East Suffolk Council
Pre-application advice service
We offer an advice service on your proposals before you submit your application.
| Submit a pre-application enquiry online |
Pre-application advice is a good way of getting feedback on your development proposals and can increase your chances of submitting a successful planning application. The advice provided will guide you through the issues and policies relevant to your scheme.
It is not compulsory, but it will make it easier when applying for planning permission. The advice provided can provide a useful steer on proposals, leading to better quality developments and an increased chance of a quicker decision on the application.
Prior to submitting a pre-application enquiry, please use the Postcode checker to confirm if the site/property is in the East Suffolk Council District.
What should be submitted for a pre-application enquiry
The quality of the advice we can give depends on the quality of the information you submit. The intention is to ensure you are in as strong a position as possible to address all the relevant planning issues prior to the submission of any application, and that you are aware of the information required to accompany your application, so that it can be validated on receipt.
Therefore, in addition to your application form and the relevant fee it is advisable to submit sufficient documentation to explain and illustrate your proposals.
In the case of proposals for alterations and extensions to houses, bungalows, other buildings and proposals for outbuildings (i.e. sheds/garages) it is recommended that you include sketches/annotated photographs complete with dimensions in metric and labelled to show which side of the property they are proposed (e.g. front, rear etc).
In cases for proposals for changes of use of land and buildings, it is recommended that you include a short statement explaining the proposed use and a sketch plan to explain how different areas of the building/site are currently used and how they are intended to be used.
The above details are recommended so that officers can check if the proposed works would require planning permission based upon the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. In most cases such details are also likely to assist officers in their ability to advise you on whether consent is likely to be granted.
Pre-application enquiry process
Once your pre-application enquiry has been submitted (including payment of the fee) it will be allocated to an officer.
In order to advise if planning permission, listed building consent and/or advertisement consent is required, officers will then check:
- the proposals against the relevant National Regulations
- if the building is listed or within the curtilage of a listed building
- if there are any conditions on previous consents relating to the site
- if the site is within any special designation (e.g. is it in a Conservation Area) or affected by an Article 4 Direction.
They will then use this information along with the information you have submitted to assess if consent is required.
If your enquiry has also asked if consent is likely to be granted, officers will then undertake further research into planning policy and any constraints which may affect the site. This information will then be used to form an informal view on whether consent may be granted. Officers will also set out what documentation would need to be submitted with any future application, and suggested next steps.
Timeframe for a response to a pre-application enquiry
Once a valid submission is received, officers will aim to provide you with bespoke written advice within the timeframes set out in the above fees and charges schedules, unless prior communication is made to mutually seek to extend that period.
Please note where additional information is required and/or a proposal is particularly complex, additional time is likely to be required.
Whilst meetings are not routinely undertaken as part of the pre-application process, it may be, on occasion, that officers consider a meeting would be beneficial to progress matters. In such cases, you will need to pay the required ‘top-up’ fee as set out in the above fees and charges schedule, and then the case officer will contact you to arrange a time and date.
Please note, such meetings may be undertaken ‘virtually’, via an online platform, rather than in person.
The response provided to a pre-application enquiry
In all cases (accept when agreed otherwise by the applicant) a written report will be provided to the person who submits the pre-application enquiry.
It will include the following as appropriate:
- For permitted development enquiries, the written report will confirm if planning permission, listed building consent or advertisement consent is required.
- In cases which are also seeking an informal on the likelihood of consent being granted, the report will also provide an informal view on whether consent is likely to be granted, and highlight any potential issues that may need to be overcome.
- In the case of proposals that in the informal view of officers have the potential to be granted consent, the report will also set out what documentation would need to be submitted with any future application, and suggested next steps.
Site visits and meetings
Site visits and meetings are not an automatic part of the pre-application process. They are only undertaken at the pre-application stage where they are deemed necessary and an appropriate use of officer time and where the required ‘top-up’ fee has been paid as per the above fees and charging schedules.
Therefore, if you wish officers to be aware of a particular feature or aspect of the site or your proposals, it is recommended that you include details within the sketches, photographs, plans and/or statements that you submit.