2019-07-01 Homebuilding & Renovating

by Ken Dijksman

T

herhetoricalquestionI heara lotis:

“Howonearthdidtheygetplanning

permissionforthat?”Sometimesit’s

saidinjealousy,sometimesoutofsimple

astonishment,andsometimesindisgust.

Whysomehousesgetpermissionandothers

don’tis somethingofa mysterytothose

outsidetheindustry.Asa self-builder,the

moreyouknowaboutplanningpermissions

andpolicies– andwhysomeapplications

aregrantedandothersrefused– themore

likelyyouaretogetyourplansgetpassed.

Planningdecisionsarebasedonboth

nationalandlocalplanningpolicies—

namelytheNationalPlanningPolicy

Framework(NPPF),whichformsthe

foundationforlocalauthorities’localplans.

Thejargonis ‘materialconsiderations’—

thingsthatarerelevanttoplanningand

thataretakenintoaccountwhendecidinga

planningapplication.

Thefirstkeypointtonoteis that

planningdecisionsbasedonplanning

policiescanbeentirelydifferentdepending

onthelocationofa site.So,understanding

thecontextofa pieceoflandora property

is absolutelyessentialtograspingwhether

ornotplanningpermissionis likelyto

begranted.Differentpoliciesapplyin

differentareas;inotherwordstheplanning

policiesrelatedtoa siteononesideof

theroadmightbedifferentfromthose

ontheother.A greatexamplewouldbe

theplanningpoliciesina nationalpark:

Knowingtheconsiderationslikelyto win over

plannersintheareayouwant to buildis essential,

saysplanningconsultantKenDijksman

KendijKsman

Ken, a former

planning officer, is a

planningconsultant

andownerof

dijksman Planning

LLP. He is also the

author of The

Planning Game

The Build PLanningPermission

understanding

planning: How to get

your plans approved

they will be much more restrictive and

controlling than the policies in the area

outside it. The same will apply to other

designation areas such as conservation

areas, areas of outstanding natural beauty,

within the setting of listed buildings and in

locations with sensitive wildlife restrictions.

Tipping the balance

Planning is often described as a kind of

scale, known as the planning balance: some

matters have positive weight in favour of a

proposal and some matters weigh against.

There are some issues that are really not

relevant to planning, that aren’t ‘material’

and that will not carry any weight for or

against a proposal as far as the planning

authority is concerned. These are some of

the things that will neither help nor hinder

your case in favour of your new home or

extension, and include:

l Personal circumstances Everybody

has a very good reason why they should

betreateddifferentlyandwhytheyreally

shouldhavethehouseoftheirdreams.But

it is extremelyrareforindividualpersonal

circumstancestohaveanybearingon

whethersomethingis acceptableinterms

ofplanning.Thereareexamples:if someone

is severelydisabledandtherearegenuine

groundsforthemtobetreateddifferently

becauseofexceptionalneeds.Butin the

vastmajorityofcasesyourownpersonal,

financial,family,maritaloremotional

pressureswillhavezeroinfluencein terms

ofgettingplanningpermission.

lWhoyouarePlanningpermissionis

attachedtothelandandtheidentityofthe

personmakingtheapplicationis usually

irrelevant.It maybethecasethatan

applicationis requiredfora farmworker’s

cottage,whichsoundslikea personal

permission,butit’snot.It’saboutthe

needfora farmworkeranda dwellingnot

thespecificidentityofthatfarmworker.

Equallyyoumightapplyfora ‘grannyflat’

in yourgardenjustifiedonthebasisthat

ancillaryaccommodationis needed.The

identityoftheindividualsconcernedis

notrelevant.Thepermissionrelatestoa

as a

buil

mor

kno

plan

per

the

likel

are to be one

of the lucky

ones whose

plans get

passed

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