Pre-application discussions

Pre-application discussions

To help provide prospective developers with a consistent and high standard of service the Council now charges a fee for pre-application advice. Please use the form provided here:

Planning pre-application advice form

The Council considers that such discussions are primarily of benefit to the prospective applicant by identifying the relevant planning issues, the site history and planning policies relevant to the site, the supporting information required with the application and the range of other statutory consents that may be required. Also, where applicable, the possible requirements of any legal agreement can also be identified, so prospective applicants can arrange for legal obligations to be prepared and submitted with applications.

What type of developments will be covered by the charging arrangements?

Charges will apply to all meetings or exchanges of correspondence in respect of all new build, conversions or change of use proposals.

Charges will not apply to individual householder proposals (i.e. for extensions or alterations to a District resident's existing principal place of residence) or proposals which involve improving access for disabled people to their homes nor for advice on enforcement matters. Parish Councils will be allowed a 50% reduction in the charges in respect of their own proposals.

What matters can be covered in pre-application discussions?

The matters which could be subject of pre-application discussions include:

• The planning history of the site.
• Statutory designations applicable, such as conservation areas, listed buildings, AONB, protected trees, and SSSIs.
• Relevant planning policies applying together with other planning requirements such as car parking and open space standards.
• The forms, plans and supporting information necessary to provide a valid planning application.
• Provision of advice regarding the procedure, consultation arrangements and estimated timescale for processing the application.
• Provision of advice or other statutory consents that may be required and how they relate to the planning process.
• Any requirements for developer contributions to infrastructure improvements necessary to support the proposed development, for example affordable housing, play space, accessibility, primary health care, and education provision.
• Informal, and without prejudice, comments on the content, preparation and presentation of an application likely to satisfy the Council's planning policies.

No guarantee of a particular decision or even recommendation can be given.

What information will the Council require to assist effective pre-application discussions?

Planning officers are often asked to give advice on vague and undefined development proposals. It is difficult for planning officers to respond meaningfully if proposals are insufficiently clear.

Before meeting with developers or their agents, we expect them to think carefully about their proposals and to provide us in advance with some basic information. This helps all concerned use meeting time effectively and provide the best advice.

The following basic information should be provided with any request for pre-application advice, either by way of a meeting or by letter.

• description of the proposed development and schedule of users.
• a site location plan (scale 1:1250) with site boundary indicated.
• photographs and sketch drawings showing the site as existing, indicating buildings, trees and schedule of existing uses.
• outline of proposal (on plans scale 1:200 or similar);
• sketch drawings showing height/scale of development.
• for larger sites, other information may be required including information related to any necessary Environmental Impact Assessment.
• results of any preliminary consultations carried out by the prospective application with service providers (as necessary) - for instance highways, drainage, health and education).

What is the procedure for seeking paid pre-application advice and what standards of service you can expect?

1. If you have a proposal, you can contact us in a number of ways:

• Write to us at the Planning Department, Council Offices, Station Road East, Oxted, RH8 0BT
• Call in at the Council Offices Reception for a form.
• Phone us on 01883 732885
• E-mail us at planningapplications@tandridge.gov.uk

2. When you contact us seeking a meeting, we will expect you to complete the standard pro-forma above. This will ask you to confirm:

• That you are supplying the background information outlined in Section 4 above.
• That you have submitted payment, in advance of the meeting.

3. Within seven days of receiving the form requesting a meeting, we will contact you by phone or e-mail to confirm the following:-

• That your proposal requires a meeting and that appropriate advice cannot be given by letter.
• Whether any additional information beyond that indicated in Section 4 above is required before a pre-application advice meeting takes place.
• The name of the planning case officer(s) who will be handling your enquiry and contact details. (It is for the Council to decide which Officer deals with the request for advice.
• Suggested dates for a pre-application meeting normally within the following 14 days, but subject, of course, to everyone's availability.
• Any need for specialist officers, or officers of other agencies involved in the planning process, to attend the pre-application meeting.

4. Subject to availability of all the required information, the date and venue for the pre-application advice meeting will be confirmed to all parties. Normally, this will be the Council Offices in Oxted, but we can also consider site meetings if required, although an additional site visit charge will be made for this, irrespective of whether a paid site visit has already been made.

5. Within 14 days of the meeting (or such other timescale as may be agreed between the parties), the Council will provide meeting notes outlining the major planning issues, constraints and requirements and the advice given in the meeting.

6. If developers require written advice only, without a meeting, or the Council considers that a meeting is not necessary, the District Council will provide a written response within 21 days of receipt of the original request (subject to receipt of all necessary information).

7. Developers using this service should note the following important information:

• Any advice given by Council officers for pre-application enquiries does not constitute a formal response or decision of the District Council in respect of any future planning applications.
• Any views or opinions expressed are given in good faith, based on existing planning policies and standards, without prejudice to the formal consideration of any future formal planning application which will be the subject of public consultation and ultimately decided by the Council.
• Little or no weight should be given to the content of the Council's pre-application advice for schemes which are submitted more than one year after the advice being issued. The responsibility for checking that advice is still current rests with the prospective applicant. This period may be reduced if a material change in policy at either national or local level is introduced.
• Any advice given in relation to planning history of the site, planning constraints or statutory designations does not constitute a formal response under the provisions of the Local Land Charges Act 1975.
• Results of such meetings will not be available for public inspection on the internet or by personal callers. However, the Council may be required to supply results to any party making a Freedom of Information request.

What are the current charges the District Council will make for pre-application discussions and follow-up written advice?

• Officer time - Planning Officers £300 per hour or part thereof
• Advice by Letter - £200 (not including site visit)
• Site visits - additional charge of £100 per officer attending

Charges are based on estimates of officer time (including support staff), overheads and on-costs. Cheques should be made payable to 'Tandridge District Council'.

Follow-up requests

If you received pre-application advice by way of a letter or a meeting and you have been charged for that advice, you may wish to submit follow-up information. If you do this and do not request a further meeting we will decide if the nature of the follow-up request is simply requiring confirmation that any amendments made match the advice given. If this is the case then there would be no further charge.

If your follow-up request comprises a scheme substantially different from the original request or contains significant new information that we need to consider then a further fee will be required. The fee will be assessed in the same way way as if this were a new request.