Planning Applications - Do I need planning permission?

General information on the most common types of householder development and whether planning permission is required.  Other information relating to guidance for businesses is provided further down the page.

• House Extensions
• Guidance for Businesses
• Planning Policy
• Other Things to Consider
• Pre-Application Advice (takes you away from this page)

The advice given here is not binding and if you are in any doubt about whether you need to apply, you should contact Design and Development by Telephone 0121 704 8008, use the Contact form below or e-mail planning@solihull.gov.uk.

House Extensions

The Planning Portal provides general guidance on both planning matters and building regulations.  The Planning Portal provides the following: -

• Interactive House
• Interactive Terrace
• Common Projects, Mini Guides and Case Study's
• Your responsibilities

You should also review the following pages on our own website as they may contain information that means you still need to obtain planning permission for your project.

• Tree Preservation Orders.
  Find out if your property has a tree protected by a Tree Preservation order.
• Listed Buildings.
  Find out if your property is listed and what this means or is near a listed building.
• Planning Conservation Areas.
  Information on Conservation Areas and restrictions on developments, demolition and work to trees within these areas.
• Permitted Development Rights, Article 3 & 4 Directions
  You are normally permitted to carry out certain types of development without obtaining formal planning permission.  In some cases the council may have removed some or all of the permitted development rights and this page contains more information on the subject.  

Take Care! If your project requires planning permission and it is built without permission, you may be forced to put things right later.  This could prove troublesome and costly, you may even need to remove an unauthorised building.

If you still unsure of what permitted development rights are and how they may affect your project, please contact Design and Development for further advice specific to your development and property.  We have provided a number of Permitted Development Enquiry Forms for this purpose.  Please look under "Printable Forms" on the right of this page.

Please Note: from the 22 of November 2010 the way in which handle pre-application advice is changing.  Please visit our Pre-Application Discussions page for more information.

Guidance for Businesses

The Planning Portal provides general guidance for small businesses: -

• Shops
• Changes of use
• Adverts and signs
• Warehouses and Industrial Buildings
• Working from home
• Your responsibilities

Other guidance is available from the Department for Communities and Local Government website.

• Planning Permission: A guide for businesses
  This link will take you to the Communities and Local Government website.
• Creating better places to live: A guide to the planning system in England
  This link will take you to the Communities and Local Government website.
• Farmers Guide to Planning
  This link will take you to the Communities and Local Government website.
• Outdoor advertisements and signs: a guide for advertisers
  This booklet, prepared by Communities and Local Government, aims to explain to everyone who wants to display an outdoor advertisement how the system of advertisement control works in England.  This link will take you to the Communities and Local Government website.

Planning Policy

Supplementary Planning Guidance

Additional guidance which stems from the policies or proposals of the Unitary Development Plan (supplementary planning documents within a Local Development Framework under the new Planning System).

• Housing in Context - Guidance for Windfall Development
• Affordable Housing
• SPG 1 The Historic Environment
• SPG 2 Rural Buildings Conversion Guidance
• SPG 3 House Extension Guidelines - Superseded by SPD - House Extension Guidelines
• Planning Guidelines to Housing Development
• Shop Fronts & Signs
• Replacement Dwellings in the Green Belt
• Solihull's Countryside
• Hot Food Take-Away Shops

Supplementary Planning Documents

• Vehicle Parking and Green Travel Plans
• House Extension Guidelines

Landscape and Ecology Guidance

• Design Guide 1 Trees on development sites

Planning Policy Guidance and Planning Policy Statements

Planning policy guidance notes (PPGs) and their replacements Planning Policy Statements (PPSs) are prepared by the government after public consultation to explain statutory provisions and provide guidance to local authorities and others on planning policy and the operation of the planning system.  They also explain the relationship between planning policies and other policies which have an important bearing on issues of development and land use.

Local authorities must take their contents into account in preparing their development plans. The guidance may also be relevant to decisions on individual planning applications and appeals.

An explanation of each policy and the policy document in full are available on the Planning Portal website.

The Regional Spatial Strategy for the West Midlands is available on the West Midlands Regional Assembly website.

Other Things to Consider

If you are thinking of developing your property or other land it would be sensible to check if the land is subject to any constraints or other issues. Constraints within the borough of Solihull may include land subject to:

• Solihull Unitary Development Plan
• Flood risk
• Contaminated Land
• Tree Preservation Orders
• Listed Buildings
• Planning Conservation Areas
• Permitted Development Rights, Article 3 & 4 Directions
• Greener Homes & Micro-generation (takes you away from this page)

You can also visit the Environment Agency's website to find out if your property or land is at risk from flooding.