Get advice on your planning application
Our pre-application advice service can help you understand the planning issues relevant to your proposal before you submit a planning application. It provides site-specific advice to help you develop your plans and identify matters you may need to address. A fee applies to this service; please see the fees and charges below.
For general guidance, start with the Council’s website and the Planning Portal, which provides information on common building projects and whether planning permission may be needed.
Planning Portal guidance is independent of the Council and does not replace our site-specific pre-application advice.
The process and how to apply
Apply using the relevant online form:
- Householder pre-application advice
- Minor development and additional services
- Major development pre-application advice
- Advice on whether planning permission or listed building consent is required
Please check the fees and charges below to help you choose the appropriate service.
The online forms guide you through the information needed, allow you to upload plans and supporting documents, and take payment where a fee applies. Please provide a clear description of your proposal and a site location plan, together with any drawings, photographs or other information that will help us understand your enquiry. We will check your submission and the fee paid, and contact you if anything further is required. No work will commence on your enquiry until the required information and correct fee have been received.
Related documents
Pre-application fees 2026-27 - pdf - 183 Kb
What to expect
We aim to provide a written response within eight weeks of receiving your pre-application enquiry. Our advice will identify the main planning issues relevant to your proposal, based on the information you provide. A meeting will be included where requested and considered necessary by the officer. Meetings are at the officer’s discretion.
Pre-application advice is optional. It provides an officer’s professional view based on the information available at the time; it is not a formal decision and does not guarantee that planning permission will be granted. Any subsequent application will be assessed against the relevant policies and other material considerations, including consultation responses.
Freedom of information statement
We may get Freedom of Information or Environmental Information Regulations requests about pre-application advice that we have provided.
Under Environmental Information Regulations Section 12 (5) (f) pre-application advice will not be provided in response to requests unless explicit consent has been provided to enable disclosure.
Explicit consent means that the pre-application applicant must have actively consented to the future disclosure of the information provided.
In using this exemption the Local Authority will be required to carry out a Public Interest Test and, in some circumstances, the lack of explicit consent may be over ridden if the Public Interest Test shows that the Public Interest in disclosing the pre-application advice outweighs the interests in withholding it.
In cases where the Public Interest Test leads to full or partial disclosure personal data will still be protected by the Data Protection Act.
Information Commissioner’s Officer guidance on EIR Section 12 (5) (f) can be found here.