Pre-application advice overview

Apply for pre-application advice

Before you submit a planning application, or if you are unsure if you need planning permission, we strongly recommend that you use our pre-application advice service.  

The purposes of pre-application advice is to guide you through the issues and policies relevant to your proposed development and to give an indication of whether a scheme is likely to be successful.

It also provides an opportunity to confirm what supporting information will be required alongside any planning application submitted.

This can include:  

• clarifying which policies will apply to your development
• advising you to ensure you consider all the issues relating to your development in advance of applying for planning permission
• advising you if the principle of the development is unacceptable, therefore saving you the cost of a full planning application. This should speed up the process of determining your application and reduce the amount of time taken by professional consultants, which can save you costs
• a free plan checking service for householder enquiries. This is to make sure your application is complete and therefore avoids delays in the registration process. Please tick the box on the application form indicating you would like to use the plan checking service

This service does attract a fee, although there are some exemptions. 

For further information, please see our pre-application advice guide pages.