Charging for pre-application advice

Guidance Note:

In addition to determining applications for planning permission, advert consent, listed building consent and works to protected trees, the Development Management team is able to provide you with advice and information on a variety of topics.

In order for us to be able to sustain and improve our current levels of service, the Council charges for planning pre-application advice, in addition to the fees payable for the submission of applications.

Charges are made for pre-application advice, compliance checks and researching planning histories for permitted development restrictions.

This guidance note deals solely with the arrangements for handling pre-application advice.

The Planning Portal provides a paid advisory service, which operates independently of Dartford Borough Council.

The Council assumes no responsibility for advice provided by the a third party, nor issues arising from such advice on applications made or development undertaken. Please note that third party advice may not consider local circumstances, site-specific planning records, or local development plan policies. Dartford Borough Council offers its own pre-application advisory service, which does take these factors into account.

Why Seek Advice:

The Section encourages and welcomes the opportunity to provide advice before a planning application is made. There are considerable benefits in seeking advice before making an application as

• It gives you an opportunity to understand how our policies will be applied to your development
• It can identify at an early stage where there is a need for specialist input, for example about listed buildings, trees, landscape, noise, transport, contaminated land, ecology or archaeology
• It will assist you in preparing proposals for formal submission which, providing you have taken our advice fully into account, will be handled more quickly
• It may lead to a reduction in time spent by your professional advisors in working up proposals
• It may indicate that a proposal is completely unacceptable, saving you the cost of pursuing a formal application
• It may reduce the likelihood of amendments or additional information being needed for future planning applications

You may find it helpful to do some research into previous planning decisions at your site, or look at the Local Plan Policy and supplementary planning document (SPD) relevant to the proposal

What Are the Charges:

Free advice will continue to be provided only for advice prior to an application for

• Works to Trees covered by Tree Preservation Orders or located in Conservation Areas
• Works to facilitate access to public buildings for disabled persons
• Advice to Parish Councils, housing associations, residents associations, charities, voluntary / community groups and other local authorities

For all major applications, the Section will provide a service centred on meetings and discussion of the many and complex issues that large applications entail. There will be a charge which should be made prior to each meeting. Other enquiries may be dealt with in writing and a set charge will apply.

The scale of fees is based on the scale of the proposal and therefore the complexity of the advice.  There has also been an additional charge to allow for the specific input of the Urban Design Officer to pre-application advice on planning applications.  Please refer to below Fee Table:

Pre application advice

Meeting (Charged per hour or part thereof)

Letters

Charged per letter

Payment can be made by debit or credit card over the phone by calling 01322 343434.

Terms and conditions:

If the meeting is on site then travelling time and cost will be included in the assessment for the above charge. If further meetings are sought then a further fee will be levied at the above rate.

These fees cover administration costs and officers' time for research, assessment, a meeting as necessary and a written response.

All pre-application enquiries must be accompanied by the relevant fee otherwise advice will not be provided. Each project or separate site referred to in an enquiry will be charged at the appropriate rate.

You may request the cancellation of your pre-application request at any time. However, you are not guaranteed a fee refund.

Once the pre-application request has been allocated to a case officer, refunds will not be issued where the case officer has carried out work in preparation for a meeting or written response or where the case officer has drafted and/or provided a written response.  This is regardless of the content of the response and/or a request that the pre-application request be returned.

Officers reserve the right to respond to pre-application requests via a written response as opposed to a meeting where it is deemed more appropriate and in the interests of efficiency.   In these cases, the difference in the pre-application fee will be refunded.

Officers reserve the right to reject pre-application requests where it is deemed to be an inefficient use of officer time and/or there is no capacity in the team.

What You Will Need to Do:

If your enquiry is very straightforward, and is one where free advice is provided you may telephone the team for advice (telephone 01322 343203), Complete this form, or you may be able to find the information you need on the planning pages of our website.

