This guide gives advice on how to make an application for Planning Permission and other consents. It provides information on:
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making an application and the payment of fees
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who will deal with your application
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the application process through to the issue of a decision
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your right of appeal and what to do if you feel the Council has acted improperly
Information is also provided on what to do if your proposal affects a listed building or involves development within a conservation area. There is also a brief note on the need for Advertisement Consent.
Before you make your application
Falkirk Council encourages pre-application discussion. Please contact the appropriate Area Officer to arrange a meeting. The advice given will be accurate and objective but will be without prejudice to the formal consideration of an application by the council. We will give you information about relevant planning policies and previous decisions and, where appropriate, our standards for such matters as parking provision, amenity space etc. We will also advise you about the likely time scale for dealing with a Planning Application and the procedures to follow.
Making your application
Please read the notes for guidance on the right hand side of the application form carefully. In order to avoid delays, it is important to ensure your Planning Application form is completed correctly. Details on how to complete each part of the application form appears adjacent to each section.
If you have any questions about the forms, or about the information required, please contact the Development Control Duty Officer for advice. The Duty Officer is available between 9.00am and 5.00 pm each week day. Please telephone 01324 504748.
For some proposals such as mineral working, waste disposal or major industrial development, we often require more detailed information. Although the Development Control Duty Officer will be able to give general advice, major development proposals should always be discussed with the appropriate Area Officer prior to an application being submitted. A list of Area Officers appears later in this guide.
Fees for planning applications
A fee is payable for most Planning Applications. Details of the fees appear later in this guide. Applications for certain types of development have to to be advertised in a local newspaper. The Council arranges for the application to be advertised. You, however, may have to pay for this.
Who will deal with your application
Most applications are dealt with by an Area Officer. In the absence of the Area Officer, the Duty Officer may be able to provide you with information on the progress of your application. If you feel that a meeting is required, please telephone and make an appointment with the appropriate Area Officer.
On receipt of your application, the forms will be checked to ensure that they have been completed correctly and that the appropriate fee has been paid. It will then be entered in the Register of Applications.
The application process
For 14 days following receipt of a planning application, neighbours of the application site have a statutory right to examine and comment on your plans. Objections or representations may be received. Valid planning objections must be taken into account by the Council before a decision is made.
The Council may consult many organisations on your application (in some cases we are obliged by law to do so) in order to fully appraise your proposals. Matters such as the effect on roads, the drainage system, trees and the landscape and any possible disturbance or pollution likely to be caused, will all be taken into account. In addition, the Council will check if your proposals conform to the policies contained in the appropriate Development Plan(s) for the area in which the site of your application is located. It may be necessary to contact you after your application has been lodged to obtain additional information. The Council may suggest changes in, for example, the design of your proposal, to make it acceptable.
If an application is not dealt with under delegated powers, (see below) the Council is not obliged to advise anyone, including the applicant, of the recommendation until it has been included in the agenda for the meeting of the appropriate Committee. You, like any other member of the public, are entitled to see the recommendation, together with any report on the application as well as letters and certain other background papers, once the agenda is issued.
The decision on your application
Many Planning Applications are determined under powers delegated to the Director of Development Services, the Head of Planning and Transportation or the Development Control Manager. Applications that cannot be dealt with under delegated powers are reported to the Regulatory Committee.
You can contact Development Control staff at any stage to check on the progress of your application. Any view expressed by staff during the processing of your application is, however, only an opinion and is not binding on the Council to either grant or refuse the application. The name and direct-dial telephone number of the area officer who is dealing with your application will appear on your acknowledgement letter. The application reference number will also appear on the letter. Please quote this number in all correspondence and try to have it to hand if you contact the Service by telephone.
The Council should give you a decision on your application within two months of its receipt. For a variety of reasons it might take longer to reach a decision. If this is the case, the area officer will contact you to agree an extension of time before the end of the two month period.
Shortly after a decision has been made on your application, Falkirk Council will issue you with a decision notice and a copy of your plans bearing the appropriate docket. Anyone who made representations on the application will also be informed of the decision. The decision notice will inform you that your application has either been granted, granted with conditions, or refused. The reasons for the decision will also be given.
Your right of appeal
If you have not received a decision from Falkirk Council within 2 months of making a valid Planning Application and you have not agreed to an extended time period, you can appeal to the Scottish Ministers. Such an appeal may take a long time and delay the actual decision. It is always better to try to resolve matters with the Planning Authority instead.
In addition to an appeal against the Council’s failure to determine your application, you can appeal to the Scottish Ministers if your application is refused, or you feel that any conditions imposed by the Council are unreasonable. Details on how to appeal can be found on the rear of the decision notice. A separate Guidance Note is also available.
If you feel Falkirk Council has failed to follow the correct statutory procedures in processing your Planning Application and you have suffered injustice as a consequence, you can ask the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman to investigate. The address is:
The Scottish Public Service Ombudsman
4 Melville Street
Edinburgh
EH3 7NS
Tel: 0800 377 7330
email: ask@spso.org.uk|
Proposals affecting listed buildings/conservation areas
If you are unsure whether your property is a "listed" building or is located in a Conservation Area, please contact the appropriate Area Officer or the Duty Officer at the relevant number above. It is a criminal offence to alter a listed building in any way without having first obtained the necessary consent.
Where your proposals involve works that may affect the appearance or the character of a listed building, Listed Building Consent will be required. Even works that affect the interior of a listed building may require Listed Building Consent, and it is important that you discuss your proposals with Development Control staff at an early stage. It should be noted that both Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent may be required for certain types of works to a listed building. Development Control staff will advise.
Stricter controls apply to development affecting listed buildings or buildings in conservation areas. Discussing your proposals with Development Control staff, before making the application, can be very helpful and can avoid delays or problems at a later date. All applications affecting a listed building or a conservation area will be advertised in the local press at the Council’s expense. A 21 day period from the date of publication of the advert is allowed for objections, and therefore your application may take longer to process. The Council cannot issue a decision until this period has passed. A site notice may also be placed on or near the property. In some cases your application may require the formal agreement of Historic Scotland, the government body with responsibility for listed buildings.
Advertisement Consent
Certain types of advertisements also require consent. Special forms are available for making this type of application, but the procedures are very similar to planning applications. The main difference is that neighbours do not need to be notified and there is no requirement to notify owners of the site or the building on which the advertisement is to be displayed. Further information is available from the appropriate Area Officer or the Duty Officer.