Determining planning applications
Contents
- Determining planning applications
- Changes to applications and negotiating
Changes to applications and negotiating
The applicant can suggest changes to their application before we make a formal decision and we will decide whether or not to accept those changes. We may also ask the applicant to consider changing part of the application (e.g. to overcome an objection).
If you want to submit an application, we can provide basic guidance and negotiate with you beforehand, but bear in mind we can't redesign proposals and plans on your behalf. To get advice you must use our pre-application advice service.
Applicants shouldn't rely on negotiation during the application process for issues that should be resolved before submitting an application - we can't enter into protracted discussions about how an unacceptable proposal can be changed.
If you have an agent or adviser submitting an application on your behalf, we'll communicate exclusively with them.
Timely decisions
We need to make planning decisions within timescales set by the government, which is in the best interests of applicants, anyone being consulted and the wider public - so we can't engage in protracted negotiations.
If we don't decide in time (and an alternative time period hasn't been agreed), the applicant can appeal to the Secretary of State - meaning we lose the opportunity to make a decision locally. If the government believes this is an ongoing issue, they can ask the Planning Directorate to decide all our applications.
There is also a financial risk to us under the planning guarantee for application fees to be refunded in certain situations if we have failed to issue a decision in time so we need to minimise these risks.
We can't take into account an applicant's costs when deciding whether or not to negotiate with them.
Use our pre-application advice service to avoid these risks.
Negotiations
We will start negotiations if appropriate. You should not submit amendments or additional information once an application is valid, unless our case officer has asked you to.
We will consider if:
- changes are likely to result in a materially different development and a new application will be needed
- changes make the development acceptable without raising other issues
- we will need to re-consult on or re-publicise the application
Applications are categorised as follows:
| Proposal | Negotiation or decision | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptable as submitted | Approve | Not applicable |
| Unacceptable as submitted - could be made acceptable with minor amendments (without the need for further consultation) | Consider negotiation | A time extension needs to be agreed |
| Unacceptable as submitted - could be made acceptable with additional information being provided or minor amendments (with further consultation needed) | Consider negotiation | A time extension needs to be agreed. When deciding whether or not to offer negotiation, we will check if pre-application advice has been used - if not, we will normally ask you to use this facility rather than agreeing to negotiate |
| Unacceptable as submitted - the principle of development cannot be supported or the amount of change required would be significant | Refuse | Not applicable |
The case officer is empowered to make a decision on whether or not to negotiate changes to a planning application. They will do so on a case-by-case basis in consultation with their colleagues. This helps avoid applicants incurring additional costs if there is only a limited prospect of an approved application.
Last updated 12 December 2024