Pre-application advice
Local Medium Scale pre-application advice
If you know that you require planning permission then the Highland Council encourages and welcomes the opportunity to provide advice before you formally submit your planning application.
Please read the guidance below before submitting your application.
There is a fee for this value-added service which is reviewed annually with any fee increase taking effect from the start of April each year. For more details on how much you need to pay see our main Planning fees webpage. A full list of categories under Local Medium Scale Developments is shown below. A stand alone tool is available from ePlanning.scot to assist you in estimating the cost of your planning application - Fee calculator.
Definition for Pre-Application Advice for Local Medium Scale Developments
|
Proposal |
Charge |
|---|---|
|
Houses, Flats and Self-Contained Dwellings
|
35% of Planning Application Fee, capped at £2,500 Please note: Any development proposal in excess of 49 units, or where the site area exceeds 2 hectares should use the Major Development Pre-application Advice Service. |
|
Listed Buildings |
No charge for pre-application advice for changes to the interior of the building e.g. cornices, internal doors, where planning is not required. 35% of Planning Application Fee, capped at £2,500 Pre-application advice for changes to the exterior of the building e.g. external doors, extensions, windows i.e. where planning permission is required. |
|
Business & General Industry, Storage and Distribution |
35% of Planning Application Fee, capped at £2,500. Please note: Any development proposal where the site areas is in excess of 2 hectares, or where the gross floor space of any building, structure or erection constructed as a result of such development is or exceeds 10,000 square metres, is classed as a major development and you should use the Major Development Pre-application Advice Service. |
|
Carry out any operations connected with the exploratory drilling for oil and natural gas |
35% of Planning Application Fee, capped at £2,500 |
|
Non-Domestic Renewable Proposals 0.1MW - 19.9MW |
35% of Planning Application Fee, capped at £2,500 Please note:Any development with a site area in excess of 2ha., or will generate more than 20MW of electricity, is classed as a major development and therefore falls within the remit of our Major Developments Pre-application Development Advice Service. |
|
Minerals enquires |
35% of Planning Application Fee, capped at £2,500 Please note:Any development proposal with a site area in excess of 2ha. is classed as a major development and you should use the Major Development Pre-application Advice Service |
|
Peat enquiries |
35% of Planning Application Fee, capped at £2,500 Please note: Any development proposal with a site area in excess of 2ha. is classed as a major development and you should use the Major Development Pre-application Advice Service |
|
Marine Fish Farm Development |
35% of Planning Application Fee, capped at £2,500 Where surface equipment is less than 2 ha. Please note: Any development proposal where the surface equipment is in excess of 2ha. is classed as a major development and you should use the Major Development Pre-application Advice Service |
|
Other Development |
35% of Planning Application Fee, capped at £2,500 Please note:Any development proposal where the site areas is in excess of 2ha., or where the gross floor space of any building, structure or erection constructed as a result of such development is or exceeds 5,000 square metres, is classed as a major development and you should use the Major Development Pre-application Advice Service |
|
Miscellaneous Exemptions |
No Fee will apply to the following:
|
What do I need to submit with my request?
In order for your Local Medium Scale pre-application advice request to be considered valid and for processing to begin, it must include the following:
Mandatory
- A completed pre-application advice application form using our on-line form below;
- A clear description of the proposed development;
- A fee appropriate to the type of development proposed -payment can be made whenmaking your application via our on-line form below;
- A location plan at a scale of 1:1250 or 1:2500 which outlines the land in question in red, with any other land owned/controlled by the prospective applicant outlined in blue;
- Details of site access, drainage provision etc.
- Sketches and/or drawings of the development proposal (as necessary)
Desirable*
- A draft Design and Access Statement (where applicable);
- Photographs of the site;
- Site layout plans and site sections (ideally at a scale of 1:500 or 1:200)
- Elevational drawings (ideally at a scale of 1:100 or 1:50)
Apply for Local Medium Scale Pre-Application Advice
How will my request be handled?
Requests for pre-application advice are handled in a similar fashion to statutory applications, albeit that the process is shorter and there is not requirement for neighbour notification or advertisement. Requests will be validated, given a reference number and allocated to a case officer. Where necessary, internal consultees will be approached for their input, the site will be visited and a single meeting between the case officer and the applicant/agent may take place,if the case officer deems it necessary to gain a further understanding of the proposals. Once all relevant information has been gathered and assessed, we will issue our advice in writing.
When will I receive a response?
The Council intends that all valid pre-application advice requests will be dealt with as follows:
- Within one week of receiving a valid pre-application advice request, we will issue an acknowledgement letter and contact details for the officer dealing with your request; and
- Within six weeks of the date of validation,we will issue a formal pre- application advice letter.
What if I disagree with the pre-application advice I receive?
Pre-application advice does not constitute a formal decision of the Council, so you are free to submit a planning application etc. to the Council regardless of any pre-application advice you may receive.
Developer contributions
Anyone planning to develop in Highland may need to make a financial payment towards service and infrastructure provision, known as developer contributions. Before submitting a planning application likely developer contribution costs should be calculated by the applicant using our developer contributions guidance. Developer contribution costs should be budgeted for when buying land for development and working out project costs.
Design advice for the City of Inverness
The Inverness Design Review Panel provides free, confidential design advice at pre-application stage for major or locally significant development proposals in the city of Inverness. We encourage developers and their agents to engage with the panel in the initial stages of scheme design. Design reviews take place 6 times a year.
Street naming
If you are submitting a planning application for a new housing or retail development which requires the creation of a new street, you will need to submit a street naming request – If you get planning approval, you should submit the request as soon as possible after that. Further details of how to submit this request can be found on our Street names and house numbers page.