Do I need planning permission?
Changes were made in Wales, from 1 October 2013, which extended further the Permitted Development Rights for householder projects. This means that some alterations to a house and garden do not need to have full planning permission. The requirement for when Building Regulations apply has not changed.
Government website: Do you need permission?
If you are still unsure whether your project would need permission, we recommend that you submit an application for full planning permission and if it is assessed as not requiring full permission, we will issue a Certificate of Lawfulness instead.
Lawful Development Certificate
A Lawful Development Certificate will provide you with a definitive answer that planning permission is not required, is legally binding and should be kept safely with your other building related paperwork for when you come to sell your house. It will provide peace of mind that your project did not need full permission, and could prevent unnecessary delays.
The fee for a Lawful Certificate is 50% of the fee for a full application, and the difference will be refunded if full permission is not required.
If, after reviewing all the information, you are sure your project doesn’t need permission, but you would like the assurance that a Certificate of Lawfulness provides, you can apply for one using the form called Application for Lawful Development Certificate (Proposed), or online through the Planning Portal.
Planning - Additional Services
The Planning Department offers a range of services and encourages and welcomes the opportunity to provide advice before a planning application is submitted. Our aim is to encourage and promote high quality development and to improve the efficiency of our service.
A range of charges will be payable for pre-application advice which will vary depending on the size and scale of the development.
Covid
Please be advised that we are currently unable to arrange face to face meetings either on site or at the office due to the COVID-19 situation. There is also only limited availability to virtual systems and therefore a number of officers are unable to arrange such meetings. Subsequently please be aware that most pre-application submissions will not benefit from an officer meeting at this time and will unlikely do so until the current government lockdown situation changes. You are therefore advised to take this information in to consideration prior to submission of any pre-application enquiry at this time.
SuDS
Please be advised that most pre-application enquiries no longer include comments from the Council’s Flood Risk Management Section. In line with Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, as of 7th January 2019 the surface water drainage arrangements for most new developments must comply with the mandatory National Standards for Sustainable Drainage systems (SuDS) which must be demonstrated through a separate application of Sustainable Drainage Approval to the Sustainable Drainage Approval Body (SAB) prior to the commencement of any development works on site. This includes any development where the construction work is more than one dwelling or covers an area of 100 square metres or greater. Please be advised that the requirement to undertake SuDS approval is outside of the Town and Country Planning Act and is not available retrospectively.
The Council’s Flood Risk Management Section have their own pre-application service full details of which can be found here - https://www.rctcbc.gov.uk/EN/Resident/ParkingRoadsandTravel/Roadspavementsandpaths/SustainableDrainage/Sustainabledrainage.aspx.
Pre-application Advice
Applicants and developers are actively encouraged to engage with the Council at the earliest possible stage in the development of a scheme. The benefits to you of obtaining this advice would be a desk based assessment and a written response containing the following:
Enhanced Scheme
Looking for a more detailed response to your plans and ideas?
For a more comprehensive response and advice the Council has tailored a bespoke pre-application advice service.
Depending on the type of service you choose, there is an option to meet with an officer for a small charge. For the enhanced service you will receive:
- an option for a site or office-based meeting with a planning officer, for a small additional charge
- an assessment of the proposed development
- consideration of the main planning matters
- ways of improving the scheme
- how any constraints might be mitigated
- managing expectations of statutory consultees i.e. off-street parking requirements, any flooding issues, coal risk assessment, bat surveys, rights of way etc
- details of the planning history for the site
- a list of relevant Local Development Plan policies or Supplementary Planning Guidance you may wish to consider
- an outline of any environmental constraints
- details of how we would deal with your application
- an indication of whether your development would be liable for Community Infrastructure Levy or a Section.106 contribution.
If you wish to use this service you must submit a completed pre-application advice enquiry form containing detailed information on your proposal, provide a location plan and pay the relevant fee listed below.
Sample Table
| Enhanced pre-application advice service charges | | |
|---|
| | | Officer meeting |
|---|
| Householder |
£51 |
£25.50 |
| Single dwelling |
£102 |
£41 |
| Minor development |
£305 |
£152.50 |
| Major development |
£712 |
£356 |
| Large major development |
£1220 |
£610 |
Fast Track Applications
Do you need a quick decision?
There may be occasions when you require a quick decision on your planning application. You may for example have builders on stand-by or scheduled to start work, maybe a contractual arrangement, or perhaps you simply want your application dealt with as quickly as possible.
Normally the Council is required to decide your application within 8 weeks and occasionally applications can remain undecided beyond this period. Therefore if you would like your application decided sooner, for an additional charge of £86 we will fast track your application and issue you a decision within 28 days following registration. In the unlikely event of us not being able to achieve this target we will refund you the full fee.
