Full planning permission for new homes, flats and commercial schemes

For landowners, developers, businesses and flat owners building something new or converting a property. Compare quotes from professionals who coordinate the design, reports and full planning application.

A full planning application asks the council to approve every aspect of a scheme at once: layout, scale, appearance, access and landscaping. It’s the usual route for a new house or block of flats, converting a building into flats, commercial buildings and extensions, changes of use that involve building work, and external alterations to a flat in England. Because the council decides the whole scheme in detail, the application must be backed by the right evidence, which may include a design and access statement and ecology, flood risk, highways or drainage information, depending on the site. A good professional identifies those needs early and keeps the design and every report telling the same story.

How a professional can help

• Mapping the site’s constraints: Before design starts, they research the site’s planning history, any local plan allocation, flood zones, heritage assets, trees, protected species risk and access, so problems don’t surface after submission.
• Designing a scheme the policies support: They develop layouts and elevations that meet local policies on density, amenity space, parking, bin storage and space standards, while still working for you as a home or an investment.
• Commissioning the right reports: They work out which specialist reports your council’s validation list and the site actually need, brief the consultants, and make sure every report describes the same scheme.
• Writing the planning case: They prepare the planning statement, and a design and access statement where required, explaining how the proposal meets policy and why any departure from guidance is justified.
• Managing the application: Once it’s submitted they respond to comments from highways, drainage, ecology or conservation consultees, negotiate amendments and keep the application moving towards a decision.
• Legal agreements and conditions: Where contributions or affordable housing are required, they work with your solicitor on the planning agreement, then plan how to discharge the conditions before work starts.

Is this right for you?

• You want to build a new house, a few homes or a small block of flats on land you own or are buying.
• You’re converting a house, office or other building into flats, or changing its use alongside external alterations.
• You run a business and need permission for a new commercial building, unit or extension.
• You own a flat and want to make external alterations that need permission, which can’t use the householder route in England.

How the project usually runs

• Site appraisal: A professional reviews the site, its planning history, local policies and constraints, and commissions the surveys needed to design on solid ground, such as a topographical survey.
• Concept design and pre-application advice: They test options for layout and massing, and often seek the council’s pre-application advice to flush out concerns about scale, design or access before detailed work begins.
• Detailed design and supporting reports: The scheme is drawn in full while specialist reports are prepared, so the drawings, statements and technical studies all describe exactly the same proposal.
• Submission, consultation and negotiation: Once validated, the application is publicised and consultees respond. Your professional deals with their queries and agrees amendments where these strengthen the scheme.
• Decision, agreements and conditions: Permission may come with conditions and, for some schemes, a legal agreement. Pre-commencement conditions must be discharged before work starts, alongside Building Regulations approval.

What affects the cost

• The type and scale of development, from a single new home to a mixed-use or multi-unit scheme.
• How many specialist reports the site needs, such as ecology, flood risk, transport, noise or heritage.
• The sensitivity of the location, including conservation areas, nearby listed buildings and protected trees.
• Whether pre-application advice, community consultation or a presentation to a planning committee is needed.
• Whether a legal agreement on affordable housing or infrastructure contributions has to be negotiated.
• How far the design has already progressed, and whether accurate surveys of the site exist.

What a full application can involve

• In England, many full applications must deliver biodiversity net gain; householder applications and many small sites are exempt, and the exemptions changed in August 2026, so check the current rules.
• Larger schemes may need a legal agreement, known as a Section 106 agreement in England and Wales, and some councils there also charge the Community Infrastructure Levy.
• In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, major developments need formal community consultation before the application is submitted.
• Planning permission doesn’t replace Building Regulations approval, and health and safety duties under the CDM Regulations apply to the build as well.

Questions people ask

What’s the difference between a full and a householder application?

A householder application is only for changes to an existing house and its garden. A full application covers almost everything else, including new homes, flats, commercial buildings and many changes of use. Full applications usually need more supporting information, and the council looks at a wider range of issues, such as housing mix, highways, drainage and biodiversity.

Can one full application cover a change of use and the building work?

Yes. Where a building is being converted, for example from offices or a shop to flats, one full application can seek permission for the new use and the external alterations together, such as new windows, an extension or a roof addition. In England, some changes of use can go through prior approval instead, but those routes have strict limits, so a professional can compare them before you commit.

Which reports will my application need?

It depends on the site and the scheme. Councils set out what they expect in a local validation list, and national rules add requirements in certain places; in England, for example, most development in a flood zone needs a flood risk assessment. Common examples include ecology surveys, tree reports, transport statements, drainage strategies and heritage statements. A professional identifies which apply before you spend money on reports you don’t need.

How long does full planning permission last?

The decision notice states how long you have to start work, and the permission lapses if you don’t begin in time. The standard period differs between the UK nations and councils can set a different one, so check your notice carefully. Any condition that requires details before work begins has to be cleared first, or the start may not count.

Can I make changes after full permission is granted?

Small changes can sometimes be approved as a non-material amendment. Larger ones may need an application to vary the condition listing the approved plans, or a fresh application if the scheme changes significantly. Your professional can tell you which route fits before anything changes on site.

Available across the UK

Professionals cover the whole of the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Planning and Building Regulations differ between the four nations, and your professional will work to the rules that apply where your property is.

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