Types of planning applications

Planning application fees from December 6, 2023

There are four main types of application for planning permission:

• Full Application
• Householder Application
• Outline Application
• Reserved Matters Application

Visit the Planning Portal's or our Do I Need Planning Permission? page to find out whether you need planning permission for your building project.

Full planning application

This is the most common type of planning application. The full details of a development proposal are submitted for consideration together, including detailed drawings showing the site and the work you plan to do.

Types of development that require an application for full permission include;

• most non-householder developments
• engineering or other works
• new housing development
• temporary planning permission
• changes of use of buildings or land.

However, if you are extending or altering an existing residential dwelling you will need to make a Householder application (see below).

Householder application

This is an application specifically for householders that want to carry out work to their home or garden area. All details of the development proposal are submitted in one planning application.

These cover projects such as:

• Extensions and Conservatories
• Garage and Loft conversions
• Doors and Windows
• Garages, Car Ports and Outbuildings
• Fences, Gates and Garden Walls
• Decking and Balconies
• Satellite dishes
• Solar Panels and Wind Turbines

There are some cases where you may not need to apply for planning permission, providing the works meet certain limits and conditions. This is known as permitted development. We have developed a set of self-assessment forms which will help you to assess whether you require planning permission for your proposed development.

Outline application

The purpose of an outline application is to decide whether the scale and nature of a proposed development would be acceptable before a fully detailed proposal is put forward. This type of permission is usually for larger schemes, for example, housing developments.

If approved, conditions are normally attached which will need to be completed or met before further submission - this is known as a Reserved Matters application (see below).

Where the setting of a listed building is affected or if the site is in a conservation area the council may require further details for consideration. In these cases an outline application may not be acceptable and an application for full permission will be required.

Reserved Matters application

Where outline planning permission has been granted, an application for approval of the details, or Reserved Matters, must be submitted to the planning authority for approval before the development starts. A Reserved Matters application must be submitted for approval within three years of an Outline application being approved.

This will typically include information about the layout, access, scale and appearance of the development i.e. the information excluded from the initial outline planning application.