Planning permission – approach to a project with multiple stages

We want to do several things to our 1920s property in the next 5 or so years.

– move driveway to front (requires planning as classified road and with 15m of a junction)
– demolish adjoining 1950’s garage and build new kitchen extension which slightly increases floorplan of existing house (2.5mx3m) – should be within permitted rights
– build new garage / nice shed at end of garden – should be within permitted rights but neighbour might raise an objection as they have a window on that wall (I believe its a garage window and is currently looking at a 2m+ high leyalandi hedge which I want to remove

Should we put everything on a single planning application so it is all ‘logged’ with the council even though some of the work will not be started for a few years or would it be better to do it stage by stage.

Is there any disadvantage to requesting planning for what (I believe) is within permitted development rights?

I’d apply for the lot in one hit. Provided you get the consent you need then once you’ve commenced the works the remaining phases remain consented permanently. If you apply in stages you’ll end up paying more in application fees plus will have uncertainty risk.

Why apply for consent for the PD element? A neighbour objecting doesn’t affect the PD rights, if it is PD. Check the GDPO for the rules on heights within x distance of boundary etc. Make sure you’re not in Conservation Area, National Park which changes your PD rights.

And once you have commenced the works make sure you keep the evidence of it (building inspection) in case it stalls for a few years.

I have a case going where work was started in 1999 which I am now trying to carry on to completion but I cannot prove it other than the new bit being there and the planning office are insisting the work was never started against the plan so I can’t carry on with original plan.
Where I live has become a National Park after 1999 and allowable increases to property are now much lower than the original plan.

Thanks guys, not a conservation area or national park. Re neighbour, fully intended to stay within the height restriction under PD for an outbuilding on a boundary, I’m just a little concerned about the ‘right to light’ rules as there is a window facing that boundary. I think its a unhabited room so there shouldn’t be a case, and the fact no issue has been raised about the existing hedge which will be replaced

Re – driveway, I have read online planning is unlikely to be granted close to a junction, however as a corner plot, I’ve seen several in the local vicinity with the same configuration, and most of my immediate neighbours have a drive within 15m of the junction.

Would having the drive done constitute enough evidence of starting the work, even if the old garage is still standing and extension not started?

The only development which requires consent is the change to the driveway?

If everything else can be done under permitted development, then I would not muddy the waters applying for permission for it. Get consent to move the driveway and then proceed from there – it looks like you want to do that first anyway?

I daresay that this is where a convo with a local planning consultant would be worth the investment.

We found getting all requests for Planning in one application to be the best method.

We had to revise a couple of small things, but the whole application in it’s entirety reads like you’ve not only thought about what it is you want… but also consideration for the land and neighbours too.

From my understanding of the planning rules I believe on the drive needs planning as the road is classified. The rest should be PD. Do you need to get someone from the council to confirm what you are doing is within PD? So you can be sure you aren’t going to get issues later on? This was why I thought to add it to the planning application. Belt and braces

From my understanding of the planning rules I believe on the drive needs planning as the road is classified.

We had an issue with an access route (new) for the farm a few years back.. it was onto a lane.

We had to get the Council to send a Highways chap along. Took loads of measurements and sighting measurements, it was passed but took another month to get that particular bit sorted.

One benefit if you do it all together is that council can see your whole plan (as mentioned above) and you get it signed off officially, so if you need confirmation in the future you have it, no issues for future valuations or when selling etc, as you say belt and braces. Sounds simple enough, speak with planners, you’ll probably do drawings for the works anyway, so good luck.
C

Do you need to get someone from the council to confirm what you are doing is within PD?

You don’t need to, you can just build provided you’re confident, but if you would feel happier you can ask the Council for a Certificate of Legality. It’s usually cheaper than than a planning application.

Bear in mind that Building Control is separate to Planning, and you still need approval.

I recently went through the planning permission process and it was outrageous. Planning officers contradicted each other and the rules, They as reluctant to offer advice and that which they did was often wrong. In the end I had to get my local elected member involved and he sorted it out. If I was starting out again I would pay a planning consultant who would save me time, stress and money.

Go to your council’s drop in session and talk through what you want to do and when. Have realistic timeframes. Sometimes, if doing a larger app with a staged construction programme, if you apply in one go for all of it you can get planning conditions that make the phased construction tricky, like prior to occupation conditions (X needs to be built prior to occupation) or prior to construcion (you need approval from X when actually you won’t be building it for 5 years and you don’t right now.)

It may be you just need to be honest with your intentions with the planners but they are fairly useless at the best of times. But I still see developers making things hard for themselves to save a couple of quid on a second application which then costs them way more later down the line.