Pre-application advice
If you need planning permission, we encourage and welcome the opportunity to provide you with advice before you formally submit your planning application.
If you are unsure whether or not you require planning permission for your proposed development, then use our Development Enquiry service to find out.
Pre-application Advice
There are three types of pre-application advice available:
- Local Small Scale Pre-applications - 3 or fewer houses and other types of local development
- Local Medium Scale Pre-applications - medium-scale developments. For example; housing developments between 4 and 49 units, commercial development and other types of development
- Major Pre-application Advice – see our Definition of a major development for the full list. For example; 50 or more houses, the total area of the site is 2 hectares or more
In conjunction with this, we also offer the following pre-application advice:
Other services
Wind Farm Design Workshop - this looks at matters of Landscape and Visual Impact in more detail. This is a solutions based workshop and it is best undertaken when (or just before) you reach design stage. We will spend up to 2 hours with you looking at how the design meets the criteria set out in our Onshore Wind Energy Supplementary Guidance. Utilising wirelines and, where appropriate, photomontages prepared by your landscape consultants we will consider what the key design viewpoints are, whether it meets with the design rationale for development in the area and what if any further design changes are potentially required. This service goes hand in hand with our Pre-Application Advice Service for Major Developments.
We also offer pre-application advice for Listed Buildings and for those proposed changes that will require planning permission.
There is a fee for these value-added services which is reviewed annually with any fee increase taking effect from the start of April each year. Check our main fees page on how much you need to pay. A full definition of categories can be found on each pre-application page. A stand alone tool is available from ePlanning.scot to assist you in estimating the cost of your planning application
What is Pre-application Advice?
The Highland Council is responsible for determining applications for planning permission, advertisement consent, hazardous substances consent, listed building consent, conservation area consent, certificates of lawfulness and works to protected trees.
In advance of submitting applications for planning permission the Council’s Planning Service provides advice and information to members of the public and developers on the issues which require consideration as part of the planning application process.
This pre-application advice service is not compulsory and may not be appropriate in all situations. However, if you know you will require planning permission for your proposed development, we actively encourage pre-application discussions for all development proposals.
The extent and detail of any pre-application advice issued by the Council for either Local Small, Local Medium or Major advice relies principally on the quantity and quality of the information submitted with the enquiry. The more information you can provide, the more comprehensive our response will be.
Any pre-application advice issued by us does not constitute formal consent. Therefore it does not guarantee that any future statutory application will be successful or provide consent for a development to commence. You are free to submit an application to us regardless of any pre-application advice you may receive.
All pre-application advice requests require to be made in writing using our online forms. If a request for pre-application advice is received by the Council with one or more pieces of mandatory information missing, then it will be returned along with any associated fee.
Why should I seek Pre-application Advice?
There are considerable benefits in seeking advice before making an application such as:
- it gives prospective applicants an opportunity to understand how our planning policies will be applied to a development;
- it will result in an appraisal of the merits of a prospective application site at an early stage and can identify where there is a need for specialist input;
- it will assist applicants in preparing proposals for any future formal submission;
- it may lead to a reduction in time spent by the applicants’ professional advisors in working-up proposals; and
- it may indicate that a proposal is unacceptable in terms of policy and therefore prevent prospective applicants from spending time and money unnecessarily.
Pre-application advice will help you to submit a valid and accurate application. It will help to avoid delays during the formal application process and will flag up problems/issues with your development proposal at an early stage.
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.
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.
Freedom of information
The pre-application advice service is an optional value-added service and any applications we receive are treated as confidential and are not publicly available on our e-Planning Public Access site. However, under the Freedom of Information Act, we may be asked to provide information regarding inquiries for pre-application advice and copies of any correspondence or advice provided. This information may only be withheld if its disclosure could prejudice commercial interests, inhibit the free and frank provision of advice or exchange of views during the planning process, or could prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs. Those seeking pre-application advice should provide a covering letter that sets out the reasons why, and for how long, any information relating to the case needs to remain confidential.
It is at our discretion whether information can be treated as exempt from disclosure and it should be recognised that the point of the legislation is to make information accessible unless there is a pressing reason not to. The passage of time may remove the need for exemption as information becomes less sensitive. Generally, notes and correspondence relating to pre-application discussion will not be treated as confidential once a planning application has been submitted and the case is in the public domain.