Summary Planning & Pre-contract enquires

Planning and Pre-Contracts Searches & Enquiries-

Part 1: Planning & Environmental considerations-

The need for planning permission-

Town and Country Planning Act ‘90 s 57(1)

 Planning permission is required for development



Development & permitted development-

Development-

Defined in TCPA ‘90 s55(1)

 A) the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under
land, OR
 B) the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land

Planning permission is required for each separately, even if going on at the same time/ place

 Planning permission is considered by the LA in the area, in its capacity as ‘Local Planning
Authority’
 There are exceptions which are known as ‘permitted development’, set out in the TCP
(General Permitted Development) (England) Order ‘15

Objections to application can only be considered if they relate to the material planning
considerations

Matters LPA will consider:

 The effect of the proposed development on road safety;
 The potential of the proposed development to cause disturbance, including
 increased traffic flow, to the neighbours or in the locality;
 The impact of the proposed development on the character of its surroundings; and
 Loss of light or over-shadowing if the loss is above certain criteria.

Cannot consider personal or private rights, like: Fear of losing property value, view or private rights
of way/drains/private easements/legal covenants

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What are building works?-

TCPA s55(1), building works include:

 Demolition of buildings
 Rebuilding
 Structural alterations of, or additions to, buildings
 Other operations normally undertaken by a person carrying on a business as a builder

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Building works which do not constitute development-

,Hence will no require planning permission

S 55(2)(a) TCPA expressly excludes from the scope of development the carrying out for the
maintenance, improvement or other alteration of any building works which:

o i) affect only the interior of the building OR do not materially affect the external
appearance of the building; and
o ii) do not provide additional space underground.

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GPDO 2015 and building works-

Even where the works falls within ‘building works’, it may be ‘Permitted development’

Found under GPDO ‘15 -

 Residential property – Sch 2 Part 1
 Commercial buildings – Sch 2 Part 2

Although, the LPA has the power to disapply these by making an Art 4 Direction

 small- scale building works to that property that would otherwise fall within the scope of
permitted development will not in fact do so.
 And a formal application for planning permission should be filed

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‘Material change in the use’?-

The use of a property is classified using the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order ‘87
(‘TCP(UC)O’), an excerpt of which is included in the PLP Handbook.

This lists various categories of use and specifies what each category includes. A use class is made up
of both a letter and a number (e.g. A1). A “material change of use” is one where the use of a
property is changed from one use class to another: e.g. a change from Class B1 to Class A3 or from
Class A1 to Class A3.

A change of use occurring within the same class – is NOT a material change, hence not development,
so no planning permission

 Eg: A1 - A3

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GPDO 2015 and material change in use-

These permitted changes of use are set out in Part 3 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO 2015.

Again, however, the LPA has the power to disapply them via an Article 4 Direction

 Hence will not be permitted development and planning permission will need to be applied
for

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Acting for the buyer – Spotting planning permission issues-

, Solicitor acting for a buyer raises questions about planning matters pre-contract

 Buyer takes on sellers liability – hence this must all be checked prior to the exchange of
contract
 Seller should be asked to correct any irregularities and resolution of any planning permission
issues may be dealt with as a special condition of the contract

Can request planning history from the LA

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Past works or change of use-

Any past works or change in use, must be checked by the buyers solicitor to ensure they were
permitted

 As long as checking any current uses were permitted

If there has been a breach by the seller – the buyers solicitor must ensure this is dealt with before
completion of the purchase by putting a special condition in the contract

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Future plans to carry out building works or change of use of the property-

To do this, the buyer must:

 check the current use class of the property and check if the proposed use amounts to a
“material change of use” and, if so, whether it is covered by the GPDO 2015. If the proposed
“material change of use” does not fall within the GPDO 2015, a formal application for
planning permission will be required;
 check if any proposed building works are covered by the GPDO 2015; if not, a formal
application for planning permission will have to be made.



For future plans – the buyer can submit an application for ‘outline’ planning permission – to
ascertain if the LPA is likely to approve the proposal

 further application will still have to be made later on for approval of any “reserved matters”
which may have been set out in the outline permission: e.g. the location of car parking or
the proposed landscaping.
 It is usual to have to submit a detailed application for approval of reserved matters within
three years of the grant of the outline planning permission.

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Breach of planning legislation – Enforcement Notices and time period for enforcement-

Enforcement notice-

Where there is a breach, the LPA can serve an Enforcement Notice, which will either:

 require that the land be restored to the condition it was in before the unauthorised
development occurred; or
 secure compliance with any conditions or limitations imposed by a planning permission.