Pre-application advice for large and complex developments

The more information you provide, the more useful our advice can be.

For large or complex developments, you should include:

• the site address
• a description of the proposal
• existing and proposed drawings, if available
• a site location plan
• photos of the site and surrounding area
• details of the current and proposed use
• the number of homes or amount of floorspace proposed
• an urban design or site analysis, if the proposal is at design stage
• any known planning history or site constraints
• the specific questions you want advice on

For major or complex schemes, it is helpful to include early information on design approach, access, servicing, parking, amenity space, sustainability, affordable housing and potential infrastructure impacts.

Choose the service that best matches the scale and type of your proposal. This page covers developer pre-application advice from PREAPP 3 to PREAPP 12.

Fees for significantly larger or complex schemes can be negotiated where a bespoke pre-application service is required. This also applies to project work.

We will only be able to comment on one proposal under each pre-application enquiry.

Submission of multiple options will attract an additional fee of 50% of the selected pre-application service for each additional option.

We will consider one set of revised proposals from the same applicant, amended in response to our feedback and received within six months of the date of our written feedback, for an additional fee of 50% of the selected pre-application service.

Further revisions will not be considered unless part of a wholly new pre-application enquiry.

If your application involves the provision of 50 or more new homes or raises complex or unusual planning matters then a Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) may be appropriate for your development.

In its simplest form, a PPA is a project management tool which sets out key meetings and timescales for the pre-application discussions and subsequent application. PPAs can also enable better collaboration and engagement, better working relationships and allow Planning Authorities to secure dedicated resources. This can lead to better applications and ultimately better development and places.

The Council will calculate the PPA fee based on the meetings or submissions that are captured in the PPA project plan. They are calculated using the Council’s fees and charges schedule, with the key types of meeting or review as follows:

*Planning committee presentations are normally only undertaken for larger strategic schemes (those referrable to the Mayor of London) and those which raise complex or unusual planning matters.

If your proposal meets this criteria then please contact the Council to discuss whether a PPA is appropriate for your proposal.

For PREAPP 3 and PREAPP 4, we aim to provide a response within 20 working days of receiving your enquiry and fee. If this is not possible, we will contact you within 20 working days to agree a revised timeframe.

For PREAPP 5 to PREAPP 9, we will contact you within 5 working days of receiving your enquiry and fee to discuss the timeframe for responding to your enquiry. For more complex proposals, the response timetable may be agreed as part of a Planning Performance Agreement.

The Environment Agency's Sustainable Places team offers planning advice relating to the water environment and waste management.

Download information on planning advice from the Environment Agency (.pdf, 353.6kB)