Pre-application advice

We offer pre-application advice as a service for anyone who wants to understand what considerations would be given to a planning application.

This can help you through the planning application process quickly and efficiently and result in a higher quality development overall. It can identify any planning policies that may apply, potential constraints and possible solutions, at the outset of your project.

You can also check whether permitted development rights exist for your project, as these do not cover all areas of Tamworth.

There is a fee for these services (see charges below) due to the amount of work involved, so please ensure you have read through the planning guidance first, where all the basics are covered. This is an excellent starting point as to what you can do without planning permission and what your proposals will need to consider.

Our design guidance for Tamworth is also an excellent resource.

The pre-application advice service won’t discuss whether any particular proposals will be granted planning permission as the formal application process involves rigorous assessment and input from a variety of parties.

Any views expressed by our planning officers are given in good faith based on their knowledge of the policies and standards at that time, and without prejudice to any future planning decisions.

You may need to seek private professional help for complex cases – our service isn’t designed as an alternative to area specific experts.

Our pre-application service is broken down into two areas:

Help for householders

Pre-application advice for householders can include:

  • Details of any relevant planning policies which apply
  • Any constraints around flood risk, conservation and heritage, access etc
  • Help on issues that might impact the determination of a planning application and suggestions for improvement where possible
  • Comments on the preparation, content and presentation of an application
  • Any further information that will be required to validate a planning application

Charges

  • Domestic enquiry (is planning permission needed?) - £64
  • Householder developments -£66

Help for non-householders

In addition to all the advice given to householders (please see above), pre-application advice for non-householders can also include:

  • Relevant planning history
  • Potential mitigation measures
  • Indication whether Section 106 of the Planning Act would apply
  • Advice on other organisations it might be worth consulting with
  • Information on how long it might take for your planning application to be processed

Charges

  • Establishing lawful use of property/land - £111
  • Change of use of land or buildings to non-residential use - £111
  • Construction of car parks, service roads (where work is required for a purpose incidental to existing land use) - £91
  • Advertisements - £64
  • Retail fronts - £64
  • Minor housing developments (1-9 dwellings, 0-999 sqm commercial where identified, or up to 0.5ha residential, 1 ha non-residential) - £277
  • Small scale major developments (10-29 dwellings, or 1000-2999 sqm commercial where identified, or 0.5-1 ha residential, 1-2ha non-residential) – £554
  • Medium scale major developments (30-49 dwellings, or 3000-49999 sqm commercial where identified, or 1-2ha residential, 2-5ha non-residential) - £1,108
  • Large scale major developments (50+ dwellings, 5000 sqm+ commercial where identified, or 2ha+ residential, 5ha+ commercial) - £2,216

Requesting pre-planning application advice

So that we can provide the best possible advice, we will need various information about your proposal, including size, layout, proximity to other buildings, impact assessments where applicable, drawings and photos. The more detail you provide, the better advice we can give.

Please request pre-planning application advice by completing this form.

Timescales

We process most pre-applications and give you feedback within four weeks.

For more complex cases, more time might be needed. We aim to provide the advice within six weeks.

Planning officers will usually carry out an unaccompanied site visit – this will not take the place of any detailed surveys that might be needed at application stage.

For complex, non-householder cases, we may involve people from other agencies to ensure our response considers all relevant matters. Consultees may apply their own charges.

A meeting may also be requested for more complex cases.

For more help regarding our pre-application services, please call us on 01827 709709, or email planningadmin@tamworth.gov.uk.