Pre-Application Service

The Council offers a chargeable pre-application service. The service principally covers the development types and charges set out in the table below. Users of this service should expect to receive advice from the Council within 42 days of receipt of request/payment of service fee.

Schedule of Charges for Pre-Application Advice (inc. VAT)

PRE-APPLICATION CHARGING SERVICE	MEETING AND WRITTEN ADVICE	FOLLOW UP MEETINGS	WRITTEN ADVICE ONLY
Major Development Service (A)	£4,440.95	£663.73	£2,664.82
Over 9,999 square metres of commercial floorspace; Over 49 dwellings; 1,000 – 2,500 square metres retail floorspace; Major infrastructure projects; Sites in excess of 1.5 hectares; and, Drilling operations and wind turbines.
Major Development Service (B)	£1,778.70	£426.80	£1,067.00
1,000 – 9,999 square metres of commercial floorspace; 100 – 999 square metres retail floorspace; 10 – 49 dwellings; and, Sites between 1 – 1.5 hectares.
Minor Advice Service	£871.20	£142.56	£523.05
100 – 999 square metres of commercial floorspace; Up to 100 square metres of retail floorspace; 1 – 9 dwellings; Telecommunications developments; s73 – Variation of conditions (excluding retail with floorspace over 1000 square metres); Public realm / engineering works; Minerals, waste and energy projects (on sites up to 1 hectare); and, Small scale proposals not within above categories.
Householder Service	£100.00	£50.00	£50.00
Householder Applications

Advice you’ll receive

The information required to be submitted in association with any forthcoming/subsequent application to the planning department.
Overview of the relevant planning policies/guidance in relation to your proposal.
Discussion of planning merits and initial assessment as to whether your proposal complies with the relevant planning policy/guidance.
Main constraints on the site/in relation to the proposal as presented.
Relevant financial contributions/planning obligations.
Whether third-party consultations/advice is required.

Please note that there will be occasions where the advice of statutory consultees, outside the Council, will need to be sought to establish whether the principle of development is acceptable and inform the layout/design of schemes. A number of these consultees have their own charging structure and keep their pre-application process separate. Examples of such consultees include Historic England, Natural England, United Utilities, the Coal Authority and the Environment Agency. We will be able to advise you which of these consultees may be relevant to your proposal when we respond to your enquiry however you will need to seek their advice before progressing a planning application.

How Long it Will Take

Once you have submitted your request and payment of the service fee has been received, we will let you know that we’ve allocated your pre-application advice request to a planning officer within 5 working days.
You can expect to receive advice from us within 42 days.

Submit a Request

If you wish to submit a request for one of our chargeable pre-application services, please complete the request for pre-application advice form. Please understand that advice provided by Council Officers through the pre-application service is based upon the level of information you decide to submit. Therefore it is recommended you provide as much information as possible at the point of submission to ensure you receive an appropriate level of advice. Please email the completed form to planningmail@tameside.gov.uk, remembering to attach all associated documentation you wish for us to consider as part of your pre-application request. Upon receipt of your request, we will check the associated fee payable and will contact you to outline payment options. This will typically take place within a maximum of 1-2 working days.

Householder Advice

Many types of alterations to domestic dwellings do not require planning permission. Further advice on when planning permission is/may be required to a domestic dwelling can be found here - Interactive House – Planning Portal. In the first instance, if you have reviewed the above information and remain unsure, you can book an appointment with the planning duty service to talk about the scope of the development proposal. Information on the duty service can be found here - Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council Duty Planning Officer Service - Tameside MBC. The duty officer will provide initial advice and they may also request the submission of more formal details, for which you will be referred to a pre application submission. This service is not a chargeable service for householder enquiries. The “request for pre-application advice form” within the “Submit a Request” section will need to be completed, choosing the option for “Householder”.

Advice Regarding Other Proposed Development (Not Covered Above)

Should you wish to gain informal advice regarding development types not covered under the above charging schedule, please refer to the Council’s Duty Planning Officer Service in the first instance.

Environmental Information Regulations 2004 / Freedom of Information Act 2000

If the Council receives a request, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) or Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), to disclose information relating to pre-application enquiries we are obliged to do so unless the information is deemed exempt from disclosure. We can only withhold information that falls under one of the exemptions (FOI) or exceptions (EIR) set out in legislation.

If you consider that your request is covered by an exemption/exception, for example, it is confidential or commercially sensitive; you should inform the Council at the time of submitting the application setting out the reasons why, and for how long, you feel any information relating to the case needs to remain confidential. We will consult with the applicants should we receive a request before reaching a final decision. However, whilst we will take account of these views, the final decision on whether the information should be provided or withheld rests with the Council.

Planning Performance Agreements

Central Government encourages planning performance agreements (PPA’s) for large or complex planning proposals. If you are interested in progressing a PPA with the Council, please email planningmail@tameside.gov.uk in the first instance with your requirements. The Council will require a fee for such an agreement, which will be arranged on a bespoke basis.