Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council - Pre-Application Advice

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Pre-Application Advice

Enquiries can be made, before the submission of a planning application, in order to have an informal view as to whether a proposal is acceptable or not in planning terms. We are committed to providing this pre-application discussion service. However, please note that this is not a statutory part of the service.

If your enquiry is whether planning permission is needed for a domestic/residential property, please complete a Planning Enquiry form and return it to us. This form could also be utilised to determine whether planning permission was required for something already constructed. A charge of £25 + VAT (£29.37) is payable for this service. Please be aware that should planning permission have been required you may be invited to submit a retrospective application. Should you not require this formal confirmation you may wish to check for yourself whether your proposal is permitted development or not.

If your enquiry is whether planning permission is likely to be granted for a proposed development (other than a domestic extension), please refer the advice below.

Pre application advice is an important element of the application process and we encourage the use of this facility in order to achieve high quality developments for the benefit of all concerned. It provides the council with the opportunity to give advice on the current adopted UDP policies and local issues that the applicant/developer may not be aware of.

Pre application advice and discussion provides the following benefits:

Helps to encourage and add value to the quality of development proposals
Speeds up the processing of the application.
Identifies schemes that are unlikely to receive a favourable decision.
Ensures that statutory consultees are engaged from the outset.
Avoids delays during the formal application process.
Identifies a case officer who will normally deal with any subsequent application.

We encourage pre-application advice in the form of letters or e-mails, with associated plans and documentation, well in advance of submitting a planning application. You can submit you enquiry direct to the Development Control team. It is advisable for you to be familiar with the development plan policies which will guide the outcome of preliminary discussion. Planning Guidance Notes for particular development proposals will highlight council standards to be adopted in the proposal.

It may well be worth considering from the beginning who may be affected by the proposal and sound out the views of neighbours or the wider community in advance. This allows potential objections to be dealt with, if necessary, prior to a formal application being submitted.