To many people, planning means the control of development through the planning application system. However, it is much more than a process of control governed by a set of rules, which is why it is known as development management.

We are responsible for considering planning applications, taking enforcement action where breaches of control have occurred, the administration of the appeals process and providing information and advice about the planning system in general.

We understand that planning can be very daunting and confusing to some people, so to help, we have published a Planning Guide to provide you with some easy to read advice on current planning and building regulations.

We hope you find it useful. It contains a lot of information about the different stages of the planning process, building regulations, planning enforcement as well as trees and hedgerows.

The guide also provides details of the services we provide, such as our pre-application advice service that allows you to engage with us before you submit an application.