Pre-application advice

Pre-Application Advice has been temporarily suspended for all developments except major development, listed buildings and protected trees 

The Duty Planner Service is currently suspended

The full announcement can be found here

We are committed to providing an effective planning service which delivers good quality development proposals. Early discussion between applicants and the planning authority is a valuable part of the planning application process. The benefits of pre-application advice include understanding how our policies will be applied to the proposal, identifying the need for specialist input at an early stage, assisting in the preparation of proposals for formal submission, helping to reduce the time that is spent in working up the proposals and highlighting concerns with proposals.

A detailed response considering the primary planning issues for the future application, will be provided. The level of detail provided in the response will reflect the level of accuracy and detail of the information that is provided; the more information you can provide about your proposal, the more accurate and in-depth our feedback will be. The response will also provide a clear position on where the Local Development Plan is at that time as well as any other relevant policy documents, such as Masterplans or Neighbourhood plans.

How to apply

For major developments with a meeting, listed buildings and protected trees please submit your enquiry to planning@maldon.gov.uk 

• Meeting dates for major developments, listed buildings and protected trees will be arranged within 14 days of receiving a valid pre-application request. The timescale for the written response will be agreed at the meeting.
• Written advice for listed buildings and protected trees will be responded to within 28 days, however this can vary depending on the complexity of the proposal

The more information/sketches/photos you can provide about the proposed works the better. The minimum we require is a site / location plan and the relevant fee. If insufficient information is provided we may be unable to answer your enquiry.

Pre-application fees

For your pre-application to be accepted, you must (submit the correct fee).

• Payment by debit card.
  • From the drop down choose other and then planning if you have not been given a reference number and ensure a site address is included in the describe box
  • From the drop down choose planning and then pre-application if you have been given a reference number 
• Payment by BACS, please email planning@maldon.gov.uk for the details and a reference 

Please do not use our Automated Telephone Payment service for pre-application fees as this will delay the process.

Please note

It should be clearly understood that the advice given will not bind the Council to making a particular decision and that any views expressed are at officer level only and provisional.

Planning permission does not override the need to obtain any necessary approvals under the building regulations, Party Wall Act or any other relevant legislation. Separate approval may also be required in other areas, for example, restrictive covenants, shared agreements, easements, rights of way, etc.

Freedom of Information Act

This Act requires us to make all documents available to members of the public, if requested.

Pre-application advice requests can only be treated as confidential if there are clearly demonstrable issues of commercial sensitivity or other significant reasons why this information may not be made public. (Any enquiry in this category should be clearly marked as confidential).