How long does planning permission take?
Planning permission is often required for any work involving changes to the exterior of your property (or in some cases such as listed properties this is also obligatory for internal works). At PLOT, we have successfully obtained planning permission in numerous London boroughs and throughout the country. Details of our successful permissions can be found on our updates page.
The type of application you need to submit depends on several factors, including:
- The type of building
- The size and nature of the work (e.g., an extension or new house).
- Whether the property is listed.
- For extensions, the size and materials used.
The type of application affects the process duration once the information is submitted to the council. A householder application to extend or alter a property has a determination period of 8 weeks. More complex or larger developments may take longer. Based on our experience, the time taken for the council to decide can exceed the statutory determination period. Therefore, we recommend starting the planning process early to avoid project delays.
Upon submission, there is a validation period where the council reviews the documents to confirm a decision date. This period is usually a few days but can be longer and would be in addition to the determination period.
Pre-application submissions can be used to get initial feedback from the council before making the planning application. While this feedback process has various options and timelines, it does not grant or refuse planning permission. A formal planning application will still be required and subject to the same time frames.
We can guide you through the process and advise you on the available options when submitting the application. Please contact us here to discuss your project.