To apply for planning permission you will need to fill in the appropriate form, pay the correct fee and submit all required documentation. Details of what should be submitted with your applications can be found on our forms and checklists page.

You do not have to be the owner of the land to apply, you can be a prospective purchaser or tenant with less than seven years standing. However, you must provide a certificate stating that the owner(s), if not yourself, have been told of your intention to seek planning permission.

The costs for all types of development proposals can be viewed on our planning application fees and charges page.

Fees are set nationally by parliament and we are unable to waive or change them. There are however concessions for parish councils and those improving their home due to a disability.

If you require information on extending or altering a residential property in Uttlesford you can find out more by visiting our planning advice pages.

GOV.UK planning portal provides simple-to-use, interactive guidance for householders about a wide range of planning related matters. This is a free service.

You can also get advice from a planning agent or architect. We cannot make recommendations, but there is plenty of information online. Common online searches include: 'Architectural Agent', 'Architects', 'Planning Agent', and 'Planning Consultant'.

You can draw your own plans to submit with your application, however you should ensure that they meet the requirements of the validation checklist both nationally and locally set. You can find out more on our forms and checklists page.

If you live in a house, you can normally carry out a few minor forms of development without the need to apply for formal planning permission. This is known as 'permitted development'. Permitted development limits are set by parliament and apply nationally. These do not apply to flats, maisonettes, or mobile homes, as they do not have any permitted development rights.

The planning history of properties must be checked before undertaking any external alterations, to determine whether permitted developments have been removed by the council on the original house. These rights could also be affected if the property has previously been extended, if it is listed or you live in a conservation are. The information should be with your deeds. If not, you can check the planning history and any decisions that relate to your property by using the my maps tool on our website.

Permitted development limits can also be affected depending on where you live. If you live in an Article 4 Direction Area, most of your permitted development rights will have been removed.

We must consult with immediate neighbours (those properties that directly adjoin the application site) and certain statutory consultees, such as county highway authority on highway safety or access matters.

All applications are available for public inspection online at publicaccess.uttlesford.gov.uk.

Any comments will be considered before a decision is made.

When we receive your application, we will make sure it has been properly completed and we have all the required details. Once accepted, it is registered as a valid application.

An acknowledgement email will then be sent to you, or your agent if you are employing one, advising you of the date by when you can expect a decision. We will also write to neighbours who might be affected by the proposal and ask for their comments. Where required, we will put up a site notice on or near the applications site (we may send this to the homeowner and ask them to put up, take a photo and email the photo to us) and an advertisement in the local newspaper.

The planning officer assigned to deal with your application will visit the site (if necessary and no restrictions are set) and carry out an appraisal of the proposal to make a recommendation to senior officers. If you have employed an agent, all communication should be directed through them, and the officer will contact them if necessary.

For more detail, please see how we decide on planning applications on our website.

We aim to determine most planning applications within the statutory time periods - usually 8 weeks (or 13 weeks for major housing and commercial developments) from the date your application is validated. When we receive your application, we will make sure it has been properly completed and we have all the required details. Once accepted, it is registered as a valid application.

You can ask if any delays or problems are envisaged with your case officer after the statutory consultation period, usually three to four weeks into the application. If you have employed an agent, we kindly request you leave this to them, so each case officer has a single contact per application.

The speed at which we are able to process planning applications is also affected by several aspects that are outside of our direct control. These are:

• The rise in demand for our planning services
• The general scarcity of trained planning officers, something that all planning departments are experiencing
• The buoyant market for planning officers and our proximity and ease of travelling to London

If a planning application is to be determined at committee, the application will be published in the agenda on our website one week prior to the meeting. At the meeting, the planning officer will present the application and recommendation to the committee. For full details see our current calendar of meetings.

Agents, applicants and interested members of the public (who have made a comment in writing to the planning department via the website, by email or letter) can register to speak at the planning committee in respect of any application they have an interest in.

Find out more about how to have your say at council meetings.

We make our decision on applications in accordance with the Uttlesford Local Plan 2005 and supplementary documents unless considerations say otherwise.

Whilst the local plan is the main decision-making tool, planning requires all factors that are material to be considered. The courts have decided that the following items are not material considerations and therefore cannot influence a planning decision. When making comments on a planning application these items should be avoided.

Items that are not material considerations include:

• The character of the applicant
• Who owns the land
• Private rights
• Restrictive covenants
• Change in property values
• Competition
• Loss of view
• Suggestions of a better site, better use, better development.

Each application will be determined on its own merits. We will consider whether the proposal complies with our approved planning policies and the NPPF and how it will affect its surroundings, visually and physically.

