Get advice on your planning application

We are able to offer advice on your application before you submit it. This can help to identify issues with your application or when you might need to get specialist advice. It can help us to make a decision once you submit an application.

Advice we do not charge for

Examples of free advice are:

straightforward householder applications
enforcement
trees owned by Cotswold District Council
the provision of affordable housing, up until the stage when agents are engaged

We are currently unable to provide free pre-application or general enquiry advice on issues related to trees or conservation (listed building etc). Please see our tree works and preservation section for further tree information and our advice on general conservation and design enquiries.

So that we can give you accurate advice, email planning@cotswold.gov.uk with:

Your full contact details, including telephone numbers and e-mail addresses
location plan
sketch drawings and a description of proposals
photographs of site
any known constraints to development
technical studies (if available) for example, ecological or traffic impact assessments

Advice we charge for

We charge for major or complex applications and more extensive advice.

How to apply

Email planning@cotswold.gov.uk to discuss your requirements, the costs and the timescales.

Once we have agreed to provide you with advice you will need to submit a pre-application advice form (PDF 86KB) with the correct fee.

Types of development and fees

All costs will have 20% VAT added. If there are any other additional fees, for example, for specialist advice, we will let you know.

Type of development	Initial meeting or written response	Additional response	Additional meeting	Meeting on site
Major 200 or more units	£2180	£163.50	£545	£218
Major 10 to 199 units	£1090	£163.50	£545	£218
Minor 1 to 9 units	£500	£100	£150	£200
Complex applications	£545	£109	£163.50	£219

Major applications 200 or more residential units

Major applications include:

residential development (where the proposed number of units is not specified) with a site area of four hectares or more
provision of 10,000 square metres or more of floor space for other uses for example, commercial, industrial or mixed development
development of land for other uses for example, commercial, industrial, mixed development uses, with a site area of two hectares or more

Major applications 10 to 199 residential units

Major applications for 10 to 199 units include:

residential development (where the proposed number of units is not specified), with a site area of 0.5 hectares or more and less than four hectares
provision of 1,000 to 9,999 square metres of floor space for other uses for example, commercial, industrial, mixed development
development of land for other uses for example, commercial, industrial, mixed development use with a site area of one hectare or more and less than two hectares

Minor developments 1 to 9 residential units

Minor applications include:

development of less than 0.5 hectares for residential use
provision of 200 to 1,000 square metres of floor space for other uses for example, commercial, industrial, mixed development
development of land for other uses for example, commercial, industrial, mixed development use with a site area of 0.2 hectares or more and less than one hectare

Complex applications

Complex applications are those which may need specialist advice. For example, conservation or landscape advice.

Planning performance agreement

For major applications, we encourage applicants to use Planning Performance Agreements. It is an agreement between a local planning authority and an applicant and provides a project management framework for handling major planning applications.

More information on what a Planning Performance Agreement is and the benefits of one are available from GOV.UK.

If your proposal is considered to be a potential candidate for a PPA by the Planning Officer dealing with your initial request for pre-application advice, they will discuss this option with you.

Planning Performance Agreement form - docx - 34 Kb

Timescales for advice

We will contact you either by phone or in writing within ten working days to let you know you if pre-application advice can be provided, and to establish timeframes and costs. We will send you a form to complete and return with the payment and any additional details about your proposals.

Where a meeting is required, it will take place as long as we receive all details no less than seven working days before the meeting (unless a reduced timeframe is agreed). A meeting will normally be held within 20 working days of the receipt of the form and payment. If we have to postpone it we will rearrange within seven working days.

When you need a written response after a meeting, we will post this to you within 15 working days of the meeting provided no further research, investigation or consultation is required. The advice will include comment on the major planning issues, constraints and requirements.

If you just want a written response we will normally send this to you within 20 working days of our receipt of the form, project details and payment. The advice will include comment on the major planning issues, constraints and requirements.

Freedom of Information statement

We may get Freedom of Information or Environmental Information regulations requests about pre-application advice that we have provided. We may have to provide some or all of the information, unless there is a valid reason not (if an exemption exists). Personal information is protected by the Data Protection Act.

The reasons for not providing information on pre-application advice might include commercial sensitivity and confidentiality. If this is the case, you must let us know in writing at the beginning, why and for how long the information is commercially sensitive or confidential. We will consider your arguments, along with the information request, the information we hold, and the legislation, and make the final decision if the information is exempt or not.

We may also exempt internal documents and communications or incomplete documents if we consider they may harm our ability to deliver the service effectively. For example, at the beginning of the major application process, there will be exploratory discussion, which if disclosed, may affect any subsequent planning application.