Validation Requirements for Planning Application

[Ferdinand]

We have not discussed Planning Authority "Validation Requirements" on ebuild or Buildhub, and it is one step in the Planning process that can delay a PA or trip us up.

 

Validation Requirements are things a Planning Authority requires before they will accept that a Planning Application is fit to be processed, and have recently become more extensive. There are national and local requirements, and they can onerous, and sometimes spurious. Councils may now have a "Validation Requirements" checklist. The one for my own Planning Authority is a bundle of checklists for different types of Application, and is 42 pages long  - the answer to Life, the Universe etc.

 

One thing that may be affected is the start of the period for public comments; another is the end date by which the PA is required to have decided on your Planning Application.

 

A couple of decades ago a Planning Application would just be "Registered", and further information requested. Now that we have a target culture in local government, there is a temptation to make sure that the PA has been Validated in detail as that extends the end date and makes the target easier to achieve.

 

I have attached a copy of my own LPA's Validation Checklist for Full Planning Applications as a (slightly misformatted) PDF.

 

Ferdinand

 

ashfield-district-council-2017-validation-list-full-and-major.pdf

Edited October 8, 2017 by Ferdinand

[Ferdinand]

These are the top level Local and National requirements for Validation in my local Council's checklist.

 

It is not as frightening as it looks, as there are a number of items which only apply to eg industrial developments. This is excerpted from the checklist document attached to the previous post. And at least it is (I hope) comprehensive  .

 

An Application for Planning Permission – Full Applications (development less than 1000 sq metres or less than 1 hectare and between 1 and 9 residential units)

 

Please note – although only 1 set of documents is required, we reserve the right to request additional copies to aid consultation

 

National Requirements – see glossary for detailed descriptions

• Application form – completed in full

• Ownership Certificate/notice – see below for definition of certificates

• A Site Location Plan- outline the site area in red and any other land owned in blue. To scale 1:250 or 1:12500

• Existing and Proposed elevations, floorplans, site sections, finished floor and site levels, proposed layout and roof plans to scale 1:50 or 1:100 with measurements in metric

• Agricultural Holdings Certificate

• Relevant fee

• Where Ownership Certificates B, C or D have been completed, notice(s) must be given and/or published

• Design and Access Statement – if within designated areas (eg conservation areas, world heritage sites) where there are 1 or more dwellings proposed or the floor area of the proposal is greater than 100m2

 

Local Requirements– see glossary for detailed descriptions

 

• All plans/drawings - must have critical dimensions marked on the plan

• Additional Plans – may be required

• Coal Risk Assessment – if the site is within a Coal Mining referral area

• Environmental Impact Assessment

• Land Contamination Statement – for all new developments on former petrol filling stations, former landfill sites and former industrial sites

• Landscape Visual Impact Assessment – for proposals in open countryside or sensitive locations (at the Planning Officers discretion), including areas adjacent to residential properties or close toa Public Right of Way.

• Site Waste Management Plan – for all new housing developments and all major developments

• Transport Assessment – required for

  • Residential developments over 80 units

  • Class B1 (Light industrial/Office) with a gross floor area exceeding 2500m2

  • Class B2 & B8 (General Industrial and Warehousing/Distribution with a gross floor area exceeding 6000m2

  • Class A1 (Retail) with a gross floor area exceeding 1000m2

  • Class A2 & A3 (Financial & Professional Services/Restaurants/Cafes) with a gross floor area exceeding 2500m2

  • Class A4 & A5 Drinking Establishments/Hot Food Takeaways) with a gross area exceeding 600m2

  • Other types of development with 50 plus vehicle movements in any hour

• Flood Risk Assessment – for developments within Flood Zones 2 & 3 and for all developments over 1 hectare in Flood Zone 1

• Ventilation/Extraction Statement – for all proposals within Use Class A3, A4 and A5

• Parking and Access Arrangements – should be marked on the block plan

• Photographs – may be sufficient for existing elevations with metric measurements clearly marked

• Arboricultural survey/Arboricultural Implications Study – if trees within a conservation area or covered by a Tree Preservation Order will be affected. Or if mature trees are present within the development site area

• Heritage Statement – if the site is in a conservation area or a listed building

• Demolition Statement – for any structure/outbuilding over 50m3 proposed for demolition

• Structural Survey – required for all barn conversions and major demolition

• Photographs – to support any application

• Protected Species Survey/Biodiversity Survey and Report – see the glossary for links to find out whether a survey may be required

• Renewable Energy and Climate Change – see glossary for detailed information

• Sequential and Exception Testing – For all new commercial uses outside and on the edge of the designated town centres, and on sites not in accordance with the current Development Plan

• Ventilation/Extraction Statement – for the use of premises for purposes within use classes A3 – Restaurants and Cafes, A4 – Drinking Establishments and A5 – Hot food takeaways

 

Certificate A – Sole Ownership and no agricultural tenants - This should only be completed if the applicant is the sole owner of the land to which the application relates and there are no agricultural tenants.

Certificate B – Shared Ownership (All other owners/agricultural tenants known) - This should be completed if the applicant is not the sole owner, or if there are agricultural tenants, and the applicant knows the names and addresses of all the other owners and/or agricultural tenants.

Certificate C – Shared Ownership (Some other owners/agricultural tenants known) - This should be completed if the applicant does not own all of the land to which the application relates and does not know the name and address of all of the owners and/or agricultural tenants.

Certificate D – Shared Ownership (None of the other owners/agricultural tenants known) - This should be completed if the applicant does not own all of the land to which the application relates and does not know the names and addresses of any of the owners and/or agricultural tenants.