Nearly every property project runs into the same two words sooner or later: planning permission. An extension, a loft conversion, a new house, a shop becoming a flat — it comes up every time.
Yet most people have never had it properly explained. What is it? Who decides? And why can your neighbour build something you apparently can’t?
Not knowing the answers is where expensive mistakes start: people build things they shouldn’t, buy land they can’t use, and stall good projects because nobody understood the process.
This guide is the starting point. In plain English, it explains what planning permission is, what counts as “development”, who decides and how, and the types of permission you’ll come across — with a detailed guide linked for every stage of the journey.
Planning Permission in One Sentence
Planning permission is the legal consent that allows development to proceed. It may come from a decision by the local planning authority or already exist through nationally granted permitted development rights.
The basic rule in England and Wales is simple: if what you want to do counts as “development”, you need planning permission for it. That rule comes from the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the law that underpins the whole system.
Here’s the part most people don’t know — there are two ways to get that “yes”:
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Apply for it
You send an application to the council, and the council decides.
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It’s already been given
National rules automatically permit many smaller projects — extensions, lofts, outbuildings — with no application at all. These are permitted development rights.
Either way, the result is the same: your project is legally allowed.
Planning Permission
Legal permission to carry out building work or a material change of use.
Planning Application
Permission granted by the local planning authority
- Submit drawings and supporting information
- The council assesses policy and planning impacts
- Build only after permission is granted
Permitted Development
Permission already granted by national rules
- The project must meet every limit and condition
- Prior approval may still be required
- A Lawful Development Certificate can provide proof
So when people ask “do I need planning permission?”, what they really mean is: does my project already have permission through the national rules, or do I need to apply? We answer that properly in two dedicated guides: Do I Need Planning Permission? and What Is Permitted Development?
Managed for Everybody
The planning system isn’t paperwork for the sake of it. It exists because what one person builds affects everyone around them. Before 1947, landowners could largely build what they liked. The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 changed that: since then, the right to develop land has belonged to the state, handed back through the national permitted development rules or through individual planning decisions.
The system is trying to do four things at once: protect neighbours (light, privacy, noise), protect places (heritage, countryside, wildlife, flood risk), shape where homes and workplaces go, and raise the standard of what gets built.
You won’t agree with every planning decision ever made — few people do — but the idea is a fair one: building affects everybody, so building is managed for everybody.
What Counts as “Development”?
The 1990 Act (Section 55) says development covers two things — and what doesn’t count matters just as much.
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Building or engineering work
Constructing, extending or altering buildings, plus major works to land such as significant engineering or excavation.
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A material change of use
Where what a building or land is used for changes in a way that matters in planning terms — a house into flats, a shop into a takeaway.
Just as important is what doesn’t count: internal work and external work that doesn’t noticeably change the building’s appearance (a new kitchen or knocked-through wall is no planning matter, though building regulations may still apply), ordinary home life, and most repairs and maintenance.
Generally excluded from the definition
- Internal alterations only
- External work with no material change to appearance
- Ordinary home and garden use
- Certain maintenance and repairs
That’s why repainting your house isn’t development, a big garden outbuilding is (though the national rules may already permit it), and a business in the spare room depends on how far it grows. Our Planning Advice service deals with these borderline cases every week.
Not sure which route applies to your project?
Application, permitted development or prior approval — we confirm the right route for your property in one consultation, then prepare whichever it needs. Free initial consultation. Fixed-fee quotation within 24 hours. No obligation to proceed.
Who Decides Planning Applications?
Your local council
Day-to-day planning decisions are made by your local planning authority — usually your district, borough, city or unitary council (in a National Park, the park authority does the job instead). Councils employ professional planning officers, who decide most applications — including nearly all home projects — directly. Only the bigger or more controversial schemes go to the planning committee of elected councillors, decided in a public meeting.
National government
Central government sets the rules councils work within — in England through the National Planning Policy Framework, which every local decision must take into account. Wales runs its own version with its own national policy, and the two systems have drifted apart, so never assume advice for one country fits the other. Refusals are appealed not to the council but to an independent national body: the Planning Inspectorate in England, or Planning and Environment Decisions Wales.
The Local Plan — the rulebook
Every council has a Local Plan (in Wales, a Local Development Plan) setting out what development it wants and where — and the law says applications must be decided in line with it unless good planning reasons point elsewhere. It’s the rulebook for your area: fit it and you start ahead; fight it and you’ll need a strong case.
How Are Decisions Actually Made?
A planning officer assessing an application asks two questions: does this fit the Local Plan, and does anything else, in planning terms, point the other way? That “anything else” has a formal name — material considerations.
Start With the Plan
Does the proposal comply with the adopted Local Plan or Local Development Plan policies?
Weigh Other Factors
Assess the site, design, impacts, national policy and relevant evidence — material considerations only.
Reach a Decision
Approve, approve with conditions, or refuse with clear planning reasons.
Material considerationsThe council may weigh these
- How the design looks and how big it is
- The effect on neighbours — light, privacy, and whether it would feel overbearing
- Road safety and parking
- Impact on historic buildings, trees and wildlife
- Flood risk and drainage
- National policy, and what’s been decided on similar sites before
Generally not materialThe council is not allowed to weigh these
- Loss of a view
- Effects on property values
- Who the applicant is
- Private disputes such as boundary rows or covenants
This is why some objections carry weight and others, however strongly felt, don’t. One more thing worth knowing: permission belongs to the land, not to you — which is why granted permission adds real value to a property, and why checking the planning history matters when buying any plot.
Worried your scheme won’t get through?
We test proposals against local policy before anything is submitted, then design and argue the version most likely to be approved. Free initial consultation. Fixed-fee quotation within 24 hours. No obligation to proceed.