For all other enquiries you will need to email us at planning.admin@dartford.gov.uk including the following as a minimum:

• Description of the nature and scale of development proposed and the uses to which land and buildings are to be put
• Full site address and location plan (1:1250 scale) with the site outlined in red
• Site history i.e: occupancy of the site
• Photographs of the site
• Sketch drawings providing details of the proposal. Floor plans for each floor of the proposed building together with at least sketch elevations that are sufficient to indicate the initial architectural approach and the materials proposed. Drawings should also show any adjacent buildings to identify the context of the scheme
• The appropriate fee

They may also need to be accompanied by an initial design and access statement, ecological, landscape, contamination, flood and transport assessments depending upon the location, nature and complexity of the development.

What We Will Do:

On receipt of your initial enquiry and fee, we will check the inquiry fits the correct classification and that the appropriate fee has been paid. 

Timescales:

An acknowledgement will be sent within three working days of a valid enquiry being received by the department, confirmation of the officer handling it and details of the timescale for a response.

• If it is for a householder matter requiring a written response (no meeting), we will aim to provide this response within a maximum of six weeks. If a meeting is requested, will aim to arrange to meet within four weeks and provide a follow up written response a maximum of four weeks after the meeting. 
• If it is for a minor development (not householder), were no meeting is requested, we will aim to provide a written response within eight weeks of receipt. Where a meeting is requested, this will be arranged as soon as possible and a follow-up written response provided a maximum of four weeks after that date, unless agreed otherwise.
• If it is for a major development, the Officer assigned to your matter will agree timescales with you including for any meetings and follow up written responses.

Any written reply setting out our advice will comprise the service for the standard charge. Further enquiries will be charged another fee.

If we do not have enough information to answer your enquiry then we will write to you by letter or email, setting out what information we need.

For meetings, the timing will depend upon the complexity of the scheme and the amount of work that will be needed prior to a meeting including any time necessary to obtain initial views of other interested parties. Attendance of other officers at the meeting, including specialist advisors, will be at the case officer's discretion and may incur an additional fee. Following the meeting, we will write to you confirming the advice given.

Advice is provided by an individual planning officer in liaison with appropriate colleagues, but it is agreed by a more senior officer before being issued.

The Council also encouraged Planning Performance Agreements (PPA) to provide a project management framework for handling a major planning application or complex applications. It may be more appropriate for the pre-application process to be included as part of the PPA

The Development Manager has the right to decline a request for pre-application advice where it is not considered either appropriate or necessary, or if there is no current capacity to deal with the pre-app.

Important Notes:

Disclaimer:

Any advice given by Council officers for pre-application enquiries does not constitute a formal response or decision of the Council as local planning authority or guarantee the grant of a planning permission.

Any views or opinions expressed are given in good faith, without prejudice to:

• any changes that may come to light after the advice is issued;
• the formal consideration of any planning application, which is subject to public consultation and decision by the Development Control Board or officers acting under delegated authority.

The Council will not be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising from or in connection with reliance on the advice.

The final decision on any application that you may then make can only be taken after the Council has consulted local people, statutory consultees and any other interested parties. Some consultees have their own charges for pre-application advice and developers will need to make their own arrangements with them. The final decision on an application will then be made by senior officers or by the Council's Development Control Board and will be based on all of the information available at that time.

You should therefore be aware that officers cannot guarantee the final formal decision that will be made on your application(s).

Any pre-application advice that has been provided will be carefully considered in reaching a decision or recommendation on an application; subject to the proviso that circumstances and information may change or come to light that could alter that position.

It should be noted that the weight given to pre-application advice will decline over time.

Pre-application confidentiality

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR), we may receive a request from a third party to disclose information regarding enquiries for pre-application advice or the advice given.

Information can only be withheld under the legislation if the information falls under an exemption (FOIA) or exception (EIR).  Before reaching a final decision on the request, we will consult with the applicant. The final decision on whether the information should be disclosed or withheld is the Council’s.