Planning Application Process

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What happens when my Application is Submitted?

This outlines the procedures involved when consideration is being given to submission of a planning application to the Council and what happens when it has been submitted.

Please note that his does not replace or supersede any requirements detailed in planning legislation.

Application Process

The first thing the Council will do is register your application, receipt any payment received and give it a reference number.

The Council will make electronic copies of the documents and plans submitted with the application and it will be displayed on the Council's website when the application is valid.

Your application will be passed to an officer who will check it to make sure that you've submitted everything required, including any fees that might be payable.

The Council might have to obtain a fee from you for publishing a notice in the press if there are no buildings on land that requires to be neighbour notified near your site.

If everything is in order, your application will be registered as Valid and processing will be started. You'll be sent a letter stating the Valid Date and other details, including who's dealing with your application and how to go about making an appeal if you haven't received a decision from the Council within the statutory period. For National and Major developments, this is four months.  Applications where an Environmental Assessment is required also have a four month statutory period for determination. For Local developments, the Council has two months to issue its decision. Planning legislation allows the two and four month periods to be departed from by mutual agreement in certain circumstances.

If you haven't received a decision from the Council about your application within two or four months, or any longer period agreed, whichever is appropriate, you have the right to Appeal. It's generally better to check with your case officer about the delay before making an appeal.

Invalid Applications

If there's something missing from your application when it's checked by the officer, it will be declared Invalid and you'll receive a letter detailing what else you need to do or provide to make it valid. If everything hasn't been received within the timescale specified in the Invalid letter, your application will be withdrawn. You'll receive a letter to that effect. The Council will keep your documents for the record. Any fees paid will be refunded by the Council.

Valid Applications

For valid applications, your case officer will organise any publicity, (including neighbour notification, press notice, site notice and notification to councillors and community councils), that requires to be given to your application, and consult anyone needed in order to obtain their comments on your application.

Your case officer is responsible for visiting the application site and to take into account the views of any consultees, and those of anyone else arising from the publicity given to the application, before coming to his view on the acceptability or otherwise of your proposal.

Decisions on Applications

Decisions on applications require to be made in accordance with the National Planning Framework 4 and the Development Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The case officer will consider all relevant factors and write a report on the application. For small scale developments, you might well not be contacted by your case officer before they prepare their report.

For larger scale developments, it is likely that you will be contacted by your case officer to discuss the proposals. If these discussion lead to a material change in the proposals, you probably will be advised to withdraw the application and submit a fresh one so there's no confusion in the mind of the wider community about what's being proposed and everything is clear and transparent.

Applications dealt with under the Scheme of Delegation

Most applications are dealt with under the terms of a Scheme of Delegation.  For such applications, the case officer will write a brief report with a recommendation on your proposals and pass it to an Appointed Officer who has been authorised by the Council to determine the application on its behalf. Once the case officer's recommendation has been agreed, the Appointed Officer will sign the Decision Notice and it will be issued to your agent, or to you if there is no agent..

If your application needs to be reported to Committees for decision, a fuller report will be written by the case officer with a recommendation to Committee.

National, Major and Local Developments

National developments are included in the National Planning Framework 4 Major developments are confirmed within the Hierarchy of Development.

If the scale of your development is National or Major, you will be required to undertake pre-application consultation with the community.  At least 12 weeks before you submit the planning application for it, you must serve a  Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) on the Council.

During pre application consultation and prior to submission of a planning application you should submit a request to the Council for confirmation a to whether the proposal will require an Environmental Impact Assessment. This is known as a Request for a Screening Opinion. 

For all National developments and for Major developments which are significantly contrary to the Development Plan, the Council will offer you the opportunity of a Predetermination Hearing to help Committee's consideration of your proposals.

Both the case officer's report and the Committee report will be made available for public inspection Online and will form the Report of Handling for any further examination of the way the application was processed.

What you need to do when you get Permission

Once you've obtained planning permission, and you want to implement the consent you should check your decision notice for conditions. Some of these conditions may be what we call pre-commencement meaning that you have to discharge them before starting any works. Others may require you to follow certain steps or do certain things during the course of your construction or they may need to be discharged prior to completing works on site. You must check your decision notice as any work in breach of a planning condition can result in formal Enforcement action. 

By starting building works or using a property for the authorised use, you must serve a Notification of Initiation of Development (NID) on the Council. The forms should be completed and sent to Glasgow City Council, Planning and Building Standards, Development Management, 231 George Street, Glasgow G1 1RX. You must do this before work commences otherwise Enforcement action may be taken.

If you are implementing planning permission for a National, a Major or a Local development which has been advertised as a "Bad Neighbour" development, you must also display a Site Notice during construction works. Again, failure to do so may result in enforcement action against you.

Before you start work, you should ensure you have all the other consents that might be required. These might include the permission of the owner of the land or property, a Building Warrant, Section 59 Consent from Land and Environmental Services, etc.

When you've finished building works, you must send a Notification of Completion Notice on the Council. In some cases, e.g. where conditions are attached requiring certain matters to be fulfilled on a phased development, failure to serve such a notice is enforceable.