Submitting a planning application

Making a planning application

There are different application forms depending on what you need to apply for, some applications have been combined into one form; for example Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent. Please contact us if you have any questions about which form to use or what information you should submit with an application.

To submit your application please use the Planning Portal, They provide two methods for submitting applications:

• Electronic submission - complete the online form, upload all the plans, supporting documentation, you can also purchase your location plan through the Planning Portal, and finally pay the correct fee.
• Download a PDF version of the form, complete it and send it to us along with all the plans, supporting documentation. If possible, please email your PDF form, all PDF Plans & documents to Development Control, or post the completed application to our contact address.

Please note, some of the Prior Approval Notification forms are not available through the electronic submission system and have to be downloaded.

Before submitting your application use the Planning Portals checklists to make sure you have included everything we will need to process the application.

For applications submitted in the post we only require one copy of all forms, certificates, plans and accompanying documents. It would however be helpful and speed up the registration of your application if you can use the online submission method.

We will let you know, normally within three working days if we need any further information to make your application valid. If we do not receive this additional information within one month, we will return the incomplete papers to you.

Application guidance

Applicants and agents should refer to the Town & Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 for the information requirements for all applications and the National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) accompanies the Order and should be referred to where necessary. 

Members of the public who are considering submitting an application may also wish to seek independent advice from a planning consultant or other professional agent to ensure that applications are fit for purpose on submission.

All applicants should note that for major developments the City Council’s adopted Supplementary Planning Document relating to Planning Obligations remains in place.

Local List of Validation Requirements

We've produced a Local List of Validation Requirements (LLVR) to guide people when making a planning application. The LLVR covers a comprehensive range of relevant topic areas but not all will be applicable, as applications vary in scale and complexity. For example, the information requirements for a householder extension will be much smaller than for a large-scale commercial development.  Hopefully the LLVR will assist all applicants in assembling the right amount of supporting information.

Further information and guidance about a range of planning issues can also be found in the planning practice guidance produced by central Government. 

Planning fees

Most applications require you to pay a fee with the application. The fees for applications as levied by central government can be found in the Fee Schedule of January 2018 or to check what is the correct fee use the Planning Portal online Fee Calculator.