A new permitted development regime for non-domestic buildings came into force on 6 April 2010. Access guidance here [PDF]

This information was taken from the Planning Portal.

Planning Portal technical updates

To ensure the Planning Portal is compliant with legislative changes, the following actions will be introduced for the 6 April 2010.

Design and access statements:

From 6 April 2010, the range of development that is exempt from the requirement for a design and access statement will be expanded. The list below confirms the new requirements from 6 April 2010. The paper form checklists and electronic Planning Application Requirements (PAR) list will be amended at 12:01am on the 6 April to reflect these changes.

Design and access statements will be configured as mandatory for the following scenarios:

• scenario 2 - Householder + Conservation Area

• scenario 3 - Householder + Listed Building

• scenario 7 - Full + Conservation Area

• scenario 8 - Full + Listed Building

• scenario 11 - Listed Building

Design and access statements will be configured as optional for the following scenarios:

• scenario 1 - Householder

• scenario 4 - Full

• scenarios 5 and 6 - Outline with Some Matters Reserved and Outline with All Matters Reserved

• scenario 9 - Full + Advertisement 

Design and access statements will be configured as not required for the following scenarios:

• scenario 10 - Conservation Area - This scenario is for conservation area consent to demolish, which is not a planning application; DAS is still required for planning permission in conservation areas (covered by scenario 7). 

• scenario 12 - Advertisement

• scenarios 14 and 15 - Lawful Development Certificate - Existing Use and Lawful Development Certificate - Proposed Use

• scenarios 16 to 20 - Prior Notification - Proposed Building and Prior Notification - Telecoms

• scenario 21 - Hedgerow Removal

• scenario 22 - Prior Notification - Proposed Demolition

• scenario 23 - Approval of Reserved Matters

• scenarios 25/26 - Removal or Variation of a Condition

• scenario 27 - Approval of Details Reserved by Condition

• scenario 31 - Trees - TPO & Conservation Area

• scenario 33 - Extend time limit of existing permission

• scenario 34 - Non-material amendment to existing permission

The design and access statement changes are explained in the Government guidance, Guidance on information requirements and validation, published 16 March 2010.

Users of the Portal can access DAS information here.

House in Multiple Occupation (HMO):

The following change will also come into effect on the 6 April 2010 – planning permission will be required for a change of use from Class C3 (dwelling house) to a new Class C4 (house in multiple occupation), but changes from C4 to C3 will be permitted development. This change is linked to an amendment to the Use Classes Order which was announced in January 2010, as set out in The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Order 2010, and will also come into force on 6 April 2010.

The 1-APP forms will not be changed to reflect HMOs. However, applicants will be able to apply for HMOs on the full application form.

Guidance on the Portal in relation to use classes is available here. 

Find out whether a change in class is permitted.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

On 6 April, the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) regulations will come into force. 

Planning Portal users can access information on CIL here.

The following changes will be delivered:

Community Infrastructure Levy Questions PDF

To ensure CIL charging authorities have the required information to determine the appropriate CIL charge, applicants/agents will be required to complete additional questions. 

The additional questions have not been incorporated into the suite of 1-APP forms as CIL is a voluntary mechanism not a national/mandatory standard. Instead, the questions have been included in a PDF form titled ‘Community Infrastructure Levy Questions’.

If the LPA is a CIL Charging Authority, they must configure the CIL questions as a mandatory document within their local level requirements list. This will then be presented to the applicants and agents as a mandatory supporting document. This document must be completed and submitted with the Planning Application form.

The Portal offers a CIL information page here.

This includes: 

• An overview of CIL
• Links to regulations and guidance
• A link to the CIL questions PDF

CIL administration forms will be placed on the Portal over the next few weeks.

The above information was taken from the Planning Portal news 31 March 2010.

Planning Minister John Healey has confirmed a package of planning system reforms saving developers time and money to help them complete building projects during the recovery have now been approved by Parliament.

Businesses that need to extend existing planning permissions to allow more time to build new developments will now pay significantly lower fees which, along with other measures to improve the flexibility of planning permissions, will help save up to £69m a year, giving a valuable cash boost for developers so they can keep investing in new projects.

New measures that enable businesses and homeowners to extend existing planning permissions without the expense and red tape of a new planning application were introduced in October 2009.

The fees for extending planning permissions are now being reduced so the fee for a major development that was previously as high as £250,000 will now be £500, the fee for smaller developments that was as high as £3,000 will now be £170, and for householder projects the previous fee of £150 will be reduced to £50.

Read the CLG press release

Read the Dear Chief Planning Officer letter

Access the new Statutory Instrument

The Planning Portal’s PDF fee summary, which incorporates all the changes, and the online Fee Calculator, which incorporates changes to ‘other applications’ submitted under Schedule 1, Part 2 category 9(b), was updated on 26 February 2010.

