Advice for businesses
In order to be able to provide this discretionary service we need to charge a fee for most commercial developments.
In most cases we will try to respond to your request within 28 days. However, for major developments - 10 or more dwellings or more than 1000 square meters floor space - the process might take longer as these schemes normally need more research.
Why use the pre-application service?
Potential benefits of using the pre-application advice service include:
- An explanation of how planning policies, planning agreement tariffs / contributions, might affect your proposal.
- It provides you with an opportunity to make changes to your proposal before you apply for planning permission.
- It can help you with what information is needed when you submit a planning application, having regard to the Tyne and Wear Validation Requirements.
- We may be able tell you where a proposal is likely to be unacceptable, for example where it fundamentally conflicts with relevant planning policy, potentially saving the cost of finalising the proposal for the submission of a planning application.
What we need from you
To help us respond to your request, please provide as much information as is possible about your proposal.
As a general guide we suggest that the following should be submitted:
- Contact details, including your contact address, phone number and email address.
- A brief description and detailed explanation of the proposal.
- An address or location of the proposal. A site location plan should be supplied, to scale, if the address or location is not straight forward.
- Photographs and/or drawings showing the existing site, buildings, trees and a schedule of uses.
- Sketch drawings, showing footprint, height and scale of development and distance to site boundaries. These should ideally be to scale, such as 1:50, 1:100, 1:200 or 1:500.
- Access and parking details. These should ideally be to scale.
- For major development proposals we may require additional information and we will let you know if further details are required.
- The fee, where required.
Charges
Type of development | Charge |
|---|---|
Major development
| £300 plus VAT (covers one letter, site visit and meeting) plus hourly rate for officer's time thereafter. |
Other significant development
| £100 per letter plus £150 per meeting plus VAT plus hourly rate for officer's time thereafter. |
Minor development
| £50 per letter plus £100 for each meeting +VAT + hourly rate for officer's time thereafter. |
| Hourly rates | |
Planning Manager | £45 + VAT |
Team Leader | £40 + VAT |
Planner | £37 + VAT |
Fees additional information
- The standard fee must be paid in advance of any work commencing on your enquiry.
- Please make cheques payable to South Tyneside Council.
- Additional charges will be invoiced within 10 working days from the date of final comment.
- All invoices must be settled within 28 days.
Status of advice
All pre-application advice is provided in good faith and is based on the information you provide.
Furthermore, all advice is given without prejudice to the formal consideration of any subsequent planning application, which would include a statutory consultation process being carried out. For this reason this we cannot offer any guarantees about the outcome of a planning application when providing advice.
All requests for advice are potentially subject to disclosure in response to Freedom of Information or Environmental Information Regulations requests. Confidentiality cannot therefore be guaranteed when using the service.
Social media