Planning application search
Please note the planning and building control application search system will be unavailable on 28 January 2025 whilst essential works take place. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Pre application advice service explanatory notes and terms
Explanatory notes for the pre application advice service including how to make payment.
Guide Navigation
Skip Guide NavigationConfidentiality and disclaimers
Disclosure of information
- Important: Your pre-application request, together with any documents or response made by the Council, will be made available for public inspection unless you confirm in writing to us that the information provided is commercially sensitive.
- If the Local Planning Authority receives a request, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) or Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), to disclose information relating to this pre-application enquiry, the LPA may be obliged to do so, unless the information is deemed exempt under the Act.
- As part of your submission, please outline in the table form as below (or as part of your cover letter) items which you consider are confidential and genuinely commercially sensitive and which are not for disclosure.
Example table
Commercially sensitive documents not for disclosure to third parties under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) or Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR):
| Information/document | Reference/page number | Reasons for non-disclosure (cite FOI/EIR exemptions) to be considered | Duration of confidentiality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insert text | Insert text | Insert text | Insert text |
Disclaimers
- The Council reserves the right to decline a request for pre-application advice.
- The Council reserves the right to suspend part or all of the service.
- Planning Officers can only give a professional opinion on the merits of a preapplication scheme. It should be noted that the pre-application process is not a substitute for the formal planning application process and can offer no guarantees.
All pre-application advice responses will contain the following caveat:
The advice given represents an Officer's informal opinion based on the information you have supplied and is not intended to bind the Local Planning Authority's decision making powers on any formally submitted application. All submitted applications will be the subject of publicity and consultation in accordance with statutory requirements and the Council's adopted procedures. These, and any other matters which may subsequently come to light, may result in additional issues being raised that are pertinent to the determination of the application. It should also be noted that subsequent alterations to local and national planning policies may affect the advice given.