The Types of Planning Permission
“Planning permission” is really a family of consents — some are not permissions at all.
Full or householder application
The standard version — every detail approved in one go. It’s used for new buildings, conversions and commercial projects. For work to a single house, there’s a simpler version called a householder application.
Outline permission
This settles the big question — “can something be built here at all?” — while leaving details for later. Landowners often use it to prove a plot can be developed before selling it.
Permitted development
National rules automatically allow many smaller projects, within strict limits, where the proposal meets every applicable national limit and condition.
Prior approval
Some permitted development projects need a lighter-touch council check first, called prior approval, where only specific issues are examined before work proceeds.
Lawful Development Certificate
Not a permission, but official written proof from the council that a project doesn’t need one — the document you’ll be glad you have when you sell.
Full permission and householder applications are covered in How to Submit a Planning Application and What Drawings Are Needed?, and preparing the drawings behind it is exactly what our Architectural Drawings service does. Permitted development and prior approval each have their own full guide: What Is Permitted Development? and What Is Prior Approval?
Other Consents That Sit Alongside Planning
Depending on the property, a project can need one of these in addition to — or instead of — planning permission.
Listed building consent
Needed for works affecting a listed building, in addition to any planning permission required.
Conservation area rules
Extra restrictions apply to permitted development and demolition inside a conservation area.
Advertisement & signage consent
Separate consent is needed for most external signs, even where no other planning permission is required.
Protected trees
Work to a tree covered by a Tree Preservation Order, or any tree in a conservation area, needs approval first.
Building regulations approval is a different system entirely. Planning asks whether something should be built; building regulations ask whether it’s built safely and properly, and almost every project needs the latter whatever the planning answer. The full comparison is in Planning Permission vs Building Regulations, and our Building Regulations service handles that side of the journey.
The Planning Journey, Step by Step
If your project does need an application, here’s the road ahead — covering house extensions, loft conversions and change of use projects alike.
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01
Find out where you stand
Does your project need an application, or do the national rules already permit it?
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02
Design and prepare
Get the property measured and proper drawings produced, plus any supporting documents your council asks for.
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03
Submit and pay
Applications usually go in online through the Planning Portal, with a fee.
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04
Consultation
The council publicises your application, neighbours can comment, and an officer assesses it against the Local Plan.
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05
Decision
You get a yes — almost always with conditions attached — or a no, with reasons.
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06
If it’s refused
All is rarely lost: you can revise and resubmit, or appeal to the independent inspectorate.
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07
Build
Stick to the approved plans, deal with the conditions, and start within the time limit on your decision notice so the permission doesn’t lapse.
Start by checking Do I Need Planning Permission? Applications usually go in online through the Planning Portal, with a fee — see Planning Application Costs Explained for what it all costs. How long it takes is covered in How Long Does Planning Permission Take?. Projects like house extensions, loft conversions and change of use all follow this same journey.
One thing predicts success more than anything else: preparation — accurate drawings, a design shaped around local policy, and honest expectations set early.
Facing the planning journey for the first time?
We manage every step under one roof — advice, drawings, submission and negotiation — from first sketch to decision notice. Free initial consultation. Fixed-fee quotation within 24 hours. No obligation to proceed.
Same Idea, Different Rulebooks
We work across both nations, and one warning recurs: they share the same basic principle but run it differently. Never assume advice written for one country applies to the other — check the position with the council for your property.
| Check | England | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| National policy | National Planning Policy Framework | Planning Policy Wales and Future Wales |
| Development plan | Local Plan | Local Development Plan |
| Permitted development | England-specific rules and limitations | Wales-specific rules and limitations |
| Application fees | England fee schedule | Wales fee schedule |
| Appeal body | Planning Inspectorate | Planning and Environment Decisions Wales |
Frequently Asked Questions
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What does planning permission actually let me do?
Exactly what was applied for — the development shown on the approved drawings, subject to any conditions. Even small changes can need a fresh application.
Is planning permission a legal requirement?
Yes — for anything that counts as development and isn't covered by permitted development. Building without it is a breach of planning control, and councils have powers to act.
Who owns planning permission once it is granted?
No one person — it goes with the land. Sell up, and the new owner can build it.
Can a well-designed project still be refused?
Yes — design is only one factor. A beautiful scheme can still conflict with the Local Plan through its location, use or effect on a protected area.
Does every building project need a planning application?
No — many everyday projects proceed under permitted development within strict limits, though most still need separate building regulations approval.
What is a local planning authority?
The council (or National Park authority) responsible for planning where you live: it writes the Local Plan, decides applications and deals with breaches.
If I have planning permission, can my neighbour still stop me?
Not through planning — but permission doesn't override private legal rights. Covenants, shared access and party wall matters are separate and need sorting separately.
Does planning permission run out?
Yes — planning permissions granted by the council normally include a deadline for starting the work. The decision notice confirms the deadline. Make a proper start in time and the permission normally remains valid.
Is planning permission the same everywhere in the UK?
No — England and Wales run related but different systems, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own. This guide covers England and Wales.
Where should I start if I have a project in mind?
Find out where your project sits — application needed or not, what local policy says, and what success will realistically take — before spending money on design.
Summary
Planning permission is the legal consent for building work or a significant change of use. Where development requires it, consent may come from a decision by the local planning authority or already exist through nationally granted permitted development rights.
Decisions are made against the Local Plan, weighing design, neighbours and heritage while ignoring private views and property values. Around the core sit related consents — prior approval, listed building consent, lawful development certificates — plus the separate building regulations regime. Master those basics and everything else in your project makes far more sense.