Get advice on your application
We are able to offer advice on your application before you submit it. This can help to identify issues with your application or when you might need to get specialist advice. It can help us to make a decision more quickly once you submit an application.
If you choose not to seek our advice before submitting an application, or choose not to take the advice given, your application may be refused without further negotiation.
To avoid confusion we do not provide pre-application advice over the telephone.
How to apply
Complete the pre-application advice form and return to us with any supporting information you think might be relevant.
Pre-Application Advice Form (From April 2024) - docx - 543 Kb
Within 20 working days of receiving all the relevant information we aim to:
- provide a full written response
- arrange a meeting if necessary and agree a timescale for a full written response
Charges for advice
From 1 April 2024 the charges are as follows:
Pre-Application Advice Charges 2024 - pdf - 207 Kb
We don't charge for the following advice:
- protected tree issues
- to Town and Parish Councils
- to other local authorities and County Councils
- to Registered Social Landlords
- development that directly benefits a disabled person
- small businesses (applies to applicants, not the agent, eligible to receive the full benefit of small business rate relief)
Freedom of information statement
We may get Freedom of Information or Environmental Information Regulations requests about pre-application advice that we have provided.
Under Environmental Information Regulations Section 12 (5) (f) pre-application advice will not be provided in response to requests unless explicit consent has been provided to enable disclosure.
Explicit consent means that the pre-application applicant must have actively consented to the future disclosure of the information provided.
In using this exemption the Local Authority will be required to carry out a Public Interest Test and, in some circumstances, the lack of explicit consent may be over ridden if the Public Interest Test shows that the Public Interest in disclosing the pre-application advice outweighs the interests in withholding it.
In cases where the Public Interest Test leads to full or partial disclosure personal data will still be protected by the Data Protection Act.
Information Commissioner’s Officer guidance on EIR Section 12 (5) (f) can be found at https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1638/eir_voluntary_supply_of_information_regulation.pdf