Plans and drawings

break

Most types of planning applications need plans to accompany the application forms.

Note: Errors and omissions in plans are the most common source of delay when checking applications. Please read this page carefully.

Details of what we need from you

Plans and elevations

Plans should clearly show existing and proposed arrangements
Drawings must be dated and numbered
Drawings should be to (metric) scale and important dimensions clearly labelled along with a scale bar
Where existing buildings are to be altered or extended, any new work must be clearly shown and the demolitions indicated
Revised drawings must show a revision number and the date of the revision

Location plans

Every planning application needs a site location plan and block plan showing the location and boundaries of the site you are planning to work on
You can purchase a site location plan to attach to your application from one of the Planning portal accredited suppliers
When purchasing or submitting a site plan for a planning application please ensure they:
- Are to a scale 1:1250 and show a north point
- Show the boundary of the application site outlined in red
- Show any part of the site in different ownership
- Show any adjoining land in the applicants ownership outlined in blue
- Show the street names and numbers of surrounding properties

Site plans

The scale must be suitable to show all the required detail of the scheme including existing buildings, trees, paths etc, whether retained or removed
All boundaries of the site must be visible and at least one main road
Where the proposed development is likely to affect an adjoining property, the position of buildings, trees and other features should be included
Where appropriate, access roads, existing vehicular access, vehicle turning areas, parking spaces and visibility splays must be shown
Floor plans and elevations
Floor plans should be to a scale of 1:50 or 1:100, including details of the type and colour of external materials
Unless you are a making a householder application outside a Conservation Area, you need to include a "Design and Access" statement in your proposal
Each floor plan should show the relevant uses, (e.g. bedroom, kitchen etc)
A plan to show changes to the roof structure
Where the building will be open to the public or employees facilities for disabled people should be shown and described in the drawing
A "street scene" representation showing the impact on neighbouring properties, this is especially relevant in Conservation Areas and near Listed Buildings

Electronic copies of plans/drawings

The following file formats are accepted for online applications and electronic submission.

Images in JPG, TIF, GIF, BMP and PNG file formats
CAD files in PDF, TIF and file formats
Text documents files in DOC, PDF, TXT and XLS file formats

Please try to use file formats that keep file sizes as small as possible.

No individual file can be larger than 5MB.

You can add as many supporting documents as required. However, we recommend that you keep the total file size of your application documents to less than 25MB to ease transfer and storage of the data.

If you have files that will exceed these limits please save them to removable media such as a CD (or submit them on paper) and post to us, clearly marking the items with the Planning application reference number.

Please note: Do not submit .EXE files or use ZIP utilities to condense file sizes. These are not accepted either through the Portal or on disk as they may be rejected by anti-virus software.