Applying for planning permission
Due to the high volume of applications received there is a delay to the processing and determination of applications.
It may take up to 12 weeks to determine your application rather than the usual 8 due to the current circumstances.
We will endeavour to determine your application as soon as possible. We advise to factor in the potential for delays before planning any works.
Our Public Access system contains a record of all planning applications we've received since 1947 as well as Building Regulation applications. Using Public Access you can comment on a proposed planning application and track any proposals you may be interested in.
You can also:
- search our weekly list - applications validated or decided in a given week
- search by an address - use our address or A to Z street search
If you need any help with Public Access we've prepared a User Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you require any further information about our Public Access system please take a moment to read our Frequently Asked Questions.
Making a comment online
As a security measure Public Access will ‘time out’ after 30 minutes. You may wish to compose and save your comments in another application such as Word or Notepad and then paste these comments into the Comment box on Public Access. This ensures the process is completed quickly and reduces the likelihood of your comments being lost.
As we do not publish public comments on our website, the system will show that no comments have been received. If you would like further details on how many comments have been received for a particular application please call 0121 704 8008.
Planning Committee
Arrangements for public access to remote meetings
You can watch our Planing Committee meetings at our Youtube channel.
The only participants in this virtual meeting will be the Councillors concerned and the officers advising the Committee.
Public Speaking on Planning Applications at Virtual Committee Meetings
Any members of the public who are registered and wish to make representations to the committee following the publication of an agenda can do so by joining the remote meeting and instructions on how to do this will be provided to those who register to speak.
Registered speakers will also be required to provide a written statement which will be read out at the relevant time in the meeting in the event that the speaker fails to join the remote meeting. Submissions must not exceed the permitted three minutes speaking time when read out.
In the event of more than one applicant, supporter or objector wishing to address the Committee, a spokesperson should be nominated who will submit representations on behalf of all registered speakers.
Ward Members may address the Committee by joining the meeting and also submitting a written statement which will be read out in the meeting if the member fails to join the remote meeting. Submissions must not exceed four minutes speaking time when read out.
Submissions must be emailed to planning@solihull.gov.uk by 12 noon on the day immediately preceding the virtual Committee meeting.
Significant proposals will often be determined at planning committee, which is held every four weeks. The meeting is open to members of the public, however if you wish to speak at the committee, you will need to pre-register. We write to anyone who has made a formal comment on an application which is to be heard at the committee, further guidance on how to speak at committee will be contained within your notification letter.
Before the meeting you can view the agenda and a copy of the report into the application plus the recommendation.
Applications recommended for approval will have a list of condition reference numbers attached. Our Condition List can be used to look up which conditions are proposed.
We also Webcast all our planning committees live and you can watch previous committee meetings.
HS2 Applications
When Royal Assent was given to the HS2 Bill in February 2017, this effectively gave planning permission for the works associated with HS2. The terms of the act are that it is akin to an ‘outline consent’ and that some subsequent matters of detail will need to be included in applications submitted to the Council. These are known as ‘schedule 17’ submissions.
As part of the process, the Council has been able to gain status as a “Qualifying Authority”. As a Qualifying Authority under the terms of the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act the Council will be responsible for issuing consents and approvals in relation to the design and construction details of such matters as buildings and road vehicle parks; terracing; cuttings; embankments and other earthworks; fences; walls or other barriers; transformers; telecommunication masts; pedestrian access to the railway line; artificial lighting; waste and spoil disposal; borrow pits; and traffic routing. Applications for consent would be pursuant to Schedule 17 of the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act.
Schedule 17 submissions are not planning applications and will serve only to agree design and construction details of the specified works listed above.
The Act ‘disapplies’ the majority of national legislation and regional / local policy which would normally be relevant to a major infrastructure project, meaning that the Council will not be able to consider consents and approvals in the context of the Town and Country Planning Act or the Council’s Local Plan. The Act prescribes, in broad terms, two main sets of grounds upon which works may be considered for refusal or condition:
(1) That the design or external appearance of the works ought to be modified,
- to preserve the local environment or local amenity; and / or
- to prevent or reduce prejudicial effects on road safety or on the free flow of traffic in the local area; and / or
- to preserve a site of archaeological or historic interest or nature conservation value;
- and is reasonably capable of being so modified, or
(2) That the development ought to, and could reasonably, be carried out elsewhere on land within the Act limits.