• Application and plans. Gives you a good idea as to what is envisaged.
• Decision notice. Note restrictions, advance work that has to be done, dates
• Planning officers report on the application:-  can be next to nothing or a mine of information on policy, locality, trees, scientific interest and other interests nearby, information from highways on access, availability of services, views collected from neighbours. The summary often not only gives his opinion on if the application should be granted but also his views and concerns. They may also include a history of the property and overview of any other planning applications that have existed.
• Letters from objectors or those supporting the application. Many are from people who just don't want any new development or don't want a new property to share their view, road or some other, some have specific concerns or may highlight areas of disputes such as rights of way, boundaries, as well as some concerns at being overlooked or noise from pets etc. In many cases these will have come about through someone stirring things up, so it does not mean that the people in the area would be unfriendly to you.

You will often need to have the planning application number,  and whoever is selling a plot would of course be expected to supply you with this, and may also give you copies of the applications and decisions. Otherwise looking through back copies of local newspapers can identify public notices and give you the information you need. In practice most councils will use or allow you access to their indexes to be able to identify the file you want. Some only require an address. Often you will find you can look at other planning applications nearby and some you can even list all applications approved so as to be able to go and see which plots where approval was gained, that no development has taken place.

Very briefly let us look at a few other points relating to planning

It is wise to check with the local planning office even if you think the project you have in mind is covered by permitted development rights

There is usually permitted development rights, in relation to any property, this for example would normally allow you to build some items in your garden such as a garage, pool etc. But there are retractions on this, such as not being in front of the property line, so to add a small porch at the front would usually require planning consent but to add a larger conservatory at the back probably does not. It is always wise to check with the planning department locally that what you propose is covered by permitted development rights. Some people still chose to put in for planning permission for items that would be covered by permitted development rights, and therefore getting it is just about automatic, but formalizes everything and reduced conflict with others. It may also allow the later sale to  be completed faster with no potential dispute about if or not the development should have occurred.

There are special rules in relation to homes for those who have to be near their livestock. It is therefore easier to get planning consent for a farm house than a large house in the country. There are defined rules about what is considered livestock and you also have to show that the holding is such that it justifies the employment of a full time person on the minimum wage. This is as you will appreciate an over simplification and a topic that if it effects you will need specific investigation.

Special rules for exceptional new properties in the countryside

these rues started out relating to the new country country mansion, but now the size has been replaced with what some take to be more a case of architectural merit. At the point of writing this the changes have recently occurred and no one seems to a have definition as to what is covers.

some buildings are protected, and in this case everything within the grounds of that building is controlled.

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