Work with your local planning authority

The duty officer service

Almost every LPA operates a duty officer service - a free, informal planning advice session typically offered by telephone or walk-in appointment. The duty officer is a planning officer on a rota who can answer basic questions without charge.

Use the duty officer service to:

• Confirm whether your proposal needs planning permission or may be permitted development
• Find out the correct application type for your project
• Understand the local validation checklist requirements
• Ask general policy questions about a site or area
• Get a steer on which pre-application service tier is appropriate for your proposal

The duty officer cannot commit the LPA to a formal view, and advice given is not binding. For anything beyond an initial steer on a simple proposal, paid pre-application advice is the appropriate route.

How to access it: Check your LPA's website for duty officer hours. Many now operate a telephone triage system before booking a call or in-person slot. Smaller LPAs may combine this with a general planning enquiries line.

Pre-application advice

Pre-application advice is a paid service where a planning officer assesses your proposals before you submit a formal application. It is not mandatory, but it is strongly recommended for anything beyond minor extensions or straightforward householder applications.

Preparing for a pre-application meeting

Getting the most from a pre-application meeting requires preparation. Officers have limited time and give better advice when they can focus on the substance of your proposals rather than trying to understand what you are proposing.

Who should attend

Bring everyone who can respond to technical feedback on the spot:

• Architect or design agent: To answer design questions and discuss alternatives
• Planning consultant: To address policy points and argue principle if needed
• Highway consultant: For proposals involving access or significant traffic generation
• Ecology or heritage consultant: If constraints are known or suspected

For complex proposals, consider requesting that the LPA also brings the relevant specialist officers (highways, ecology, heritage, drainage) to the same meeting. Some LPAs facilitate this as standard for major applications; others require you to request it explicitly.

What to prepare

• Site location plan and existing site plan at an appropriate scale
• Sketch proposals: Indicative floor plans and elevations showing scale, layout, and massing. They do not need to be detailed drawings but must convey the key design decisions clearly
• Written description: What you want to do, why, and what quantum of development is involved
• Site photographs: Showing the existing site and surroundings
• Known constraints summary: Any known ecology, heritage, access, or flooding issues
• Specific questions: A written list of the questions you want answered - share this with the officer in advance if possible

Questions to ask

• Is the principle of development acceptable on this site under the Local Plan?
• What are the main policy constraints or opportunities we should address?
• What supporting documents and assessments will the LPA require?
• Are there any known constraints we should investigate further before submitting?
• What are the likely Section 106 obligations and CIL liability for a scheme of this scale?
• Is there any expectation around affordable housing provision?
• Will the application be delegated or is it likely to go to committee?
• Is a Planning Performance Agreement appropriate for this proposal?

Planning Performance Agreements

For major or complex applications where the standard statutory determination period is unlikely to be sufficient, a Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) provides a structured framework for engagement.

Public consultation engagement

For major applications and some minor ones, the LPA will require or encourage public consultation as part of the pre-application process. Early community engagement can make a significant difference to how an application is received.

When consultation is a statutory requirement

In England, the only statutory pre-application consultation duty on applicants under the Town and Country Planning regime is section 61W of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (inserted by the Localism Act 2011), which currently applies only to onshore wind development (more than 2 turbines, or any turbine with a hub height over 15 metres). There is no statutory dwelling-number trigger in force.

Separately, the LPA must consult statutory consultees (e.g. Natural England, Historic England, the Environment Agency) under the DMPO 2015 after you submit your application - that is a duty on the LPA, not pre-application consultation by you.

Beyond that, community engagement expectations come from policy: many Local Plans and Statements of Community Involvement expect pre-application engagement for larger or sensitive schemes - check your LPA's requirements.

Non-statutory consultation

Even when not required, proactive community engagement is strongly advisable for any proposal that is likely to attract objections. LPAs view applicants who have demonstrably engaged with the community more favourably, and pre-empting objections is cheaper than managing them after submission.

Common approaches include:

• Public exhibition: Drop-in event where local residents can see and comment on proposals
• Parish or town council briefing: Presenting to the local council before formal application
• Neighbour letters: Writing directly to immediately affected neighbours
• Website or project page: Allowing online comments

Record all consultation activity and summarise responses in a Statement of Community Involvement, which should be submitted with your application.

Validation requirements

Before the LPA will formally assess your application, it must be validated. Invalid applications are returned and the statutory timescale does not begin until you resubmit a complete application.

Working with planning officers during determination

Once your application has been validated and is being assessed, the relationship with the case officer matters. Officers are assessing your application against policy, but they are also making professional judgements where policy gives discretion.

Maintaining a constructive relationship

• Be responsive: Respond promptly to requests for additional information. Delays on your side extend the determination period
• Communicate proactively: If you know you cannot meet a request within the timeframe asked, say so early and explain why
• Monitor consultation responses: Track comments submitted by neighbours and statutory consultees (available online for most LPAs) so you are not surprised by issues raised
• Address concerns before they become reasons for refusal: If consultation responses raise legitimate points, consider whether amendments or additional information could resolve them
• Avoid unnecessary escalation: Going over an officer's head or copying councillors into routine correspondence damages the relationship without improving outcomes

Agreeing extensions of time

If the LPA is running close to the statutory deadline and has not yet determined your application, they may ask you to agree an extension of time. Consider whether to agree based on the circumstances:

• Agree if the officer needs more time to resolve a genuine outstanding issue constructively, or if a committee date is close
• Decline if the LPA has simply failed to resource the application adequately and delay serves no purpose. You can then appeal for non-determination

Agreeing an extension of time does not count against the LPA's performance statistics. Refusing and appealing for non-determination does. This gives you some leverage.

If your application goes to planning committee

Most applications are decided by the planning officer under delegated authority. Major, sensitive, or controversial applications are referred to the planning committee of elected councillors.

Preparing for committee

• Read the officer's report carefully when published (usually 5 working days before committee). If the recommendation is for refusal, you still have time to consider withdrawing and resubmitting
• Most committees allow applicants to speak in support of their application (typically 3 minutes), but public speaking arrangements are set by each council's constitution - check yours. Prepare a concise statement focused on policy compliance and addressing the main concerns raised
• Consider whether supporters (local business groups, employers, amenity bodies) should also attend to speak
• Brief any ward councillors who support the application
• Attend the site visit if the committee arranges one

Section 106 negotiations

If your application is likely to require a Section 106 planning obligation, start negotiations as early as possible. Section 106 heads of terms should ideally be agreed before the committee date to avoid delay to the decision. Unresolved Section 106 obligations are one of the most common causes of delays between committee resolution and formal decision notice.

Post-decision engagement

Receiving planning permission is not the end of your engagement with the LPA. Conditions attached to your permission must be managed carefully, and you may need to return to the LPA for amendments or variations.

Understanding your conditions

Read every condition in your decision notice before committing to a start date. Understand which are pre-commencement (must be discharged before any work starts), pre-occupation, or ongoing compliance conditions.

Discharging conditions

Most conditions require a formal discharge application to the LPA before you can proceed. You must not begin development until all pre-commencement conditions have been formally discharged in writing.

Non-material amendments

If you need to make minor changes to an approved scheme that do not materially affect its character, you can apply for a non-material amendment under Section 96A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This is quicker and cheaper than a new application and does not require re-consultation.

Non-material amendments are appropriate for:

• Small repositioning of windows, doors, or minor building elements
• Minor changes to approved plans that do not affect neighbouring properties, highway safety, or heritage assets
• Clarifications or corrections to approved drawings

They are not appropriate for changes that affect scale, massing, use, access, or relationships with neighbours. For those, you will need a Section 73 application to vary conditions, or a new full application.

Section 73 variations

A Section 73 application allows you to vary or remove conditions attached to a planning permission. This creates a new planning permission with amended conditions, leaving the original permission intact as a fallback. It is the correct route for:

• Design changes that go beyond what a non-material amendment can accommodate
• Removing or relaxing conditions that are proving impractical
• Updating approved plans to reflect scheme changes

Section 73 cannot extend commencement deadlines. Section 73(5) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 expressly prevents using a Section 73 application to extend the time within which development must be started. The same applies to the newer Section 73B 'minor variations' route. If your permission is about to lapse unimplemented, you need a fresh planning application.