Householder advice service

Get planning advice on domestic extensions and alterations. For example, lofts, windows, porches, garages and outbuildings, walls and fences, hard standings and access for vehicles, and satellite dishes. We can also advise on other considerations if your property is in a conservation area or listed. You cannot use this service for changes of use, flat conversions or advice around Houses in Multiple Occupation.

We offer two options for householder pre-application advice:

• a formal pre-application service - You submit a pre-application form. We’ll send you a full written response. This can take up to eight weeks.
• an informal pre-application appointment - A 20-minute online appointment to discuss your proposal with one of our planning officers. We’ll email you a summary of the meeting.

Our service means you can:

• make sure your proposal is in line with our planning policies and other guidance
• get advice to help you develop or change your proposal
• get advice on what to submit as part of your application
• get advice on revised schemes after a refusal, withdrawal, or dismissal at appeal
• get advice on how to resolve a planning breach, where an extension has been built without planning permission 

Some alterations don’t need planning permission. This is called ‘permitted development’. Find out about permitted development on the Planning Portal.

We cannot tell you if your proposal does not require planning permission. You may wish to apply for a Lawful Development Certificate for a proposed use or development.

Before applying for pre-application advice, you should read:

• the planning permission guidance on the Planning Portal
• our planning advice pages

The charge for this service is £290 (including VAT). You must pay this when booking or submitting your application.

If for some reason, we do not action your request, we’ll give you a refund minus the £20 administration fee.

To get pre-application advice, you must use our online form and provide:

• a site plan at scale 1:1250 so that we can identify your location. You can buy site plans on the Planning Portal
• photographs of your property - these must show the front, sides (where possible) and back (looking down your garden and back towards your home if appropriate). It’s also useful to provide photos of your neighbouring properties and street
• proposal plans, or proposal sketches showing the planned extensions

The advice we offer will depend on the detail within your application, so please provide much as you can. 

To use this form, you'll need to log in, or set up your My Account. Once logged in please choose “Pre-Application Advice-Householder” from the A-Z menu.