Preparing your planning application

Before you start gathering plans and documents, make sure you’re applying for the right type of permission based on your property, address and the work you want to carry out.

You may need:

• Householder planning consent – for home improvements or small extensions to a house.
• Full planning permission – for new builds, major changes or any alterations you want to make to a flat.
• Listed Building Consent – for alterations to listed buildings.
• Lawful Development Certificate – to confirm work doesn’t need planning permission.

The council offers a pre-application planning advice service to help you understand local requirements before submitting a formal application.

Why it’s worth doing:

• you’ll find out what information we’ll need
• you can get early feedback on design and layout
• you’ll understand likely issues before you commit to full plans
• it can save you time and money in the long run.

You don’t have to hire a professional, but many homeowners find it helpful to work with an architect, surveyor or planning agent.

They can:

• prepare drawings that meet technical standards
• advise on design, policy and neighbour considerations
• submit and manage your application on your behalf.

If you choose to prepare your own plans, make sure they’re drawn to scale and clearly labelled.

Essential documents

When submitting your application it is important that you include all the necessary documents. This helps us understand what you want to do, and will speed up the decision-making process.

Most planning applications need the following:

• Application form - this can be completed and submitted online
• Location plan – showing your site and surrounding properties (to scale)
• Site plan – showing boundaries, new work, access and trees
• Existing and proposed drawings – floor plans, elevations and sections
• Ownership certificate – confirming who owns the land
• A statement that sets out the proposals in detail - including materials and finishes
• Supporting documents – such as flood risk, heritage or ecology reports if required

View and download our validation checklists

Find out exactly what is needed for each type of application:

Householder Planning Permission >>

Full Planning Permission >>

Additional validation checklists

Further national and local validation requirements >>

Ways you can speed up your application

Using the following formats will make it quicker for us to validate your planning application.

File names for drawings

Use the following format file names and descriptions:

• File name: [drawing number] [drawing name].pdf
• File description: [drawing number] [drawing name]

For example:

• File name: P01 Rev 1 Proposed Ground Floor Plan.pdf
• File description: P01 Rev 1 Proposed Ground Floor Plan

File names for supporting reports

For supporting reports you should reflects the name used within the validation list, followed by the site address.

For example: The planning statement for an application relating to the Brent Civic Centre should be named: Planning Statement Brent Civic Centre.pdf

Planning application fees are set nationally, but they’re paid to the council when you apply.

You can use the Planning Portal fee calculator to estimate what your application will cost.

We also charge for:

• Pre-application advice
• Land Charges
• Copies of historical decision notices or plans

• Submitting incomplete or incorrect plans.
• Forgetting ownership certificates or site boundaries.
• Starting work before permission is granted.
• Not including all the required supporting documents.
• Ignoring local design policies or guidance.