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What Do Planners Want From A Planning Application?

A practical guide to the drawings, documents, statements, surveys and reports that may be needed to support a planning application.

Planning applications are not just about filling in a form. The council needs enough information to understand what is being proposed, where it is, how it affects the property, neighbours, the street, the environment and any planning constraints.

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For a simple householder application, the supporting information may be fairly modest. For a listed building, new build house, change of use, flood-risk site, conservation area project or development plot, the council may ask for much more.

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The important point is that not every application needs every document. The skill is knowing what is genuinely required, what is sensible to include, and what may be unnecessary.

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Core Planning Application Items

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  • Completed planning application form

  • Correct application type

  • Planning application fee

  • Site location plan

  • Existing block plan

  • Proposed block plan

  • Existing floor plans

  • Proposed floor plans

  • Existing elevations

  • Proposed elevations

  • Existing and proposed roof plans

  • Sections

  • Site levels

  • Street scene drawings

  • Ownership certificate

  • Agricultural land declaration

  • Community Infrastructure Levy forms where relevant

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Design And Planning Documents

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  • Planning statement

  • Design and Access Statement

  • Design statement

  • Access statement

  • Materials schedule

  • External finishes details

  • Window and door details

  • Boundary treatment details

  • Landscaping proposal

  • Refuse and recycling storage details

  • Cycle storage details

  • Parking layout

  • Visibility splays

  • Swept path analysis

  • Construction management plan

  • Construction logistics plan

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Heritage And Conservation

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  • Heritage statement

  • Listed building statement

  • Conservation area appraisal response

  • Schedule of works

  • Photographic schedule

  • Heritage impact assessment

  • Existing fabric assessment

  • Window details

  • Door details

  • Roof details

  • Joinery details

  • 1:5 or 1:10 construction details where required

  • Method statement for repair or alteration works

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Environmental And Site Constraints

Planning Portal lists a wide range of environmental supporting document types, including biodiversity reports, flood risk assessments, land contamination assessments, energy statements, protected species surveys, SuDS information and tree surveys.

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  • Tree survey

  • Arboricultural impact assessment

  • Tree protection plan

  • Ecology survey

  • Protected species survey

  • Bat survey

  • Bird survey

  • Biodiversity statement

  • Biodiversity net gain information

  • Biodiversity metric

  • Habitat management and monitoring plan

  • Flood risk assessment

  • Sustainable drainage strategy

  • Surface water drainage strategy

  • Foul drainage details

  • Land contamination report

  • Coal mining risk assessment

  • Noise impact assessment

  • Acoustic report

  • Air quality assessment

  • Odour assessment

  • Lighting assessment

  • Energy statement

  • Sustainability statement

  • Overheating assessment

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Development-Specific Reports

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  • Transport statement

  • Travel plan

  • Parking survey

  • Servicing strategy

  • Fire statement

  • Waste management strategy

  • Affordable housing statement

  • Viability assessment

  • Marketing evidence for change of use

  • Retail impact assessment

  • HMO management plan

  • Airbnb or short-let management plan

  • Agricultural justification

  • Rural enterprise dwelling appraisal

  • Structural survey for demolition

  • Demolition method statement

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Photos And Visual Information

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  • Site photographs

  • Street photographs

  • Neighbouring property photographs

  • Photo study

  • Photomontages

  • CGI views

  • Context photographs

  • Existing building condition photographs

  • View analysis

  • Townscape views where relevant

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Not Sure What Your Planning Application Needs?

 

Planning application requirements can vary from one council to another and from one property to another. A small home improvement may only need drawings and basic forms, while a sensitive site may need statements, surveys or specialist reports.

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Planning Application Services (PAS) can help you work out what is likely to be needed before you submit.

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