Submitting a Planning Application: The Full Process
Free with emailHow to submit a householder planning application in England. Covers the £548 fee, required drawings, Planning Portal submission, the 8-week decision timeline, and what to do if refused.
Do this first:
The most common reason planning applications stall has nothing to do with your extension design. It's missing paperwork. An incomplete submission doesn't get refused. It gets sent back as invalid, and the 8-week determination clock doesn't start until the council accepts it as complete. Homeowners who assume their architect has submitted everything sometimes discover two or three weeks later that the application hasn't even entered the system.
This guide covers the practical process: what goes into a householder planning application, how to submit it, what it costs, and what happens between clicking "submit" and receiving your decision.
This guide assumes you've already established that your extension needs planning permission. If you haven't, work through Do You Need Planning Permission? and Permitted Development Rules first.
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