Guide to planning permission

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Guide to planning permission

Introduction to planning permission

Parliament has given the main responsibility for planning to local planning authorities. If you have any queries about a particular case, the first thing to do is to ask the planning department of your local council. You may also be able to find out more about planning law in your local library.
If you are concerned about a legal problem involving planning, the local Citizens Advice Bureau or a solicitor may be able to help.
It is your responsibility for seeking, or not seeking, planning permission. If required, planning permission should be granted before any work begins.

Find out if you need planning permission

The following are common examples of when you will need to for apply for planning permission:

You want to make additions or extensions to a flat or maisonette (including those converted from houses). (But you do not need planning permission to carry out internal alterations or work which does not affect the external appearance of the building.)
You want to divide off part of your house for use as a separate home (for example, a self-contained flat or bed-sit) or use a caravan in your garden as a home for someone else. (But you do not need planning permission to let one or two of your rooms to lodgers.)
You want to divide off part of your home for business or commercial use (for example, a workshop) or you want to build a parking place for a commercial vehicle at your home.
You want to build something which goes against the terms of the original planning permission for your house – for example, your house may have been built with a restriction to stop people putting up fences in front gardens because it is on an “open plan” estate. Your council has a record of all planning permissions in its area.
The work you want to do might obstruct the view of road users.
The work would involve a new or wider access to a trunk or classified road.

You do not always need planning permission. It is not required, generally speaking, for changes to the inside of buildings, or for small alterations to the outside such as the installation of telephone connections and alarm boxes.

Other small changes, for example putting up walls and fences below a certain height, have a general planning permission for which a specific application is not required.

There are a huge number of things you need to consider before you go ahead with any work on your property or land. Make sure you read the government’s Planning portal

This is a detailed website with everything you need ot know about planning and planning permission