Pre-application planning advice

We only offer pre-application advice on single option proposals.

If you need advice on multiple options for a site or development, you must submit separate requests for advice on each option, providing payment for each.

Case officers advise on the likelihood of your proposal, as submitted, being granted planning permission, highlighting the planning issues.

In order for case officers to issue meaningful advice, you must provide sufficient information about your proposal. If you fail to provide sufficient information, you'll be notified by your case officer.

Significant changes to your proposal's scale, layout or proposed uses can cause delays to target timescales and may incur an additional fee.

Case officers cannot provide additional advice or enter into further correspondence regarding a proposal once you have received the formal response to your request.

Further advice can only be given via an additional request, which incurs a further fee.

We give all pre-application advice in good faith, based on the information provided. However, we can only give advice without prejudicing a decision the council may take on a subsequent planning application. We cannot offer advice on feedback from local consultation or technical consultees who may be invited to comment on a subsequent planning application. Please note, many technical consultees offer pre-application advice.

We advise all applicants to discuss planning proposals with neighbours and/or other interested parties before submitting a planning application.

Request pre-application planning advice

We consider your planning proposal a major development if it meets one or more of the following criteria:

• the provision of dwellinghouses where the number of dwellinghouses to be provided is ten or more, or the development is to be carried out on a site having an area of 0.5 hectares or more when unit numbers are unknown
• the provision of a building or buildings where the floor space to be created by the development is 1,000 square metres or more
• the development is to be carried out on a site having an area of one hectare or more

When submitting your request for pre-application planning advice on a major development, please include:

• your contact details (including telephone number and email address)
• site address
• a site location plan (with site outlined in red) to a scale of 1:1250 or 1:2500
• a written description of the existing use of the site
• written details of the proposal (description of works)
• layout drawings showing unit numbers
• the correct fee

The advice you receive depends in part on the amount and quality of the information you provide.

You may also include:

• photographs/photomontages
• draft design and access, planning or heritage statements
• architectural drawings, including elevations to a scale of 1:50 or 1:100
• site survey, including existing landscape features/trees
• contextual plans showing how the proposal relates to its surroundings

When submitting your request for pre-application planning advice, please include:

• your contact details (including telephone number and email address)
• a site location plan, ideally with the site outlined in red to a scale of 1:1250 or 1:2500
• a written description of the existing use of the site
• written details of the proposal (description of works)
• layout and sketch drawings
• the correct fee

The advice you receive depends in part on the amount and quality of the information you provide.

You many also include:

• photographs/photomontages
• architectural drawings including elevations to a scale of 1:50 or 1:100
• contextual plans showing how the proposal relates to its surroundings, including any landscape features/trees

We send an automatic acknowledgement on receipt of a request for pre-application planning advice made via our website.

A case officer may contact you by telephone or email to ask for additional information, if required.

For major developments, we aim for a case officer to contact you within ten working days of the start date to arrange a meeting, with a target date of 30 working days to issue a formal response to your request.

For all other developments, we aim to issue a formal response to your request in 20 working days.

Target dates cannot be guaranteed, particularly for more complex proposals. 

In cases where we ask more information in order to give you a formal response and we do not receive the information within 30 days of you submitting your request, we return your fee after deducting a £35 administration charge and take no further action on your request.

The formal response to your request sets out our pre-application planning advice. The formal response depends on the complexity and nature of the proposed development, but could include:

• relevant planning history and key issues to be addressed, including identifying potential impacts and site context
• an assessment of whether the site complies with relevant local and national planning policies
• design advice (comments on built form, scale, massing, views, street scene, historic context, etc)
• impacts on amenity (which properties may be affected)
• whether assessments such as noise, air quality, drainage/flooding, contaminated land, landscape or tree surveys need to be conducted
• general transport policy advice on car and cycle parking standards, and electric charging points
• identification of relevant constraints affecting the site, such as conservation areas or proximity to listed buildings

For a major development, you can also expect:

• a meeting with the case officer (likely to be via Microsoft Teams). Further meetings usually require an additional request for advice and an additional charge
• information on supporting documents required for submission with a subsequent planning application
• advice on pre-application community engagement
• information on potential infrastructure requirements, including potential impacts which may require mitigation through a Section 106 Agreement, such as infrastructure listed in the Infrastructure Delivery Plan

You can pay fees for pre-application planning advice online.

• Make a payment for pre-application planning advice

From 1 April 2025, we charge the following fees:

Exemptions

Pre-application planning advice for the following do not incur a fee:

• requests in relation to works by a parish council or neighbourhood forum
• requests relating to works specifically for a registered disabled person
• requests relating to works associated with a listed building which do not require a planning application fee or equivalent application fee