Planning advice and enquiries

Check if you need planning permission for the work you want to do before you submit an application. Find out about our pre-application advice services.

Do I need permission?

If you're thinking of doing any improvement works to your property, garden or surroundings find out if you need planning permission at Planning Portal: do you need permission?

Need advice?

If you need planning permission, or believe you do, we offer a high-quality pre-application service offering professional advice on the likely acceptability of development proposals, including whether planning permission is required or not.

If you wish to speak with a Planning Officer in person, Contact Planning to make an appointment.

Apply for pre-application advice

Why choose our pre-application service?

Our pre-application service will help you find out if your proposal is likely to be acceptable without the expense of making a formal planning application.

If we feel we couldn't support a subsequent application, we will tell you why and outline any solutions or recommendations to overcome our concerns.

How to obtain pre-application advice

Pre-application enquiries should be submitted electronically at Apply for pre-application advice.

Advice provides detailed analysis of all the key planning issues. This will be provided after consultation with a range of consultees. In addition, we will also advise on validation requirements, Section 106 Obligations and, EIA Screening and Scoping Opinions. The target for a response is 42 days.

Strategic development projects

For strategic development projects, a bespoke pre-application service will be provided, with the scope and timescales agreed with the customer as appropriate to a particular project.

Householder service

This service advises if planning permission and/or building regulations approval is required and whether a proposal would be acceptable. The target for a response is 21 days.

Minerals and waste proposals

Due to the complexity of such proposals it is often not possible to assess all the likely planning and environmental issues within a relatively short period of time. As such, separate timescales will be agreed on a case by case basis.

What happens following submission?

Upon receipt of your enquiry, it will be acknowledged and given a unique reference. The acknowledgement will inform you of the date by which you can expect to receive a response and the name and contact details of the case officer who will be dealing with your enquiry.

Pre-application fees

Residential developments

Number of units	Fee
100 or more	£3,500
30 to 99	£2,500
10 to 30	£1,800
1 to 9	£100 per unit

Non-residential developments

Development size or type	Fee
10,000 sqm or 2ha+	£3,200
1,000-9,999 or 1 to 2 ha	£2,250
>500 - 1,000 or 1ha	£750
<500	£250
Retail >1,000	£3,200
No floor space created	£100
Change of use	£100

Minerals and waste developments

Development size or type	Fee
15ha+ or 50,000 T+	£4,000
1 ha or 49000 T	£3,000
Minor minerals works	£300

Agricultural developments

Development type	Fee
General	£50
Intensive livestock	£1,500

Other developments

Development type	Fee
Householder developments	£50
Adverts	£50
Listed building consent	£50
Telecoms	£200

Other services

Development type	Fee
Compliance with conditions/s106	£200
Planning performance agreement	10% of planning fee
S.73/replan of an approved application	20% of pre application planning fee

Planning performance agreements

The service is happy to enter into Planning Performance Agreements (PPA's) in relation to certain types of development projects. These will normally relate to Major, Large Scale Major and other complex development proposals at the discretion of service management. They can be entered into at any stage of a development timeline, however it is normally most appropriate to do so at the commencement of the formal pre-application stage.

Whilst the entering into of a PPA does not mean that a planning application will automatically be recommended for approval the key purpose of a PPA is to seek to effectively project manage key events and timescales associated with a development proposal. In particular a PPA will normally seek to deliver:

a dedicated project lead of Senior Planner level or above
agreement of a Project Vision
the establishment of a dedicated project team with named project leads across all required disciplines
establishment of regular project meetings as required
establishment of agreed key project milestones and key events
focussed consultee response times
meetings with Senior Service Management as required

The service seeks to ensure simplicity of approach in relation to the required paperwork and general approach to PPA governance and a template PPA is available on request. The charge for entering into a PPA is normally 10% of the relevant planning application fee.

Design Review Service

As part of our pre-application advice service detailed above, and as part of the assessment of subsequent planning applications, major residential schemes are considered at our in-house Design Review Service to assess schemes against the Building for Life requirements of County Durham Plan Policy 29.

However, and in order to assist applicants further, we offer an Enhanced Design Review Service which, in addition to written feedback, also provides applicants with a visual urban design-based guidance note setting out how specific aspects of the development could be improved and how elements of a scheme can be amended in order to achieve acceptable (amber or green) Building for Life scores. A follow-up workshop session is also offered to allow for a discussion and resolution of the issues identified in the guidance note. The service is only available where there is an existing pre-application enquiry, or live planning application where a PPA has been entered into.

The fees for this service are as follows: