Planning for businesses

Hart’s approach to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in securing sustainable development for the district will be used to inform all planning decisions made by the Council.

Small and Medium Sized Businesses

You can complete our do I need planning permission online form (fee applies) to find out whether a proposal requires planning permission or not. Please supply a clear explanation of your proposal and a location map showing the extent of the site and the position of the proposed development.

Our pre-application advice service can offer support and guidance for outline and full schemes. Fees are dependent on the proposal, complete our pre-application online form to get started.

To ensure fairness and transparency the Council publishes all pre-application requests submitted since 1 January 2014 online. If you believe that your pre-application request involves financially sensitive material then you need to set this out in your request. Any non-commercially financially sensitive parts of a pre-application request will still be published.

The Planning Portal provides general guidance for small businesses: -

Other advice and guidance is available through the Government's Planning Guidance website:

Major Development

Major schemes involving a residential and commercial mix should take into account how good design can enhance future residents enjoyment of their surroundings. Developers wishing to make outline applications for major schemes can access our Planning Obligations Principles and Priorities document

Our pre-application advice service can offer support and guidance for outline and full schemes. Fees are dependent on the proposal, complete our major development pre-application online form to get started.

Applicants for large-scale planning applications or pre-application discussions are now able to present their proposals to elected members ahead of any Planning Committee decision. Formal meetings can now be specifically convened to allow better engagement between developers under Hart’s Development Proposals Presentation Protocol.

Planning Conditions and Planning Obligations

Conditions

As an alternative to outright refusal, the Council may grant permission subject to conditions, for example, restricting what you can do on the premises, or requiring you to get specific approval for aspects of the development, such as the materials to be used, before you can proceed. The authority has to give reasons for the conditions.

If you are not prepared to accept the conditions you can either discuss the position with the case officer, who may be able to suggest ways of overcoming the Council's objections, or you can appeal against the condition(s) that you do not agree with.

Planning obligations and agreements

Planning obligations (also known as s106 agreements – of the 1990 Town & Country Planning Act) are private agreements made between local authorities and developers and can be attached to a planning permission to make acceptable development which would otherwise be unacceptable in planning terms. The land itself, rather than the person or organisation that develops the land, is bound by a Section 106 Agreement – so this is something any future owners will need to take into account.

The Government's policy on the use of planning obligations is set out in Circular 05/05. The Council must take this guidance into account in its decisions on planning applications and must have good reasons for departing from it. For more advice visit the Planning Portal's planning conditions and obligations page.

Advice on Hart's approach to Planning a Obligations and the Community Infrastructure can be found in our Planning Obligations Principles and Priorities document

The planning obligation is a formal document, a deed, which states that it is an obligation for planning purposes, identifies the relevant land, the person entering the obligation and their interest and the relevant local authority that would enforce the obligation. The obligation can be a unitary obligation or multi party agreement and becomes a local land charge.

The common uses of planning obligations are to secure affordable housing. However additionally a s106 obligation can:

restrict the development or use of the land in any specified way
require specified operations or activities to be carried out in, on, under or over the land
require the land to be used in any specified way; or
require a sum or sums to be paid to the authority on a specified date or dates or periodically.

In most of Hart district, development of housing is subject to contributions towards mitigating against the effects of an increase to the local population on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (known as the SPA).

Access a S106 Template.

To see our emerging Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) policy please visit our planning guidance page .