Pre-application advice

Before seeking pre-application advice, you should check to see if you need planning permission for your proposed development. The formal pre-application advice service can provide site specific advice on proposals that require planning permission.

Requirements for listed buildings tend to be bespoke and advice can be given as part of the pre-application process about which elements of proposals will require listed building consent and whether any of the works can be classed as repair. 

If planning permission is required for your proposed development, our pre-application advice service will give you a steer on whether you are likely to be successful with your planning application before it is submitted.

If we believe your application is unlikely to be successful, we can offer advice on how issues with the application can be overcome. This can save you time and money by enabling potential issues to be identified and resolved before the application is submitted.

Disclaimer

Pre-application advice cannot guarantee that a planning application will be approved, as the planning officer will not be able to consider any comments or responses that may be made once an application has been submitted. We will give you the best advice possible based on the information provided and our advice should assist in ensuring that all the necessary information is provided with a subsequent planning application.

We accept no legal liability in contract or in tort for the accuracy and/or quality of the advice given.

Confidentiality

While the pre-application enquiry is being considered, all details will be kept confidential from the general public and Town/Parish Councils (unless authorised by you or where we are required to release details by law).

However, if a planning application is submitted in respect of a scheme related to the pre-application enquiry, then details of the pre-application will no longer be confidential. This is because the information contained in that pre-application enquiry becomes public as part of the public consultation process when determining the planning application.

Seeking pre-application advice will help identify the key planning issues upfront, and will enable you to submit a better planning application, complete with all the right supporting documentation. It should also lead to a reduction in the number of planning applications that are either refused, withdrawn, or have to be resubmitted because the proposal is unacceptable or needs significant amendments. 

For larger schemes, pre-application advice should allow heads of terms for planning obligations (e.g. Section 106) to be identified at an early stage. 

Please use our standard online pre-application enquiry form and submit it. Use the facility to add any supporting documents, such as drawings or plans to the enquiry. Providing these will enable a better response.

Please note your enquiry will not be validated until the appropriate payment is made.

The fee payable for pre-application advice is based largely on the size and complexity of the development proposal received. Mixed use developments involving more than 1 of the categories in the fee category shall be charged on the basis of the category that attracts the highest fee.

Fees for our pre-application service start at £105 for small scale applications. Once you select the application type on the online form, it will give you a minimum guide price before you submit your application. Once we have received your application a member of the team will be in contact to advise you further and arrange for payment of the fee.

Depending on the nature of the proposals, Pre-application advice on listed buildings may necessitate a site visit. If this is required an additional fee will be charged. 

The minimum level of information that needs to be provided is the pre-application enquiry form, a location plan, sketched/scaled drawings, detailed drawings for more complex proposals, and the appropriate fee (see fees above) 

In the event that the information submitted is insufficient or not detailed enough, the subsequent advice will be less reliable when it comes to submitting a formal application.

For the vast majority of pre-application enquiries, we will only be offering advice in principle, which is a desk-top exercise based on the planning officer’s existing knowledge and experience – see next drop down item for more about what this includes.

The only exception is for strategic major development enquiries which will continue as a more bespoke service.

Exceptions may also be required for some listed building pre-apps. If a site visit is required, for information gathering purposes, this will be advised and an additional fee will be charged. 

The response timeframe will be 8 weeks from when the enquiry form is allocated to an officer, although for any advice relating to listed buildings, the timeframe will be 10 weeks.

Please also note that it is likely that any planning application that is formally submitted following a pre-application enquiry, would be allocated to the same officer that dealt with the initial enquiry.

The advice given will be a desk-top response based on the planning officer’s existing knowledge and experience. There will be no meetings or site visits, and no consultations with internal or external consultees/stakeholders, except for enquiries relating to listed buildings where we will consult with our internal heritage officers.

The officer’s response should cover the key issues that need addressing, and make reference to planning policies that need complying with. It may summarise other things to consider, and may suggest what supporting documentation would be required to improve the application. 

However, there will not be a detailed analysis/assessment of all the issues that relate to the proposal.

Pre-application advice cannot guarantee that a planning application will be approved, as the planning officer will not be able to consider any comments or responses that may be made once an application has been submitted. 

We will give you the best advice possible based on the information provided and our advice should assist in ensuring that all the necessary information is provided with a subsequent planning application.

We accept no legal liability in contract or in tort for the accuracy and/or quality of the advice given.

• refunds or part-refunds will only be given if it is deemed the advice given is less than appropriate for the service offer (quantity), and/or is deemed to contain serious errors (quality)
• any claims for a refund shall be made via West Northamptonshire Council’s complaints procedure