Southwest
Environmental LimitedSouthwest
Environmental Limited| London |
| 02076 920 670 |
| Exeter |
| 01392 927 961 |
| Manchester |
| 01612 970 026 |
| Bristol |
| 01173 270 092 |
When we first started trading in 2009, Planning Consultants were few and far between. They were specialists who dealt with panning law, typically the complex bits, like appeals and interpretation of policies etc.
Southwest Environmental, acting as planning consultants, can manage the entire planning application on your behalf, using or expert knowledge to make sure you:
Our ethos is to be honest from the outset. If we worked by the hour we could quite happily pick a difficult site, take a belligerent stance with planning officers and take a very long time to not get you planning permission.
By offering you a fixed price planning service, we not only ensure that we take the easiest route, but also that we work quickly.
The service we provide is on a fixed price basis. We take no satisfaction in stringing out the process, and charging an hourly fee in the process. We can help you decide the best possible route from the outset.
Step 1 - Site Selection
If you are still looking for a site to buy we can help steer you to a site that will be easier to obtain planning permission.
During this stage we will look at the size of your site, and what it suitable uses might be. It pays to pick your "battles". If a site is unlikely to successfully obtain planning permission for housing, then we would advise to try for something else. Planning is difficult enough as it is.
We would look at the site that you have in mind and advise on the number of units, or the size of units that you might conceivable fit on to the site. This initial work not only takes in to consideration the houses and access roads, but the myriad of other features that modern developments incorporate:
You need to know the reuirements for all of the above prior to your first attempts at drawing the site's layout!
We work with a a number of contractors who turn our sketches in to CAD Drawings. We can pick a contractor based on the type of the development. A smaller development will require only the most basic of drawings, and contrary to popular belief even large "flashy" projects do not require flashy (expensive) drawings. A basic set of plans for a planning application will include the following:
These plans can be simple (black and white line drawings) or full colour with photo like texture. But both will work just fine.
Again following our principal of honesty, we do not "guess" as to what supporting documents will be required. Most planning authorities publish a "validation check list". These are long lists, and you will almost certainly not need all of the reports listed.
Our approach is to submit the planning application, and then see what we are asked for. It is very seldom the full list. We can source nearly any combination of report (most of which are written in house) and keep planning application process moving, with minimum cost to you the client.
We will be able to advise you of what reports you will likley require prior to planning, but we will undertake work unnecessarily.
A good place to start if you would like to see
how complicated a potential planning application might be is
DEFRA's Magic which is a free GIS
based web tool, that allows you to find land designations such as SSSIs
and National Parks. Obviously if your application site is close
proximity or within designated areas such as identified habitats then
this may result in the need for a habitat survey.
Another good place to check is the Environment Agencies flood risk map, this will tell you whether you are in flood risk zone, that warrants further reporting. Zone 1 is generally OK (below certain sizes), but Flood Risk Zones 2 and 3 will generally require the preparation of a flood risk report, to accompany your planning application. Other reports that can be requested by the Local Planning Authority (Find Yours), may include;
A Phase 1 Desktop Study is a contaminated land report that looks at the site past and current uses to try and "guess" whether the ground will be contaminated. Contaminated ground may means that your planning application will not be granted until you have proven that the site is safe for intended use. This is one of the few reports that you can not produce yourself, as Part 2A of the Environment Act requires that the report is undertaken by a qualified person. This particular planning application report is the first step in a potentially 4 part process. Find out about the other phases of a site contamination assessment.
A Transport Assessment may be requested by you local planning authority when the proposed development may create a lot a vehicle movements, transport assessments can relate to the the construction phase or operational phase of the project.
Typically a transport assessment will involve a group of people sitting around on deckchairs at various road junction counting cars, buses and lorries, and perhaps the odd cyclist. A count may last for just 1 or 2 hours, and then expansion factors are used to adjust for future increases in traffic (although decreases are sometimes applicable).
An Environmental Impact Assessment is typically composed of 2 or 3 "elements". For a planning application for a wind turbine you might be asked for a visual impact assessment and a noise impact assessment.
A planning application for a large housing development might have visual impact assessment, noise impact assessment, traffic impact assessment and perhaps air quality impact assessment.
Visual Impact assessments may be requested if the site is in a AONB or National Park, where protecting the views is important.
A Sustainability Statements can be a very basic document, as most council only enforce the bare minimum in terms of energy efficiency etc. However, forward thinking areas such as London and Bristol, can require more detail.
A planning statement is a high level document that steers planners and consultees, around the various key themes of a project.
When hopefully your planning application is granted, it would be great to start building straight away. But often planning approvals will have a long list of conditions.
An appeal is certainly not something to aim for. But they can be used to to good affect, this work particularly well when you can use specialist knowledge to challenge a piece of planning policy that is outdated, or has been misinterpreted.
If you are running a waste exemption such as a T1 or S2, then whether planning permission is required should be checked with your LPA. If you are planning on running a fairly large waste operation such as a composting site, or an inert landfill then it is likely you will require planning permission to match your environmental permit.
A good thing to look out for when choosing a site for a waste operation is the general business uses such as B1, B2, B8 etc. By checking with the Environment Agency it is possible that planning permission will not be needed.
Is it necessary to have a pre-application meeting with a Planning Officer?
What Planning Use Type do I need for a waste activity?
What is a Planning Design and Access Statement?
Will the planning application be determined at Local or County Level?
What Planning Use Type do I need for an Industrial Process Activity?
What supporting documents will I need for my planning application?
Case Study - Inert Waste Recovery Planning Application
Building Regulations Application
Planning Application for Battery Storage Facility
Why You Should Never be Pushy with a Planning Officer
Permitted Development Applications
Retrospective Planning Applications
It is not obligatory to have a pre-planning meeting with your local planning office. Whilst you can do no harm in having a pre-application application meeting, you quite often find that:
So on the whole, it is neither desirable or sensible to submit for pre-application advice. It might give you a few ideas, but it takes up time, lacks detail and can be misleading.
A good thing to look out for when choosing a site for a industrial process activity is the general business uses such as B1, B2, B8 etc. By checking with the Environment Agency it is possible that planning permission will not be needed.
For example a business remanufacturing plastics items from recycled plastic pellets may well not need planning permission if one of the above established uses is in place.
No. But you would be wise to make background checks before you proceed. Permit applications and planning applications can be run in tandem, to save time.
Retrospective planning permission is when you apply for planning permission after you have completed the build / alterations. The chances of getting planning permission are jus the same as pre-emptive planning applications, but of course if planning is not granted then you will have to undo what you have done. Which could work out very expensive.
A retrospective application also demonstrates to the planning authority that you have not followed the correct course, and in some cases we feel that planning officers may consider this an affront to their authority (whether right or wrong).
SWEL undertook a planning application for a large landscaping bund (a waste recovery operation), there were various supporting document required including visual impact assessment and transport assessments, design and access and flood risk.
A major sticking point for particular application was the volume of traffic generated by the proposed development. In conclusion SWEL were able to satisfactorily prove a 2.5% increase in HGV traffic on the local highway which was deemed as minor increase by the determining planning authority.
Change of use from commercial to residential is now classed as permitted development . Although you need to apply for building regulation application.
A design and access (DAS) statement is a short report accompanying and supporting a planning application. They provide a framework for applicants to explain how a proposed development is a suitable response to the site and its setting, and demonstrate that it can be adequately accessed by prospective users.
Planning Application Consultants Bristol
Planning Applications Consultants London
Planning Applications Consultants Exeter
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S.D. Content Planning Consultants Bristol - 01173 270 092 Exeter - 01398 331 258 London - 02076 920 670 |
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