Planning Permission
Town and Country Planning is the land use planning system governments use to balance economic development and environmental quality. Each country of the United Kingdom has its own planning system that is responsible for town and country planning.
- The Town and Country Planning Act of 1947 created the framework for the system
- Green belts were added in 1955
- The system has essentially remained the same since the initial 1947 act
As you will appreciate the planning system can be extremely complicated especially when submitting your first application. It may be useful to approach one's local planning authority for advice in the initial stages of a project but ultimately QB Land would advise employing the services of an architect or planning consultant.
There are three basic stages of planning;
- Change of use (for example changing the use of the downstairs of a house from residential to commercial such as a hairdressing salon or, changing a field from agricultural use to building land)
- Outline planning consent (An agreement in principle by the local authority for a planning application, for example simple plans for construction of a detached dwelling indicate the basic size, no of rooms etc. but does not go into detail of the finishes, construction methods etc.)
- Detailed Planning Permission (As the name implies this is a full approval for a planning permission incorporating materials to be used in the construction, design styles etc. etc.)
For more information on planning permission check out our list of useful links or download your FREE UK Land Guide.