Applications to extend the time limits for implementing planning permissions and non-material amendments are not yet included within the Portal’s online Fee Calculator, but will be incorporated when the applications can be applied for via the online service. Currently the forms can be downloaded from the Portal and are available below.

Non-material amendments form [PDF]

Time limit extension forms [PDF

The extracts above were taken from the Planning Portal News Round-Up dated 4^th March 2010.

A series of practice notes on managing responses to stalled development schemes has been published by the Advisory Team for Large Applications (ATLAS). 

The notes are in recognition of the challenges many local authorities and their partners are facing in developing a response to large-scale development schemes that have stalled as a result of the economic downturn.

Access the ‘Responsive Planning Practices for Changing Economic Times’ notes and ATLAS press release

This extract was taken from the Planning Portal News Round-Up dated 4th March 2010.

A new building for one of Britain’s oldest schools, constructed off site by Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, has won the Building Schools for the Future Award at the Builder and Engineer Awards.

Designed by P+HS Architects, the Hubert Jones Science Centre at Christ College in Brecon provides facilities which are unrivalled in Wales, as part of a major commitment to help develop the next generation of young scientists.

The award recognised the project’s high quality design and how it applied education construction best practice to a scheme built off site.  The construction team successfully delivered an exceptional building that will inspire pupils to study science, and which is also highly sustainable and flexible.

The use of off-site construction ensured completion of the centre in just five months despite the challenging site, minimising any disturbance to staff and pupils. 16 steel-framed building modules were manufactured off site in York and craned into position during school holidays to further minimise any disruption to teaching.

Christ College was founded by Royal Charter in 1541 by King Henry VIII and has buildings on its campus, which date back to the 13^th Century.  Because of this and the building’s sensitive location in the Brecon Beacons National Park, the design incorporated local materials such as Welsh sandstone from Llangorse Quarry, together with render and timber cladding to complement the surrounding architecture.

The scheme also features a number of sustainable measures to minimise impact on the environment, such as solar water heating to reduce energy consumption, energy-efficient lighting, natural ventilation and daylight, and high levels of insulation to conserve energy.                                                                                                                    

The two-storey building expands the science facilities at this independent boarding and day school, bringing all the laboratories together under one roof and replacing an outdated 1950s block.

Two physics and two biology laboratories, a sixth form project room, and laboratory technician’s rooms are grouped around a double height central atrium that functions as an additional teaching area and exhibition space.  This central ‘street’ also allows pupils to move through the space at peak times and gather informally before and after lessons.

The building has been designed to be flexible and adaptable to change.  The internal walls are non load-bearing and there are clear internal spans of up to 12m, so the teaching spaces and laboratories can easily be reconfigured to meet the school’s changing requirements over time.

Submit-a-Plan is the LABC (Local Authority Building Control)  National Portal for making electronic and offline Building Control applications to ANY Local Authority in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as reporting dangerous structures.

The site has been designed as a single location for both the general public and professional users to submit Building Control applications directly to their intended Local Authority.  Users can also track the progress of their application online via dedicated portal DataSpace On-line.

The key features of Submit-a-Plan at a glance:

Free of charge to use

Works with all CAD applications and paper scans

Eliminates sending multiple paper plans (when submitted electronically)

Saves time and money

Send applications at any time

Environmentally friendly

Track the progress of your application online 

Free of charge application assistance

P+HS Architects are now registered to use this service, effective from today.  This will ensure that like Planning Applications submitted via the Planning Portal all Building Regulations submitted via Submit-a-Plan can be safely stored in one place.     

The Government has announced that the power to extend the time limits for existing full planning permissions will apply to all eligible consents and not just those for major development.

That clarification has come in a letter from Steve Quartermain, Communities and Local Government chief planner, to chief planning officers in England.

The letter confirms that the new arrangements will come into force on 1 October and will cover both listed building and conservation area consents.

The changes will cover planning permissions which are extant both on 1 October and at the date of application and have not yet commenced.

Outline permissions can also be extended under this power, CLG has decided, provided they are extant both on 1 October and at the date of application, and have not yet commenced.

The department will publish updated guidance in early October.

It has also revealed that it is proposing different charges than consulted on earlier this year. CLG’s revised proposals are: £500 for major developments, £50 for householder developments and £170 for other sizes of development. Parliamentary approval is needed for the new charges.

Draft application forms are available for view on the Planning Portal and final versions will be available for use on 1 October.

Read Steve Quartermain’s letter to Chief Planning Officers.

