A planning statement costs from £295 at Fixed Fee Plans. It is the written case for your scheme: which policies of the local plan and the London Plan it engages, how it meets each one, and why the council should approve it. We write it to your council's own validation list, so it is as long as that council needs and no longer.
Most householder extensions do not need one. Flat conversions, HMOs, new homes and changes of use usually do, because the council has to weigh a policy question, not only a design one, and an application without the statement its list asks for can be returned as invalid.
Do I need a planning statement?
It depends on your council. Beyond the national requirements, each council publishes a local list of what it asks for, and London councils draw the line differently. Wandsworth asks for a planning statement with every full and outline application and accepts a short covering letter for a small scheme. Lambeth asks for one with major applications only.
So the first thing we do is read your council's list for your type of application. If no statement is required and the scheme raises no policy question, we tell you, and the fee is not charged. If one is required, or the scheme is the kind officers refuse without a clear argument, we write it.
What goes into a planning statement?
The site and its context, the proposal, and then the policy case. Planning law says a decision must follow the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise, under section 38(6) of the 2004 Act, so the statement is organised around that plan: each relevant policy, what it asks for, and where the drawings show the scheme meets it.
Where a policy is not fully met, the statement says so and explains why the scheme is still acceptable, rather than leaving the officer to find it. That is often the difference between an approval with conditions and a refusal.
Why does a flat conversion need a statement?
Because splitting one house into two or more homes is a material change of use under section 55(3)(a) of the 1990 Act, and London councils have their own tests for it. Some protect family homes: Merton's Policy D12.10 asks a conversion of a three-bedroom or larger house to re-provide at least one family-sized home. Most apply the national space standards to each new flat. The statement shows the scheme against each test, with the room areas from the drawings.
Our flat conversion drawings include the drawings that statement relies on, and our house to flats feasibility report answers the policy question before you pay for drawings at all.
How is it different from a design and access statement?
A planning statement argues policy; a design and access statement explains the design and how people get into and around the building. Councils ask for a design and access statement in set cases, such as listed building consent or new homes in a conservation area. A heritage statement is a third document again, for a listed building or conservation area. Where a council asks for two of them, we write them so they agree.
Our fee is from £295, and it is a floor: a scheme with many policy issues or a long planning history is quoted in writing before we start.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a planning statement for a house extension?
Usually not. Most London councils ask for one with larger or contentious schemes, flat conversions, HMOs and new homes. We check your council's local list for your application type and tell you before quoting.
How long is a planning statement?
As long as the scheme needs. Wandsworth says a statement may be as short as a covering letter for a small scheme; a conversion or new home with several policy issues needs a fuller document.
Can you write a planning statement for drawings by another designer?
Yes. We work from your drawings and tell you if anything on them conflicts with a policy the statement has to meet.
Does a planning statement guarantee approval?
No. It sets out the strongest honest case under the council's own policies. The decision is the council's.