This involves:

• Applying specific land use policies
• Ensuring the local character of the property or area is protected or enhanced
• Following Government advice and planning law
• Looking at the outcome of other similar applications and appeal decisions
• Considering the effects of traffic on local roads and highway safety
• Promoting energy efficiency and sustainable development options
• Considering all comments received during our public consultations

You will normally have three years in which to start the development for which planning permission is granted. You may have to comply with specific conditions imposed so you should carefully check the terms of the permission before you proceed, particularly as some conditions will require formal discharge before you can start the development (you should have received details of these prior to the permission being sent out).

You may need separate approval under building regulations before you start work. You may also need to legally inform your neighbours about works near their boundary under the Party Wall Act.

Further consent will be required for works to listed buildings or demolition of some buildings in conservation areas.

Applicants can appeal to the Secretary of State within 8 weeks for the decision for advertisements, 12 weeks for householder proposals or six months in most other cases. Details are on the decision notice.

Appeal forms and guidance can be obtained direct from the planning inspectorate.

An independent Inspector will be appointed to visit your site and reconsider the application.

There is no right of appeal for anyone other than the applicant.

If the application is refused, or granted subject to conditions that the applicant finds unacceptable, an appeal can be made to the Secretary of State via the Planning Inspectorate site. An inspector will consider the case, along with our comments and other representations made by neighbours etc and decide whether to reverse our decision and allow the development to proceed.

If you have submitted written comments on any application these will be forwarded on to the inspector as part of the appeal process. However, we may also write to you and tell you how you can make further representations to the inspector at a public hearing or Inquiry.

There are certain limited legal challenges available to others, for example judicial review, and advice should be sought privately about these.

You can download and print decision notices from our Public Access website. On a rare occasion if they are not available, please email uconnect@uttlesford.gov.uk and request a copy.

Details of all applications can be viewed on our Public Access website, you can support, object or make general comments here.

Your comments should be restricted to land use planning matters as these are all that we can consider. There are no formal rules that need to be followed. For further information on what issues are relevant to planning decisions, please see considerations when determining a planning application.

If we receive your comments in writing within 21 days of the date of the neighbour notification letter (or other advertisement/site notice), we guarantee they will be considered as part of the planning application process prior to making a decision.

Please do not try to make comments by telephone to the planning department. Planning officers are not able to consider comments from neighbours unless they are in writing via the website, email or by letter to the Planning Department, Uttlesford District Council, London Road, Saffron Walden, CB11 4ER.

If you are sending your comment by email to planning@uttlesford.gov.uk please submit them either in the body of the email or as one file attachment only. For example, if you want to include illustrations, appendices etc they must be all in one single file with your comments (Word or PDF) if you want these published on our website.

Please make sure you provide the application number, the site address and your name and address. This is so we can pass on your comments to the relevant case officer. You can follow the progress of the application using the planning applications search facility.

All comments received on planning applications on the website for inspection are subject to data protection rules which mean that signatures, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses will be redacted prior to publication. If we consider that the content is potentially libellous or defamatory, contain abusive, obscene, or racist language or contain information which should not be circulated, we reserve the right to remove the offending information before publication, with or without the consent of the author. We will retain an unaltered copy of the comments on the planning file.

In addition, those commenting on planning applications should ensure that they are satisfied that the content of their letters would not open them to legal challenge.

Due to the number of applications and letters received it is not possible to reply to any issues or questions raised, or to provide further information other that contained in the application drawings and accompanying documents. But, if you make written representations, your views will be carefully considered in determining the application.

All planning applications received are published on our Public Access website.

We normally only send letters to addresses that have an adjoining boundary with the application site, although we may also include addresses directly opposite where appropriate. Some applications are also advertised by site notices and in the local press.

Anyone can comment, regardless of whether they have received a letter. All comments received are carefully considered when deciding on an application. Remember to always supply your name and address. If you do not, your comments cannot be logged for future consultations and may carry less weight.

You can find out about applications in your immediate area by using the mapping layers on our my maps tool.

All comments submitted by residents and other interested parties need to be read for suitability and personal details redacted prior to publication on our site.

Letter are scanned and redacted by support teams and then forward to the case officer. This can take up to five working days depending on workload and the number of representations received.

Planning officers consider and make the decisions on most planning applications under delegated powers.

If you wish an application to be referred to one of our planning committees, you should contact your local district councillor to discuss the matter further.

Each planning committee meets approx. every four weeks currently hybrid and you are welcome to watch or speak. See our meeting agendas and minutes for further information.

Decision notices and some summary records and documentation from 1948 and onwards can be viewed via our Public Access site. Put the first line of the address (and nothing else) into the keyword search field of the simple search. If nothing is returned, try the road name or postcode.

If you want details of any specific applications please send the request by email to uconnect@uttlesford.gov.uk and we will capture the details so that they are viewable on line.

