PiP planning: what is Permission in Principle?

You have a project you want to progress but you’re concerned about going down the usual planning permission. The process is costly, time-consuming and there’s no guarantee of a result. In these situations, you could use PIP planning instead.

Permission in principle (PiP) gives developers a cost effective route for small or complex schemes. It’s an alternative way of obtaining planning permission in a preliminary form. You get a clear indication whether the concept of the project would pass. But you can leave the technical details for later at this stage.

In this article, you’ll learn how Permission in Principle works, when to use it and how to apply successfully.

Understanding the two-stage process

The PIP framework is one of two stages that simplify the planning permission process.

At the principle stage, the local planning authority considers your site’s:

Land use: Whether the type of development suits the site and surrounding area
Location: If the site sits in a suitable and sustainable place for housing or mixed use
Scale of development: How many homes or how much floorspace the site can support

This lets you test your overall scheme before committing to full design costs. This first stage needs less evidence and smaller fees than a full planning application, so you save time and money early on.

Once you secure PIP, you have three years to apply for technical details consent. You also address issues that are relevant to the physical development of the site, like:

Layout: how buildings, parking and open spaces work together
Access: how vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists reach and move through the site
Draining: how you’ll manage and dispose of surface water safely
Landscaping: how green space and planting will fit within the boundaries
Materials: how the external finishes will suit local character and meet design standards

It’s also at this point you submit your final drawings and supporting reports.

When everything’s ready, you apply for the technical details consent stage.

WindsorPatania note: At both the PiP and TDC stages, the authority must display a site notice and publish an online notice, allowing at least 14 days for comments. It can also send neighbour letters, but this step is optional rather than a legal requirement.

When PiP is suitable for your project

Developers have been able to make PIP applications since 15 March 2019. To qualify, your scheme must stay within these thresholds:

Residential schemes: Housing projects of up to nine dwellings qualify. Your project may not qualify though if you’ve proposed similar work on land next door. Planners then have to consider if the combined environmental impact of two or more adjoining sites proposed for PiP amount to an EIA. An EIA is an Environmental Impact Assessment.
Floor area limit: Non housing development can include up to 1,000 square metres of floorspace.
Site area cap: Any development on land up to one hectare can apply. This is regardless of the number of dwellings or floor area.

Not every project can use the PiP route. These include:

Habitats development: This is if there is a concern that a proposed development might have a significant effect. That could be a (potential) qualifying European site or a European offshore marine site. The council will require an appropriate assessment and if you can’t rule out harm after mitigation, they will refuse PiP.
EIA development: EIA standards for Environmental Impact Assessment. There is a statutory requirement for some schemes to have them because of their scale or cumulative environmental impact.
Major development: Projects that meet the DPMO major threshold must use the full route. These are projects larger than those specified above in this article. Larger sites may still receive PiP via Part 2 of the brownfield land register following statutory consultation.

Finally, PIP cannot cover development that adversely affects land:

Directly connected to a protected site
That provides supporting habitat

In those cases, you’d need an appropriate assessment before the council would give approval.

The two routes to obtaining Permission in Principle

The 2017 Order created two principal routes for securing permission in principle. Each follows the same two stages but starts the principle process in a different way

Route name	How it works	Key considerations
Direct application	You submit a PIP application to your local authority	Requires the correct application fee and limited supporting information; decision within 5 weeks
Brownfield register Part 2	The local authority adds your site to Part 2 of the register	PIP granted automatically on entry; consultation requirements apply beforehand

Each principle route leads to the same outcome, so choose the one that’s right for your project.

Direct application to your local planning authority

Apply directly to your local planning authority for your qualifying site. This route gives you more control over timing. You decide when to apply rather than waiting for a site to appear in the local plan or brownfield register. It’s also a good way to test an authority’s development plan and how it relates to, say, housing led development.

