Planning permission is a requirement for any new buildings, structural changes or change the use of your building. The purpose of planning permission is to ensure your construction works comply with the building regulations and council planning policies, and will not obstruct your neighbours view or right of way.

If you have already started on construction and haven’t obtained planning permission, don’t panic. Your local authority will simply ask that you submit a retrospective planning application for the work that has been carried out so far.

Planning permission won’t automatically be granted, and the application will be subject to the same criteria and costs as a standard planning application. 

If the application is refused, you will be required to put things back as they were unless you appeal the decision and it is overturned. To appeal a planning decision, you will need to send a copy of your appeal, including all the supporting documents, to your local planning authority.

To obtain planning permission, you will have to submit an application to your local planning authority (council) for approval. You will have to provide detailed building plans and any support documents such as architectural drawings.

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What are the Different Types of Planning Permission?

There are several types of planning permission available, each best suited to certain projects and builds:

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Full Planning Permission

1. Full planning permission is the most common type of proposal and offers approval for a project based on a detailed designed being provided. However, your project must be shown to meet the planning conditions attached to the permission in order for approval to be valid. You might need to provide supporting documentation such as flood risk, archaeological survey, animal species or tree surveys for example. Full planning permission is required for building new dwellings, and for any structural changes and additions to buildings such as any works on flats. It’s also required for changing the number of dwellings (eg. dividing a house into flats or knocking down flats to make a larger house).

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Outline Planning Permission

2. Outline planning permission doesn't include any specifics in the design, but offers a 'permission in principle'. Outline planning permission doesn't give you consent to begin the work, it's used to find out early if your building plans are likely to be approved. Before you incur fees for drawing up a full planning permission application and supporting documents. An application for ‘reserved matters’ — which may include the size of the proposed house, appearance, position, landscaping and access — will need to be submitted and approved before work can take place. If your detailed plans deviate significantly from the original outline permission then you’ll likely need to submit for full planning. 

An outline planning permission isn’t a necessary step and sometimes you can find out if your plan is likely to go through by contacting your local planning authority.

3. If you are looking to do an extension or a loft conversion, you need to apply for a householder planning permission. This permission covers alterations, extensions, and small building projects on a single house. The householder planning permission does not cover works on flats, altering the number of dwellings (eg. separating a house into flats or knocking down flats to make a single house). This is application is also cheaper compared to a full planning application.

What are the costs of planning permission?

The cost of planning permission depends on the application type.

Full Planning permission in England

For alterations or extensions in a single dwelling house or flat will cost £206.

For alterations or extensions for two or more dwelling houses or flats will cost £407.

For a new dwelling house it will cost £462 per house.

For Outline Planning Permission in England

The cost for outline planning permission is calculated on a per hectare basis.

Cost per 0.1 hectare of land is £426 and is up to 2.5 hectares

For Householder Permission in England

Alterations/extensions to a single dwelling house (not applicable to flats) is £206.

If your planning permission is granted subject to conditions you will need a request to approve any details that were asked for – like landscaping or materials details. Amending and resubmitting your permission is usually free of charge.

Other costs related to planning permission applications

A pre-application is not required however it is offered by most councils to help you see if your building project is likely to get the go ahead. If your plans are quite large or if the project you are undertaking stands out from the surrounding houses this can be particularly useful.

The prices will vary from council to council however here is a rough guide to give you an idea of the costs:

Householder

Written response only - £75.00 (+ VAT)

Written response plus meeting with site visit - £165.00 (+ VAT)

Residential

1 - 4 units

Written Response Only - £200.00 (+ VAT)

Extra activity to be agreed in advance - £85.00 per hour (+ VAT)

Residential

5 - 9 units

Written Response Only - £280.00 (+ VAT)

Extra activity to be agreed in advance - £85.00 per hour (+ VAT)

Commercial

Written Response Only - £230.00 (+ VAT)

Extra activity to be agreed in advance - £85.00 per hour (+ VAT)

Industrial and other

Written Response Only - £250.00 (+ VAT)

Extra activity to be agreed in advance - £85.00 per hour (+ VAT)

Listed Building

Written Response and Site Visit - £250.00 (+ VAT)

Site visit only - £85.00 per hour (+ VAT) including travel time

(Prior agreement with the Historic Buildings and Areas Officer)

Architect Fees

Working with an architecture can provide advice and a level of control to your project however can add quite a significant amount to the overall costs. You might be looking to work with an architect for the detailed drawings that are required but they can also advise you throughout the entire application process helping you be as accurate and successful as possible.

As a rough guide you can be looking to pay as low as £1,000 for small jobs and up to £7,000 depending on the size and complexity. If the job is a large project, architects can often work on a percentage basis which can be up to 12% of the final cost.

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What Size Build Do You Not Need Planning Permission For?

With the change in development rules, homeowners with detached houses can now build up to 8 meters without planning permission. 

All other hours have a limit of 6 meters (previous 3 meters).

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If you need any further support, email hello@saintfinancialgroup.co.uk

The figures in this article were correct at the time of writing, please check with your local authority for pricing in your local area.