Pre-Application Advice is always encouraged in order to provide an understanding on how local planning policies relate to your project and get clarification on whether specialist services or reports would be needed to ensure a valid application, such as Flood Risk Assessments or Design and Access Statements. It also reduces the risk of an application being invalid or refused, but there is no guarantee that your planning permission will be granted on the basis you sought Pre-Application Advice.

Plans for the project must be complete before this stage in order to fully discuss the works that will be undertaken. It also gives planning officers a chance to see any potential site problems, before they arise, as well as discuss how these potential issues could be mitigated if the project was to go ahead.

Pre-application advice is also a way of ensuring that you can demonstrate why your proposal should go ahead and in the cases of major developments, why this would benefit the local community in terms of infrastructure.

Pre-application advice can save both time and money when it comes to projects involving more complex development as it reduces the risk of a failed or invalid application and it also shows that you are working collaboratively and openly from the outset.