Due to the complicated nature of planning legislation, the information contained here is for guidance only, and you should always seek the advice of the Council before carrying out any works.
If planning permission is required, your neighbours have to be notified of what you intend to do. This is called "Neighbour Notification", and is an important part of the application process. After 03 August 2009, the responsibility of carrying out Neighbour Notification falls on the Council. This change in the law places a substantial burden on our resources in terms of costs and staff time, and any voluntary help offered by applicants in providing a checkable list of notifiable properties could reduce the time taken to validate and process your application. Neighbours have 21 days to comment on an application after having been notified by the Council.
If there are no buildings on neighbouring land to which a notice can be sent, the Council is now obligated to advertise the proposed development in the local press and recover the costs from the applicant. The law prevents the Council from issuing a decision until these costs have been paid. With your assistance in providing the checkable list, we may be able to help you avoid this additional cost.
Even if all neighbours are known, certain types of application which constitute "bad neighbour" developments, will also be advertised in local newspapers. If your application falls into this category you may be asked to submit an additional fee to cover the costs.
Some minor proposals are classed as "permitted development". This means that Planning Permission is not needed. We will be able to tell you if you need Planning Permission, if you can answer some questions on the nature of your proposals.