Planning pre-application advice

Pre-application advice is an important part of the planning process and we welcome early discussions before you submit a planning application

Introduction

Pre-application advice is an important part of the planning process and we welcome early discussions before you submit a planning application.

This can help you by:

  • giving you advice about the acceptability of your proposed development
  • identifying any problems which you may need to solve
  • identifying financial contributions
  • avoiding abortive work
  • providing greater certainty about your application
  • speeding up the application process

information

This process cannot help you determine if Planning Permission is required or not. You can find advice on this on the Planning Portal. The Planning Portal allows you to explore interactive houses which provide guidance on many common householder projects. You can find more information on our page Find out if you need planning permission.

It is important to find out if you need planning permission before you make improvements or changes to a property. If you go ahead without permission, you may end up having to put things back to how they were. There is a charge of £65 for this service. We aim to complete these within 14 working days.

Please complete Do I need planning permission (PDF) form to help us decide whether your proposal requires Planning Permission.

Level of Service

There are nine levels of pre-application advice available. These are dependent on the size, type and complexity of the development you are proposing. Unless otherwise stated, the fees for this service are fixed.

Apply

If you would like to apply for pre-application, please complete this form:

Growth Charter

Somerset Council has an ambition to support and facilitate appropriate business and housing growth within the county. Somerset Council have also adopted a Charter to support this ambition. You can read the Charter and its commitments here.

Quality Review Panel

For developments in the Somerset West Planning area (excluding minerals and waste applications), use of The Somerset Quality Review Panel is encouraged early on in the planning application process. Further information is available on the Somerset Quality Review Panel page.

Planning Performance Agreements

For some major applications, we encourage the use of Planning Performance Agreements  to ensure the best outcomes for everyone. The agreement sets out how the developer and the council will approach the application process, the resources to be allocated and the timescales.

Advice from Historic England

Historic England offer a separate pre-application service for applications where they would be a statutory consultee.

If the proposed planning application affects:

  • designated heritage assets
  • listed building consent
  • faculty consent
  • scheduled monument consent

You can use this service to check the likely response from Historic England.

For further information and advice from Historic England, please visit Extended Pre-Application Advice (historicengland.org.uk).

Advice from the Environment Agency

The Environment Agency offer a separate pre-application service.

If the proposed development site is:

  • a hectare or more
  • in flood zones two or three
  • close to a watercourse
  • on potentially contaminated land

You can use this service to check the likely Environment Agency response at planning stage.

For further information and advice from the Environment Agency, please visit Planning: a guide for developers (gov.uk).

Last updated: December 5, 2024

Next review due: June 5, 2025

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