You’ve built something without applying for planning permission – or something which differs from the plans which were approved by the council. What happens next?
As professional planners, we will always recommend that you find out whether you need planning permission before you start any building works. Some building works are considered ‘permitted development’ and do not need planning permission. If it’s not ‘permitted development’ then you need to submit a planning application to your council.
So what happens if your building works needed planning permission but you didn’t get permission? Or what you’ve built is different from the plans? In this situation, the building works may be considered by the council to be ‘unauthorised’, and they may ask for a retrospective planning application to be made – to make them ‘legal’.
We recently secured retrospective planning permission for the ancillary use of a house as a holiday let in Nottingham and for ground mounted solar panels on a site in the green belt. Both developments were identified as being unauthorised – with our help they have avoided the threat of legal action and both are now ‘legal’.
So if you are unsure about what is permitted development, whether your building works require planning permission or need help with a retrospective application then please contact us