If you would like us to investigate the history of your property for you there is a fee payable. Copy of history £25 inc VAT.

We do not hold information regarding boundaries, please refer to your title deeds or contact the Land Registry.

For any works to form or alter a vehicular or pedestrian access to a road, including a dropped kerb, Uttlesford District Council and Essex County Council may both need to be involved.

You will need planning permission from us if the proposal is on a classified road. You can find out if the road is classified by using our My Maps tool on our website

Irrespective of the need for planning permission, any works to a public highway such as altering the verge or pavement or providing a dropped kerb will require separate permission from the highways authority.

Alterations to vehicular or pedestrian access arrangements to commercial and other non-domestic premises will almost certainly require planning permission.

Planning permission is generally not required for hard surfaces within the garden of a dwelling if the area does not exceed five square metres in size. If the area is over the size limit, the surface must let water drain or have a soak-away drain or other area, such as a flower bed, that allows water to drain through. Water cannot be directed to run into the road.

Planning permission may not be required for a householder to run a business from home, providing it does not change the overall character of the property as a residence.

However, some important questions to bear in mind are:

• Will my business operate independently from the rest of my property?
• Will there be frequent visitors to my property, including deliveries and/or customers?
• Am I going to need to employ staff to operate the business?
• Is my business going to be noisy or cause disturbance to my neighbours?
• If my business is successful, will I want it to expand and grow?

If you can answer 'yes' to one or more of these questions, it is possible that your business will require planning permission.

In addition, if you decide to put up a building in your garden for the purposes of carrying out your business then that building will probably require planning permission as well. An outbuilding that is used as a home office is unlikely to need planning permission however provided it would not exceed the limitations of a permitted development outbuilding. Further information on working from home.

You may also need to tell our council tax department about your business, and if you are a tenant in your property, you should check with you landlord that you have their permission.

You can find out more about outdoor advertisements and signs on GOV.UK for those wanting to display an outdoor advertisement, how the system of advertisement control works in England.

If you require further information or advice on advertisement consent in Uttlesford you can find out more by visiting our planning advice pages.

You must request listed building consent through the Planning Portal to add secondary glazing to a listed building. Please include all required additional documents, you can find out more about these on our forms and checklists page.

YYou must request listed building consent through the Planning Portal to replace any glazing units in a listed building, regardless of whether they are like for like or you already have double glazing. Please include all required additional documents, you can find out more about these on our forms and checklists page.

You must request listed building consent through the Planning Portal to add a satellite dish either in the curtilage of or attached to a listed building. Please include all required additional documents, you can find out more about these on our forms and checklists page.

Unless you are using the same/existing colour and paint type as you must request listed building consent through the Planning Portal to repaint a listed building. Please include all required additional documents, you can find out more about these on our forms and checklists page.

You must request listed building consent through the Planning Portal to change an external door on a listed building. Please include all required additional documents, you can find out more about these on our forms and checklists page.

You must request listed building consent through the Planning Portal to change an internal door on a listed building. Please include all required additional documents, you can find out more about these on our forms and checklists page.

You must request listed building consent through the Planning Portal to add a superfast broadband box the external wall of a listed building. Please include all required additional documents, you can find out more about these on our forms and checklists page.

You can check if planning permission has been granted by searching our planning portal.

Even if your neighbour has planning permission, any works undertaken within 1m of a boundary may require the serving of a party wall notice. If your neighbour has not served this notice on you, this is a civil matter and not something we have any power to enforce. We would recommend you speak to your neighbour in the first instance.

If your neighbour has no planning permission or has planning permission but is building across your boundary, it could be that there is a breach of planning regulations and further details can be found on our planning enforcement page. They do not, however, investigate boundary disputes.

If you wish to take legal advice Citizen Advice may be able to help.

If any proposal would overshadow a window that has existed for 20 years of more in a way that may affect any 'right to light' legal action may be taken against the applicant.

This is a private matter and you will need to seek advice on this separately. We cannot become involved in private matters and they will not usually affect the outcome of an application.

If any proposal encroaches onto neighbouring land (for example, by eaves or gutters overhanging a boundary) it may not proceed without neighbours’ agreement, even if planning permission is granted.

The Party Wall Act 1996 may be relevant if building works involves:

• Work on existing wall shared with another property
• Building on the boundary with a neighbouring property
• Excavating near an adjoining building

Similarly, your neighbour's consent may be required if a builder needs to enter their land at any stage.

If there is any doubt about where the boundary lies between you and your neighbour's property, you should try to find out as soon as possible. The title deeds to your own property may help.

An amicable agreement with your neighbour is always best. We do not hold any records of land ownership and cannot give a ruling in any dispute and will not intervene in this private matter.