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Outline applications

The government defines outline applications as

a planning permission for the erection of a building, which is granted subject to a condition requiring the subsequent approval of the local planning authority with respect to one or more reserved matters

- Development Management Procedure Order 2015

Outline applications are one method of exploring whether the scale and nature of a proposed development would be acceptable to the local planning authority. They are usually done before a more fully detailed proposal is submitted (known as a reserved matters application). 

Outline applications are not normally accepted for

  • changes of use
  • extensions
  • householder development
  • developments in a conservation area.

What to include

Outline applications need to include enough information to show that the proposed use and development can be satisfactorily accommodated by the site.

You will need to submit the following:

If you show details at the outline stage about a matter which is reserved, then you must clearly confirm this on your plans and drawings by stating ‘for illustrative purposes only’.

After registration

We will normally ask for details about the means of access for all major housing schemes.

If we think an application should not be considered separately from all or any of the reserved matters, we will ask you to send us this information. The application will not be approved until the requested information is received.

For this reason, and to avoid delays, we recommend that applicants use our pre-application advice service.