Before you prepare an application for assessment, you need to talk to us, particularly if your proposal is large or complex. A pre-application discussion will help identify the planning issues and requirements that you need to take into account when preparing your proposal as well as resolve the likelihood of difficulties at the assessment stage.

The nature and extent of pre-application discussions will depend on the potential impact of the scheme you are proposing. In the case of smaller developments, such as alterations to a shop front or small changes of use, one meeting may be sufficient. Alternatively, we may ask you to attend a meeting with specific specialist members of the team, such as an urban designer.

If your scheme is likely to raise a variety of issues then we will need a more formal programme involving specialist officers. If this is the case, we will confirm with you who the team members will be and we will assemble them as quickly as possible, normally before the second meeting takes place.