Planning permission frequently asked questions

Find answers to some of our frequently asked questions regarding planning permission.

Do I need planning permission?

You can find information on the planning rules for more than 50 common home building projects on the national Planning Portal website.

If you still don’t know if you need planning permission or not, then you can submit a pre-application advice or permitted development enquiry.

We do not need full plans for this service, just an idea of what you are thinking of. Hand drawn plans with rough measurements are fine. We will also need a plan of where the building would be.

A planning officer will look at the information you have sent and give you a response within 15 working days.

There is a charge for this service. If planning permission is needed you will be given advice on what information to submit to get an application through the planning process.

I have submitted my application but haven’t heard anything yet, how long will it take?

We are receiving a large number of applications at the moment. This means it is taking longer than it normally would to deal with them. If you haven’t heard from us after two weeks from when you sent your application, then please get in touch. 

My neighbour is doing some works, have they applied for planning permission?

Not all work needs planning permission. Some can be done using permitted development rights. If you feel a neighbour is having work done that does need permission, then use our online search to check for recent planning applications.

If you cannot find anything then you can contact our planning enforcement team.

What class use is my property?

We do not keep information on what a property can be used for (class use). We are only told if a change of use application is sent to us.

The Planning Portal website has more information on use classes. It will also tell you if you need to apply to change the use of a building or not. 

How can I find out if a property is in a Conservation Area, has any Tree Protection Orders or is listed?

You can use our My Local Area search to find information about a property.

Historic England has a register of Listed Buildings (opens in new window).

The My Local Area search tool is an excellent resource for finding out about property information.

Historic England also provide a register of Listed Buildings (opens new window)

Do I need permission to carry out works to a tree with a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) or in a Conservation Area?

Yes. You can apply online for permission to carry out work to a tree with a TPO or in a Conservation area.

Apply for permission to carry out work to a tree

Where can I obtain a layout of the drains on my property?

We do not have information about the position of drains for homes in the district.

This information will be on the deeds to your property, held by your solicitor.

If you need water and sewage plans then contact the Mapping Team at Severn Trent on 0345 6016616. You will have to pay for this service. 

I need a copy of an agreement, where can I find them?

I need to request verification of the conditions on a planning application

Because of a significant increase in our workload, at the moment we do not answer requests checking the status of planning conditions. This is so we can focus on checking and registering new planning applications.

You can look at the status of conditions by using our free planning application search.

We will provide this service again in the future, but there will be a charge.