Welcome to our planning advice and enquiries page
Do I need planning permission?
Not all development requires planning permission and can be carried out without any contact with the Planning Authority. This is know as permitted development. The Planning Portal website has a number of areas which include advice and guidance on common household projects that can be done without planning permission. For other types of development advice can also be found on the Planning Portal website.
If you still don't know if you need planning permission, then you can use our permitted development enquiry service . This will allow us to review your proposal, look into the planning history associated with your building/land and offer some informal advice as to whether planning permission is required. Please be aware this advice is not legally binding and there is a charge for this service of £60.
We will do our best to respond to your enquiry within 3 weeks from the date it is received. If we are not able to respond within this timeframe we will contact you to explain the delay and provide you with a revised timeframe for a response.
If a formal response is needed about whether planning permission is required, please submit a Certificate of Lawful Proposed Use Application. The application form, information and details of the appropriate fee for an application for a Certificate of Lawful Proposed Use can be found on the Planning Portal website here. .
In some cases where planning permission is not required you may still need building regulations approval.
Pre-Application Advice
Our pre-application service is a service aimed at giving applicants, architects and developers clear advice about whether the Authority would be likely to support a proposal. It is important to note that this service is for the provision of advice - it does not provide any formal approval or refusal and all advice is given without prejudice to any decision the Authority may make on any subsequent application.
Why is pre-application advice helpful?
Open and constructive pre-application discussions are an opportunity for the Authority and applicants to work together. This helps to achieve developments that deliver benefits to the individual, community, environment and the economy.
It can also save time and costs and avoid unnecessary protracted discussions.
Benefits of pre-application enquiries and discussions include:
- Saving time and resources;
- Helping raise the quality of development;
- Speeding up the validation process;
- Gaining community acceptance through engagement if required;
- Reducing the number of unsuccessful planning applications;
- Identifying the need for specialist input earlier;
- Provide sufficient information to support final application
What does it cost?
Exmoor proposed charging schedule | Do I need Planning Permission? | pre-app householders Including Listed Buildings | All other non major development, Including Listed Buildings | Agricultural development | Major development | Advertisement |
|---|
| | £60 | £100 | £200 | £100 | £500 | £100 |
What information do I need to provide?
The following information will be required when submitting any enquiry or pre-application request. This ensures that you give us all the information we need.
- The relevant Pre-application fee (please call 01398 323665 to make a payment);
- A site location plan, clearly identifying the site in question;
- A sketch plan showing the proposed development work;
- Full description of the development proposed; and
- Photographs of the site if they would help to put the development in context
and if appropriate;
- A summary of any community/neighbour consultation that has been carried out
Depending on the complexity of the proposal, you may need to provide additional details. However, the more information you can give us initially, the more detailed and comprehensive the response from officers can be.
If you wish for an officer to give you advice on the likelihood of your development proposals being acceptable, then the easiest way to get advice is to submit your draft proposals in to Exmoor House by post or e-mail them to plan@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk and officers are happy to then meet in the office or on site as appropriate. Other officers of the National Park Authority, for instance, tree and archaeology officers, can also be contacted with draft proposals that cover their areas of expertise so that they can advise as to whether further information is needed. Planning Officers can also put you in touch with the appropriate Highway Engineers or Environment Agency officers as appropriate to your proposals so that you can have a direct dialogue as needed. If there are queries regarding the level of information that is required with your submission then please contact the Development Control Section of the National Park Authority.
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Information to help you decide if you need to make an application or not.
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Planning Aid England (PAE) provides free planning advice and support to help individuals and communities engage with the planning system and get involved in planning their local area. This is primarily provided through a website that provides information on all aspects of the planning system and an email advice service offering a limited amount of free, general planning advice. Further information is available via their website https://www.rtpi.org.uk/planning-advice
