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Planning pre-application advice

Pre-application advice is an important part of the planning process and we welcome early discussions before you submit a planning application

Introduction

Pre-application advice is an important part of the planning process and we welcome early discussions before you submit a planning application.

This can help you by:

giving you advice about the acceptability of your proposed development
identifying any problems which you may need to solve
identifying financial contributions
avoiding abortive work
providing greater certainty about your application
speeding up the application process

information

This process cannot help you determine if Planning Permission is required or not. You can find advice on this on the Planning Portal. The Planning Portal allows you to explore interactive houses which provide guidance on many common householder projects. You can find more information on our page Find out if you need planning permission

We can give you informal advice if you complete our form Do I need planning permission?

There is a charge of £65 for this service.

Level of Service

There are nine levels of pre-application advice available. These are dependent on the size, type and complexity of the development you are proposing. Unless otherwise stated, the fees for this service are fixed.

Planning Fees and Charges

1 May 2024 to 31 March 2025

Apply

If you would like to apply for pre-application, please complete this form:

Growth Charter

Somerset Council has an ambition to support and facilitate appropriate business and housing growth within the county. Somerset Council have also adopted a Charter to support this ambition. You can read the Charter and its commitments here.

Quality Review Panel

For developments in the Somerset West Planning area (excluding minerals and waste applications), use of The Somerset Quality Review Panel is encouraged early on in the planning application process. Further information is available on the Somerset Quality Review Panel page.

Planning Performance Agreements

For some major applications, we encourage the use of Planning Performance Agreements to ensure the best outcomes for everyone. The agreement sets out how the developer and the council will approach the application process, the resources to be allocated and the timescales.

Last updated: May 10, 2024

Next review due: November 10, 2024