Most local planning authorities offer a pre-application service. You describe what you want to do, planning officers give you their feedback, and you find out about problems before you have paid for a full set of reports and drawings.
It is not compulsory, and it is not free. But for anything contentious or costly it is often the best money you will spend. We prepare the request, handle the conversation with the council, and tell you in plain English what the response means.
When it helps
- The principle of development is uncertain, for example on Green Belt or countryside land
- The site is sensitive: heritage assets, trees, flood risk, wildlife or close neighbours
- The scheme is big enough that a refusal would be expensive
- You want to know which reports the council will actually require before you commission them
- A previous scheme was refused and you want to test a revised approach
What we do
- Agree a clear strategy: what to ask the council, and what to show them
- Prepare the pre-application submission, including a supporting statement and the plans needed (we work with architects and designers, or with yours)
- Attend meetings with planning officers, where they are offered
- Write up the council’s advice in plain English, with what it means and what we recommend
- Recommend a realistic next step, which might be to proceed, to change the scheme, or to stop
How it works
Agree the question
We work out what you actually need to learn from the council, and whether its pre-application service is the right way to learn it.
Prepare the submission
We pull together the site information, a concept layout or sketch scheme, and a short statement setting out the case.
Engage with the council
We make the request, deal with the council’s fee and attend any meeting with officers.
Make sense of the advice
We review the response with you, explain what it does and does not mean, and recommend what to do next.
Worth knowing
Pre-application advice is not binding. The council can reach a different view when a formal application arrives, particularly after consultation with neighbours and statutory bodies, or if the application goes to committee. It is still a strong indicator.
Councils charge for the service. Fees and response times vary widely between authorities and with the size of the scheme. We tell you the council’s fee and expected timescale before you commit.
For larger schemes, talking to neighbours and the parish or town council early is usually worth the effort. We can help you plan that.
Common questions
Is pre-application advice worth the council’s fee?
For anything contentious or expensive, usually yes. It is far cheaper to learn about a problem at this stage than after a refusal. For a simple scheme where the answer is clear it may not be needed, and we will say so.
Does the council have to follow its pre-application advice?
No. The advice is given without prejudice to the formal decision. In practice it carries real weight, provided the scheme and the policies have not changed.
Can I skip pre-application and apply straight away?
Yes. Many straightforward applications go in without it. Whether it is worth doing depends on how much is at stake and how uncertain the answer is.
This page is general information, not legal or professional advice on your site. Planning policy and rules change, so we check the current position for every project.