Pre-application advice

There are significant advantages in taking advice before submission of a scheme. Taking advice before you make an application will help you in making a better quality application and allow you to:

• Understand how your proposal is affected by planning law and policies
• Know what information you will need to submit when you make your planning application
• Identify the need for you to submit any specialist surveys/reports with your planning application (for example about listed buildings, trees, landscape, noise, transport, contaminated land, ecology or archaeology)

The advice we give will ensure that when you submit your planning application, it will be dealt with quickly, and that you will be aware of any issues or concerns before your application goes out to public consultation.

On complex issues you should consider seeking private professional advice.

You will be providing us with information about your proposal, including a description, site layout plan and sketch drawings.

We would strongly recommend that you include a draft Design and Access Statement as part of your pre-application enquiry.

A Design and Access Statement provides the opportunity for you to explain and justify your scheme, which is required as part of your planning application. This enables us to discuss your proposal and identify any additional work require

A guide to writing Design and Access Statements can be found online at The National Archives website.

Pre Application Advice Fees as of 1 April 2026

Major Developments

Written Advice only 10-49 dwellings; non-residential development including change of use, where the gross floor space is 1,000 – 2,500 square metres, in all cases for sites up to 0.5 hectare in area:

£1,680 (inclusive of VAT)  for written advice only

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Meeting and written advice 10-49 dwellings; non-residential development including change of use, where the gross floor space is 1,000 – 2,500 square metres, in all cases for sites up to 0.5 hectare in area:

£3,360 (inclusive of VAT)  for a meeting and written advice

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Meeting and written advice 50-199 dwellings; non-residential development including change of use, where the gross floor space is 2,500 – 5,000 square metres or more; In all cases for sites of more than 0.5 to 1 hectare in area:

£6,300 (inclusive of VAT)  for a meeting and written advice

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Meeting and written advice 200 dwellings or more; non-residential development including change of use, where the gross floor space is over 5,000 square metres or more; In all cases for sites of more than 1 hectare in area:

£8,400 (inclusive of VAT)  for a meeting and written advice

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Minor Developments

Residential development, including changes of use, of 1 to 9 dwellings

Non-residential development including change of use, where the gross floorspace is up to 1,000 square metres

Proposals affecting Listed Buildings or Conservation Areas

£525 (inclusive of VAT)  for written advice only

£700 (inclusive of VAT)  for a meeting and written advice

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Advertisements

£265 (inclusive of VAT)  for written advice only

£430 (inclusive of VAT)  for a meeting and written advice

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Householder Developments

All householder enquiries:

£155 (inclusive of VAT)  for written advice only

£215 (inclusive of VAT) for a meeting and written advice

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Conservation Officer attend meeting

(required if property is Listed building or site includes Listed Building, or if new build development in Conservation Area).

Additional £150 (inclusive of VAT)

Planning histories /conditions

Advice regarding planning histories/conditions/section 106 obligations/compliance: £500 (inclusive of VAT)

On receipt of your enquiry, and of the appropriate fee, we will send an acknowledgement including the name of the officer handling the request. If we do not have enough information to answer your enquiry then we will tell you.

For written advice, you can expect us to respond within 30 working days. In particularly complex cases, more time may be needed and we advise you about when you may expect a reply.

Where you have asked for a meeting we will arrange a date.

Following the meeting, we will confirm the advice in a letter or email, in a timescale that we will agree at the meeting. Should a further meeting be required, the scope for such a meeting and the fee will be agreed beforehand

The advice given will depend on the complexity and nature of the proposed development.

Importantly, our comments will assist you in the preparation of your final Design and Access Statement and any additional work that will be needed to support your planning application.

We will always do our best to give you the most comprehensive advice that we can on the information which we have. However, any advice given by council officers for pre-application enquiries does not constitute a formal decision by the council as Local Planning Authority. Any views or opinions are given in good faith, but without prejudice to the formal consideration of any planning application.