The above was taken from the Planning Portal news roundup 24^th September 2009

Planning minister John Healey has announced that 270 stalled development projects across the country have been shortlisted for a share of £925m which could help get building work on 22,400 homes back on track and create 20,000 jobs.

Every region has shortlisted projects and will benefit from this major cash injection, part of the Prime Minister’s housing pledge announced last month, that will help build the homes the country needs, help it through the recession and help people into jobs. The projects have been identified by the Homes and Communities Agency through the Kickstart programme.

Read the HCA press release.

The above was taken from the Planning Portal news round-up 30 July 2009.

Please see below information received from the Planning Portal.

I have noticed that you’ve previously used the Planning Portal to submit your planning applications, but were you also aware that you can purchase your site location plans through our mapping service?

Even with online applications steadily increasing over the past few years, still many mapping suppliers are producing maps in paper format. The scanning of these paper maps is against Ordnance Survey copyright rules and can lead to applications being rejected.

To help you avoid this we have developed a new service that enables you to buy your maps electronically, benefits of the service include:

• Ability to view your map before you purchase it
• Assurance your map is up to date with the correct licensing for your application
• Facility to highlight boundaries and annotate the map without the need for additional software
• No need to convert file formats - maps are ready to uploaded to your electronic application

To ensure this service is easy to use, we have partnered with four Planning Portal accredited, leading mapping suppliers - Streetwise, Stanfords, Getmapping and eMapSite.com. This will give you the choice to use the supplier that best suits your needs, whilst ensuring your map will be accepted but every Local Authority in England and Wales.

To start benefiting from this new service today or to just have a look please click here .

North Yorkshire Building Control have advised us that from 1 January 2009 a charge of £40.00 plus VAT (£46.00) will be made for applications that are withdrawn or returned.

Please ensure that all required information is correct and complete before submitting any Building Regulations Applications.

Planning Charges effective from June 2008

 Major Development:

 £300 + VAT for site visit, letter and one to one consultation with a senior staff member.  Further work is chargeable at Senior Officer hourly rates.

·         10 Residential units or more

·         Residential development on site of 5ha or more

·         1,000sqm of commercial floor space or more

·         Commercial development on site of 1ha or more

·         Scheme subject to EIA

Other Significant Development Charge:

£300 + VAT

·         Telecommunications development

·         Minerals or waste proposals on sites of 0.5ha or larger

Minor Developments:

£70 + VAT for site visit, letter and consultation with a Planning Officer.  Further work is chargeable at Officer hourly rates.

Schemes of 1-9 dwellings

·         Commercial development resulting in new floor space on sites smaller than 1ha or less than 1,000sqm

·         Changes of use

Commercial Adverts

£50 +VAT

Householder Development

£20 + VAT for written letter

Listed Buildings

Free

The standard fee must be paid in advance of any work commencing on the enquiry.

Views on proposed changes to the current building control system can be submitted until Tuesday 10 June 2008.

To download a copy of the consultation paper and to respond, please visit www.communities.gov.uk/futurebuildingcontrol.  

From 6 April 2008 most council’s will have on their web sites a Local Validation Criteria Manual which applies to all planning applications.  It explains what information is needed at the start of the planning process to help register an application, (different applications require different kinds of information) and this document should be referred to in order to make sure all the necessary information is complete before submitting a planning application.

Additional Fees with regard to discharging of Planning Conditions.

The Local Authorities now have the power to charge £85.00 for each Condition to be discharged.  See link below (Page 30) for details. http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/10.pdf 

The Standard Planning Application Form (1APP) will replace all existing types of planning applications forms (except minerals) within England on 6 April 2008.  The standard planning application form will be available online via the Planning Portal.

On 6 April 2008 the Standard Application form (1APP) will become the only legal way of submitting a planning application within England (except for minerals).

Any draft applications on the Planning Portal saved before 6 April 2008 and not saved on 1APP will be moved onto the new application form although some of the information requested on 1APP is slightly different to the information required by LA’s on the old form.

A support team will be on hand to provide advice and guidance as well as further assistance if required.

A customer service desk is also available to answer any questions regarding the migration process.

For further information about 1APP contact Gill at Stokesley or contact the Planning Portal on 0117 372 8200 or by email at support@planningportal.gsi.gov.uk.

There will also be changes to Planning Application fees and Building Regulation fees from 6 April 2008, (as posted in the day file, details of Building Regulation increases have already taken place with a few Authorities.  Planning Application fee increases are as yet to be published), you are advised to check with the Local Authority as to changes in Building Regulation fees and the Planning Portal for Planning Application fees.

Please ensure you take these changes into account when advising client’s of the fee and make sure that cheque’s from client’s are also correct if P+HS Architects are submitting any of the above applications on their behalf.