UNDERSTANDING PLANNING: How to get your plans approved

KEN DIJKSMAN Ken, a former planning officer, is a planning consultant and owner of Dijksman Planning LLP. He is also the author of The Planning Game

The rhetorical question I hear a lot is: “How on earth did they get planning permission for that?” Sometimes it’s said in jealousy, sometimes out of simple astonishment, and sometimes in disgust. Why some houses get permission and others don’t is something of a mystery to those outside the industry. As a self-builder, the more you know about planning permissions and policies – and why some applications are granted and others refused – the more likely you are to get your plans get passed.

Planning decisions are based on both national and local planning policies — namely the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which forms the foundation for local authorities’ local plans. The jargon is ‘material considerations’ — things that are relevant to planning and that are taken into account when deciding a planning application.