Planning consultant in Barking and Dagenham

Householder grants, speed and the prior approval trap

In the latest twelve months the council decided 388 householder applications and granted 66.5 per cent. Every one was decided within the statutory or agreed period, a record of 100 per cent. Minor applications show a grant rate of 71 per cent from 169 decisions.

That also shows in how little time our advice usually needs. A householder case in this borough is decided on the clock, so the work is front-loaded: the route, the sections and levels, the statement and the validation check. Once those are right, the application goes in once and is answered once.

Those figures describe the borough, not your case, and they do not forecast a decision. They do show an officer team that decides on time, so a poor application cannot hope to be waved through while the clock runs out.

The sharper number is the larger home extension prior approval. In the year to March, 10 were granted and 36 refused. Owners reach for that route because it looks cheaper and quicker, and a consultant's first job is often to say whether a householder application or a lawful development certificate is the safer way to the same extension.

Designations that move the route

The borough has 4 conservation areas, 3 Article 4 directions and 49 listed entries, with 14 per cent of the area covered by green-belt polygons. For most owners the questions are therefore about design and neighbours more than heritage.

If a change of use is involved, the question to settle early is whether the existing use is already lawful, which we answer with evidence before a client spends on drawings.

We also keep an eye on neighbours. A householder scheme in a dense street of terraces turns on outlook and daylight to the next door windows, and a statement that measures the relationship in the terms the council uses gives the officer less reason to ask for changes.

Where a case does touch a designation, the statement names it and explains the effect. Where it does not, we say so in a line and move on.

What you receive and when we advise against applying

You receive the route recommendation in writing, a planning statement, a validation checklist against the local list and, if needed, the sheets themselves. The same team draws our planning drawings so statement and sheets agree.

Sometimes the honest advice is that a smaller scheme has a better chance. We say that before you pay for a full set, and we have no interest in submitting an application we think is weak. If a decision goes against you, our planning appeals service reads the notice first and tells you whether to appeal or revise.

Fees and deadlines

The council's householder fee is £548 under the current national table, and a householder appeal must be lodged within 12 weeks of the notice. Our own fee is separate.

There is no list price for this advice: send the address, we carry out the free constraints check and you receive a fixed quote before any work begins. Statements and sheets for Barking and Dagenham cases pass a second chartered technologist before they go to the council, and if the officer asks for changes we redraw without charge until approval. See the national guide at planning consultant, or architectural drawings in Barking and Dagenham.