Pre-planning advice: what it is and when it saves you time
What pre-application advice gives you, what it costs in time and money, and when it is worth getting before you submit.
When a project is ambitious or sits somewhere sensitive, going straight to a full application is a gamble. Pre-application advice lets you test the water with the council first, and used well it saves weeks of wasted design work.
Pre-application advice is a service most councils offer where a planning officer reviews your proposal and gives an informal view on whether it is likely to be supported. It is not a decision, but it flags concerns early, when they are cheap to address.
It is most worthwhile for larger extensions, changes of use, unusual designs, or properties in conservation areas, where the outcome is genuinely uncertain. For a modest, clearly permitted project, it is often unnecessary.
The process involves preparing a proposal and drawings good enough for an officer to assess, submitting them, and waiting for written feedback. That feedback then shapes the final application, improving its chances.
We advise on whether pre-planning is worth it for your project, prepare what the council needs, and manage the application through to submission.
When pre-application advice pays for itself
It earns its cost when the outcome is genuinely uncertain: larger extensions, unusual designs, conservation areas, listed buildings, or a change of use with neighbours nearby. For a modest project comfortably within permitted development, it is usually unnecessary.
What you get back
A written officer view on whether the proposal is likely to be supported, and what would need to change. It is not a decision and it does not bind the council, but it tells you where the resistance sits before you commit to a full application.
- Fees vary by council, typically £100 to £500 for householder projects
- Responses usually take three to six weeks
- You need drawings good enough to assess, not final drawings
- The response is a material consideration you can quote later
Reading the response properly
Officers write carefully. Phrases like 'unlikely to be supported in its current form' name a specific problem, and addressing it directly is usually the difference between approval and refusal at full application.
The alternative route
Where the position is clearer, a lawful development certificate or a well-prepared application is faster and cheaper. We tell you which of the three applies to your property before you spend anything.
Where we come in
We confirm which route applies to your property in writing, prepare the drawings, and handle the application with the council. See planning applications, or get your drawings quoted with no obligation. If any application we submit is refused, you get a 100% refund within 5 days.
Routes, timescales, and what actually gets applications approved.