Apply for Planning Permission

Information and documentation on how to apply for Planning Permission

To apply for planning permission you can use the Planning Portal website.

Here you can fill out an online application form, upload your plans and documents and pay the application fee.

Apply Online 
Fee Calculator

Although we recommend using the Planning Portal to submit an application, you can download an application form and send your application documents by email to planning@sstaffs.gov.uk or post them to:

Development Management
South Staffordshire Council
Council Offices
Wolverhampton Road
Codsall
South Staffordshire
WV8 1PX

Download an application form here

Validation Guidance

Please use the validation guidance below to check what documents are required to support your application. 

Validation Guidance (Householder)

Validation Guidance To be used for all applications excluding discharge of conditions and applications for Lawful Development Certificates (Proposed use)

Planning Fees 

To check application fees, please use the Planning Portal website where you will find a Fee Calculator or Downloadable Guide for planning fees.

If you are submitting your application by email or post, payment can be made online.

Make a payment

Please note if you are submitting your application via the Planning Portal you must pay the application fee along with the service charge on the Planning Portal website for the application to be released to the Council.

The Application Process

Registration and validation

When an application has been submitted, it will be registered and given a reference number.

A case officer will check the application has all the information we need to validate it.

We aim to complete this check as quickly as possible, however times scales do vary depending on workload and may take up to 2 weeks.

If we have received all the documents we require, the application will be validated and an acknowledgement letter will be sent to the applicant or agent.

If we require additional information, The applicant or agent will be notified and the application will be made invalid. The application process will not start until the requested information is received.

Consultation

Once an application has been validated, the Council carry out a standard 21 day public consultation on most applications. We write to any properties who share a boundary with the application site, including those opposite. We often put a site notice up near the application site and place an advert in the Express and Star for certain applications.

We also consult the Ward Members and Parish Council of the application site along with relevant consultees who will give us expert advice. For example, County Highways, County Flood Team, Environmental Health, Ecology and Arboricultural experts.

The Council cannot make a decision on the application before the end of the consultation period.

If comments are received after the consultation expiry date, we cannot guarantee that they will be taken into account when the application is determined.

If amendments to the proposal are received, a re consultation may be carried out.

Site Visits

The case officer may need to carry out a site visit to help with their evaluation of the proposal. Officers will also take photographs of the site which form part of the application file.

Officer Report

When the consultations and negotiations have finished, the case officer writes a report about the proposal. In the report, the officer:

  • addresses any comments people might have made;
  • checks the proposal against our policies; 
  • finds the most important points for and against the proposal (the 'material considerations');
  • decides how important each point is (its 'weight'); and
  • recommends approval or refusal.

Determination

Applications are determined in one of two ways:

  • Delegated Decision – Usually for Householder or Minor applications, a Team Manager checks the report and signs off the decision.
  • Planning Committee

Timescales for determination:

  • 8 weeks – Householder and Minor Applications.
  • 12 weeks – Major Applications.

When a decision has been issued, you will find the decision notice and officer report on Public Access.

Public Access

Decision: approval

The decision notice lists any conditions that apply to make the proposal acceptable and any approved plans or documents.
Some conditions specify the use of the development, while others ask for more detail on an aspect of the proposal. Please read the decision notice carefully as there may be “pre commencement conditions” where further details need to be submitted to the Council before you start work. You can do this by submitting a “Discharge of Conditions” application.

Decision: refusal

When an application is refused, the decision is explained in the decision notice. The officer report goes into more detail.
The applicant has the right to appeal a refusal, details of how to do this are on the decision notice, however if they feel that they can change the proposal to make it acceptable, a new application can be submitted (with the same proposal description) within a year of the decision date, the second application is free.

Appeals: applicants

Only the applicant can appeal against a planning decision to the Planning Inspectorate.

As a neighbour, you cannot appeal if we approve something you do not like. However, depending on the proposal, you may be able to exercise your rights under other laws, such as the Party Wall Act. We recommend that you seek independent legal advice.

If you think that the Council made a mistake in the way an application was handled you can use our complaints procedure to let us know. However, the Council cannot change a decision after it has been issued. The only way to change a planning decision is to seek a judicial review (JR). Strict time limits apply, and again, you will need independent legal advice.

Planning Protocol for Members

  • Document currently being updated.

Data Protection

We maintain a register of planning applications and applications for tree works, which includes personal details of people who have:

  • submitted a planning application;
  • commented on a planning application;
  • submitted pre-application enquiries and hedgerow removal notices; or
  • submitted a complaint about a high hedge, together with details of the person living at the property where the hedge is growing and the person who owns the property.

To maintain this register, we collect and use personal information about you. For more information about how we process this data, please see our Data Protection page.
 

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