Pre-application advice service standards
In order to sustain a high level of effectiveness and consistency in providing professional advice that we give our customers, we have adopted a number of customer service standards as follows:
- We will respond
- on a quick householder ‘Desk Based Assessment’ within 10 working days.
- with written comments on requests for advice on householder proposals within 15 working days of receipt.
- with written comments on requests for other and / or minor proposals within 20 working days of receipt or after any conducted meeting.
- to written requests for advice on major development proposals within 28 working days of receipt or after any conducted meeting.
- Where relevant, the pre-application fee covers one meeting. Any additional meetings will be treated as a ‘follow-up’ pre-application submission and charged an additional fee as set out in the charging schedule.
- If it is not possible to respond within the above timescales due to the complexity of the case or the need to seek comments from specialist officers / others, we will contact you to agree a longer response time.
The pre-application advice is given without prejudice to the consideration of any future planning application and is based on the relevant planning legislation and national and local planning policies and guidance that is in existence at the time of providing the advice.
Meetings
Slough Borough Council will conduct all initial meetings regarding pre-application advice via a suitable video conference platform, and preferably via Microsoft Teams. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have access to Microsoft Teams prior to making their application.
Following the initial meeting, the planning officer may decide that a site visit is also required. This will be dependent on the circumstances of the pre-application and will not be at the request of the applicant. Any accompanied or unaccompanied site visits will take place at the Planning Officer’s discretion in consultation with their Line Manager or Head of Planning Services
Any in person meetings will also be at the Planning Officers discretion and not of the applicants.
All site and in person meetings are at the LPA’s discretion however all requests for in-person meetings will be considered on a proposal by proposal basis and will consider the complexity of the proposal and, should a site meeting be required following the Teams meeting, the site visit may require a “follow up” fee.
Fees
Our fee charging schedule sets out the list of fees for obtaining pre- application advice which has been determined by the scale of the proposed development. The pre-application fee must be paid in advance and mixed use developments will be charged at the highest rate of the proposed uses. The fee for using the pre-application service includes VAT and is non-refundable.
The fees for unusual developments not covered in the list of fees or complex developments will be negotiated with the applicant prior to the submission. Costs associated with independent review of specialist documents not available within the Council (e.g. viability, heritage, retail impact, daylight and sunlight) will be subject to consultant fees
Planning Performance Agreements (PPA’s)
For major and complex schemes, it would be helpful to discuss what information you have gathered about your proposals prior to your meeting with the case officer. For a limited number of large scale major developments the Council will consider entering into a Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) to take a project managed approach to large or complex developments.
Building Control
The Council’s Building Control service is concerned with overseeing the construction of commercial development as well as agreeing the building control certification for residential / householder schemes. We are dedicated to ensuring that our Building Control process provides added value for our clients – reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, delays and costs.
W e provide a proactive and efficient Building Control Service and Building Regulations Consultancy. Our team of highly experienced surveyors, engineers and support staff can provide design and feasibility consultation with our extensive knowledge of a wide range of projects of all sizes and complexities.
Confidentiality
The Council treats all pre-application enquiries as confidential and information regarding these will not be available for the public to view on our planning website. It is important to note that under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, we may receive from time to time a request from a member of the public to provide information regarding enquiries and responses in respect of pre-application advice. Subject to certain exemptions, we are obliged to release this information, although personal contact details are protected under the Data Protection Act.