The local authority assesses your proposal against relevant policies in the development plan. They also take into account “material considerations”. These are other planning factors that could affect their decision, like highway safety or the impact on neighbours. They do this in the same way as they do for other forms of planning permission.

The PiP route suits developers who want a quick decision about a site’s potential. You avoid the cost, design and documentation of an outline planning application. What you do gain is a formal judgement you can use to approach investors and lenders with.

WindsorPatania note: Think of a development plan like the planning department’s manual for the borough. It includes the Local Plan which sets out what types of development are acceptable where. It also contains adopted Neighbourhood Plans. These are plans councils take on board following public consultation with the local community in a particular area.

Brownfield land register Part 2 allocation

The brownfield land register is a public list each local planning authority must compile. It contains details of previously developed land that’s suitable for residential development. It has two parts: part one is a suitable site and b) suitable sites with PiP.

If your site is on Part 2 of the register, you already have PiP and can go straight to TDC. You can apply to the council to get your site listed on part 2, if it’s not on there.

The government is pushing local authorities to develop on brownfield land. In fact, they must follow set publicity and consultation steps before adding land to Part 2. Once it’s on there, you can go straight to technical details consent because the site already has PiP.

Stage one: the Permission in Principle application

The principle stage confirms whether your site is acceptable for development. This is before you’ve begun any detailed design work. The process follows the same plan-led approach as used elsewhere in the National Planning Policy Framework.

The council must decide your application in accordance with its own development plan. If material considerations suggest otherwise, the council may choose not to follow that route.

At the PiP stage, they can’t grant permission, or permission with conditions. To do that, they need you to file a Technical Details Consent application (more on that later). So, think about PiP from a strategic perspective rather than a design one, for now.

This is what PiP does and doesn’t consider:

Can be considered at PIP stage	Detailed proposals for TDC stage
Location of the proposed development	Design and external appearance
Land use (must be housing led)	Access and highway matters
Amount of development (identified scale)	Layout and density details
Compliance with development plan policies	Landscaping and boundary treatment
Material considerations affecting these three matters	Drainage and flood risk mitigation measures
Impact on protected sites (if determines refusal)	Contamination and ground conditions

You only supply essential details at the PIP stage. The local planning authority cannot ask for information from the TDC stage.

A valid application for PiP needs a lot less paperwork than other forms of planning permission. There is a statutory time limit meaning councils must respond within five weeks.

Your PIP application must include the following items.

Site location plan: Show the site boundary the application relates to at a suitable scale
Application form: Details of the applicant and the proposed development.
Correct application fee: According to the fee regulations.

There is no compulsory pre-application consultation before submitting a PIP application. There are some other forms of development and you can speak to the council for local and national guidance if you want.

Stage two: Technical Details Consent

Permission in principle lasts for a default duration of three years from the date the council grants it. You get five years if your site is on the brownfield register. You have this time period in which to submit a technical details consent application. This is before any development can start.

The technical details stage covers everything not considered at the principle stage. See the table above for its scope. You also deal with other authorisation issues, like listed buildings or protected species.

A technical details consent application is more detailed than the first PIP application. The validation requirements are the same as a full planning application. This means you must include drawings, supporting studies, and all evidence. This is to prove that your development meets relevant policies set by the government and council.

Your local planning authority should come to a decision and inform applicants within:

5 weeks for non-major developments
10 weeks for major developments
16 weeks if the application is subject to Environmental Impact Assessment

When awarded, the council may include conditions the council thinks are necessary. This could cover material, landscaping and other matters like SuDS. The council can also agree to non material amendments later under section 96A if you need to make small changes as the project develops.

WindsorPatania: partners in securing planning permission

Windsor Patania has a success rate of 97% across over 200 councils. We can help you at each stage for PiP and outline planning permission to build a strong case so your local authority grants planning permission for your project. Whether it’s a proposed residential development or commercial development, work with us.

Contact WindsorPatania about or range of end-to-end architecture services, including: