Planning permission will always be needed for the building of a new house.
Planning officials welcome the opportunity to talk about proposals before an application for planning permission is made. They can give specific advice on the requirements of the planning system and advice on preparing applications for outline and/or full planning permission and for a building warrant. They will also give advice on other aspects of the building process e.g. the requirements for drainage from the house site, road access and water supplies.
They have a lot of useful experience and would far rather share it as early as possible to help the potential house-builder avoid some of the pitfalls and delays that can arise from not knowing what is needed to get planning consent.
Planning officials are based at Development Services, and can be contacted using the details given in the Conatct us panel.
Designing and buiding a house
Both the planning office and local solicitors can provide names and addresses of architects and building contractors. The "Yellow Pages" Directory also gives names of the manufacturers and suppliers of ‘kit houses’. Some building contractors and all kit suppliers also provide a choice of house designs, which if suitable, may avoid or reduce the requirement to employ an architect. On the other hand an experienced architect will also greatly reduce the amount of time and effort that would otherwise be spent by the client on overcoming some or all of the hurdles involved in building a new house.
Further information
Any organisation or self-builder interested in the promotion of or participation in a self-build scheme should contact:
6 Gorgie Park Close
Edinburgh
EH14 1NQ
Telephone: 0131 443 7031