Planning advice, fees and application forms
Planning advice
Before submitting an application for development, we encourage discussion and provide pre-application advice for anyone thinking of making an application to the council
This service is designed to make you aware of any likely issues that may affect the outcome of your development proposals, to provide positive recommendations to a scheme and deter applications that have little or no prospect of success. This advice benefits the applicant by speeding up the development process and minimising the costs of submitting subsequent or unacceptable applications.
Please note: any views or opinions expressed are given in good faith and to the best of ability without prejudice to formal consideration of any planning application, which will be subject to public consultation and ultimately decided by the Council.
Pre-application process and fees
Our pre-application guidance notes (PDF) [185KB] details our advice services, how they operate and what charges are involved. Please read this fully to identify which service you need to apply for.
There are a range of development/application types that benefit from formal pre-application engagement. The pre-application guidance notes provide detailed guidance on the various levels of service offered. You'll also find a summary below.
| Category | Type of development | Fee (including VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Large Scale Strategic*- as defined by the 'Mayors Order 2008' (and any subsequent amendments) | £14,400 |
| B | Large Scale Major* | £10,800 |
| C | Major* | £7,200 |
| D | Large Scale Minor | £3,000 |
| E | Medium Scale Minor and Other Development | £1,200 |
| F | Small Scale Minor (including Certificate of Lawfulness, Prior Approval (residential and commercial) and complex/large scale extension proposals) | £480 |
*Costs associated with independent reviews of specialist documents (for example, viability, retail impact, daylight and sunlight) will be subject to consultant fees. | ||
How it works
- Fill out an application form (PDF) [131KB]. The more information you can give us, the better we can assist you in developing your proposals and making your application. Please note: you may need a follow-up meeting (50% of the cost of the initial meeting, with payment made prior to the meeting taking place).
- Email the completed form and the necessary plans and supporting documents to applicationsprocessingteam@hillingdon.gov.uk, clearly identifying which service you're seeking based on the council's charging schedule. You can pay your planning fee online using the button below.
- We will allocate a case officer to each formal pre-application submission. More complex proposals may require the involvement of other officers and the council retains absolute discretion as to who is involved in delivering the service.
- In certain circumstances, the council might require independent, external advice (particularly associated with the scheme viability, daylight and sunlight review, and retail and environmental impact assessments). The applicant will be expected to meet the costs of these forms of independent advice.
Pay your pre-planning application fee
Duty planner
A free duty planner service is available, covering residential advice to third parties, including those affected by proposals. This service operates by telephone appointment or email. Further information can be found in our pre-application guidance notes. For advice from the duty planner, please submit an email request to our planning information officers at planning@hillingdon.gov.uk.
Sending party wall notices to us
If you are intending to do some construction works on, or in close proximity to, the boundary between adjoining properties then this may require a party wall notice. Where the property is adjoined to a property owned by the council then the party wall notice will need to be issued to the Mayor and Burgesses of The London Borough of Hillingdon and issued to the following address:
Capital Programme Works Service
London Borough of Hillingdon
2E/10 Civic Centre
High Street
Uxbridge
UB8 1UW
Party wall notices should also be emailed to partywallnotices@Hillingdon.gov.uk
Upon receipt of the party wall notice, we will review the notice and plans and respond to the acknowledgement.
Please note: To protect our assets, we will generally appoint a surveyor to act on our behalf.
Planning performance agreements
For larger and more complex major planning proposals, it's highly recommended you enter into a Planning Performance Agreement (PPA). The key advantage to entering into a PPA is the council will have the resources in place to ensure your application goes through the process in a timely fashion and results in a high-quality development.
The PPA typically involves funding from the developer allowing the authority to hire an additional planner as a dedicated case officer for your proposals.
Ed Laughton (elaughton@hillingdon.gov.uk) and Noel Kelly (nkelly@hillingdon.gov.uk) are available to discuss the details of a PPA.
To see what a PPA entails, browse this draft version of the Planning performance agreement template (Word doc) [90KB].