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Navigating The World of Pre-Apps

Tom Vincent, Associate Architect, Granit Architecture + Interiors, comments

One of the most significant risks in property development is successfully navigating the planning system. Gaining planning consent involves a slow, bureaucratic, and painful process, mired in politics and, did I mention, it’s slow. Local authorities introduced “Pre-application engagements” to improve the effectiveness of the planning process, which is now more commonly known as a pre-app.

The pre-app system allows developers to gain feedback on a scheme from their local authority before they submit it for a full planning application. In theory, it should increase the chance of successfully gaining planning consent. But is that really what happens in practice? With councils moving to pre-apps by default, here’s what you need to consider in your planning strategy.
   
Useful for Testing the Water
Pre-apps are a great way to test the water on potentially contentious schemes.

Unlike a full planning application, there isn’t a long list of ‘validation requirements’ involved. This means you can submit a pre-app with relatively basic information without investing large sums of money in numerous professional consultants. For example, you can hold off from appointing the daylight, energy, heritage, transport, energy, and acoustic consultants (the list is long these days), for the time being anyway.

However, striking the right balance can be an art form. The more detailed information you submit, the better the feedback will be. For example, it may pay to complete an acoustic survey in advance if your site is near a railway line or motorway.

Pre-apps are also confidential, which means the council will not notify your neighbours or any local NIMBY groups who are likely to object to any proposal, no matter how small. This confidentiality allows you to refine your approach before engaging the broader stakeholder groups. You can then address many of their likely objections before your scheme goes public and reduce any possible local resistance or activism.   

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