The use of the Fast Track service does not affect the merits of the proposal and therefore to take full advantage of this facility you may also be interested in our pre-application advice service which will ensure that any potential problems which could results in delays are addressed before you submit your application.
If you wish to use this service please download and complete the application form in addition to the fee and the standard planning application form and plans and return via planningservices@rctcbc.gov.uk or Prosperity & Development, Sardis House, Sardis Road, Pontypridd, CF37 1DU
Completion Certificates - A Clean Bill of Health
Are you looking for peace of mind about work to your property?
A Certificate of Completion is a discretionary service offered by the Council. The certificate will state:-
- Whether or not the Planning Permission and/or Listed Building Consent applied for has been carried out in accordance with the approved plans.
- It will confirm the status of all Conditions and any approved amendments if applicable
The purpose of this new service is to offer support to applicants, agents or any other interested party that the works are appropriate and acceptable once they have been built. If there is an issue of noncompliance this will be brought to the applicant’s attention and an opportunity provided for the breach of planning control to be rectified.
The service will include a site inspection and desk based research and investigation.
For householder and minor applications the fee for this service would be £51 for each application number requiring a certificate and we will aim to provide a written response within 28 days.
If you wish to use this service please do so via planningservices@rctcbc.gov.uk or Prosperity & Development, Sardis House, Sardis Road, Pontypridd, CF37 1DU. Once your request and payment has been received, it will be logged and an acknowledgement letter issued with the reference number. Your case officer will then be in touch to arrange a site visit.
Planning Performance Agreements
Let us do the hard work for you!
Planning Performance Agreements (PPA) enable us to help you manage your project and deliver your proposals to an agree timescale, with actions and resources based on your needs. PPAs can be used at the pre-application stage, the planning application stage and at the post decision stage or any combination of these.
In principle PPAs can be used for any application, and while they are more effective on large scale, complex proposals, the Council offers a simple form of PPA agreement for smaller schemes, based on the key project milestones that would need to be adhered to. The Council also promotes the use of its pre-application advice service for all proposals.
Nationally, local authorities and planning applicants have identified a number of clear advantages for using PPAs, including:
- identification of key issues and consultees at an early stage;
- provides a guarantee of Council resources with realistic timescales
- better overall management from pre-application through to post-application stages;
- greater accountability, transparency and communication;
- improved partnership working;
- continuity and consistency from Local Planning Authority (LPA) officers; and
- bespoke advice from key consultees (e.g. building control, environment, highways etc.)
If you wish to use this service you can obtain more information on our Planning Performance Agreement Charter by emailing planningservices@rctcbc.gov.uk.
Validation Checks
Want to make sure you get your planning application right first time?
Many applications for householder or minor development are made directly by the applicant or an agent and may not benefit from the advice of a planning consultant or contain professionally drawn plans.
Whilst such submissions are quite acceptable, many applications do not meet statutory validation requirements. Regularly occurring issues include plans being absent, drawn to the wrong scale or missing sufficient detail, incomplete or unsigned application forms, or incorrect fee payments.
To make this easier for you the Council has introduced a pre-submission validation check for householder and minor applications, for a small charge of £20. This means that your application would be ready to go and prevent the frustration and delay caused by correspondence and telephone calls to make corrections.
If you wish to use this service you must submit a completed validation check form with the fee. In addition to sending your application to us by post or electronically, you can also call us to arrange to drop the form off and we will check it while you wait!
Pre-application advice - Statutory Scheme
Want to know if your plans would be acceptable in principle?
Welsh Government requires all Local Planning Authorities to provide a statutory pre-application service. For the statutory service you will receive:
- a basic view of whether the development would be acceptable in principle
- details of the planning history for the site
- a list of relevant Local Development Plan policies or Supplementary Planning Guidance you may wish to consider
- an outline of any environmental constraints
- general development advice
- details of how we would deal with your application
- an indication of whether your development would be liable for Community Infrastructure Levy or a Section.106 contribution.
If you wish to use this service you must submit a completed pre-application advice enquiry form containing information on your proposal, provide a location plan and pay the relevant fee. You are encouraged to provide as much detail on your proposal to enable a detailed and accurate response.
Sample Table
| National Statutory pre-application advice service charges |
|---|
| Type of application | Fee | Planning Officer meeting |
|---|
| Householder |
£25 |
n/a |
| Minor development |
£250 |
n/a |
| Major development |
£600 |
n/a |
| Large major development |
£1000 |
n/a |
Visit www.securedbydesign.com for the New Homes Guide 2019
Secured by Design (SBD) is the official police security initiative that works to improve the security of buildings and their immediate surroundings to provide safe places to live, work, shop and visit.
Please return all documents via planningservices@rctcbc.gov.uk or Prosperity & Development, Sardis House, Sardis Road, Pontypridd, CF37 1DU
Cheques should be made payable to RCTCBC or phone 01443 281135 to pay by phone.