Planning application process

The planning application is received, to be dealt with by the Development Management team at Bury Council.

The validation process is where documents submitted as part of the planning application are checked to ensure they provide sufficient information, are accurate and scaled correctly and are accompanied by the correct fee.

If the application is deemed valid, you will be informed and it will be assigned to a case officer.

If invalid, you will be written to and additional information requested in order to make the application valid. It is important to submit a valid application to avoid unnecessary delays in the process.

When an application is received, we will consult any other relevant Council departments that may be able to provide the planner with professional advice. It may also be necessary to consult with external authorities.

Consultees will have access to the plans and drawings and will then have 21 days to pass their comments on the application to the Planning Officer, who will take them into consideration when making their recommendation.

Ward councillors are also informed and given opportunity to comment.

The consultations undertaken for any application will depend upon the nature and scale of the development proposed and not all consultations will be required for all applications.

When an application is valid, letters will be sent to neighbouring properties. These consultations direct neighbours to where they can view the plans and drawings and how to comment on the application within 21 days and is done through our public access planning applications.

These comments will be taken into consideration by the Planning Officer and will be summarised in the final report with the recommendation for either approval or refusal.

It is important to note that any comments which are made on a planning application will be publicly available and may be published online. The neighbouring properties notified in relation to any particular application will vary according to the situation of the site and its surroundings. However, it should be noted that you are welcome to comment on any application irrespective of whether you have received a formal notification or not.

Some applications may require a visit by a case officer and for a site notice to be displayed.

The case officer may contact the applicant or agent to arrange a site visit as it may be necessary to access the rear of the property to inspect the site and its relationship with neighbouring properties.

Site notices are similar to neighbour letters, informing the public of a proposal and where to view and comment on the plans - the site notices will be displayed as close to the property as possible. Certain applications may also require a press notice to be published in the local paper.

Once the consultation period expires, the case officer will consider the representations received, both from consultees and interested third parties and review the details of the case.

Should any amendments be considered necessary, these will be sought at this stage. Following this, the case officer will decide whether the application will be recommended for approval or refusal. This decision is based upon relevant local and national planning policy, legislation, consultation responses and any other considerations material to the case.

Once the case officer has made their recommendation, the report will be passed to the Development Manager and if in agreement with the recommendation the decision will be issued to the applicant or agent.

The majority of decisions are made by the Assistant Director (Localities) under the Council's adopted Scheme of Delegation and any other applications unable to be considered under this scheme will be determined by the Planning Control committee.

Objectors have no right to appeal against the Councils decision to grant planning permission. If the applicant is refused planning permission they may appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

From 31 March 2024 after planning permission is granted, there is a requirement to let us know when you intend to start the work and you must complete a Commencement Notice with the date development is expected to commence. The decision notice you receive will include more information about this.

You can download a copy of the Commencement Notice below which contains details of where to serve the notice.

If the development is given permission, the decision notice may contain conditions that need the applicant to submit further details of before commencing works on site and/or comply with certain requirements. Once the applicant has had all these details agreed through a discharge of conditions application, works can start on site.

After you have received planning permission for works, it may be necessary to make small amendments to the permission, for example changing the position of a door or window.

If these are very minor changes, you can apply for a non-material amendment to the planning permission using the appropriate forms and submitting the required plans.

In April 2022, we adopted an updated set of local requirements for validation criteria of planning applications and a set of validations checklists to assist you when completing your planning application (please refer to the validation checklist documents at the bottom of the page).

Local requirements are additional to the national requirements that are set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure)(England) Order 2015.

Design and Access statements and plans are needed for many planning applications and further guidance is available on the Planning Portal and Government websites:

• Buy a planning map on the Planning Portal
• Flood risk assessment for planning applications on GOV.UK
• Coal mining risk assessments for planning applications on GOV.UK
• National information requirements for planning applications on GOV.UK.

Other organisations such as the Environment Agency, United Utilities and the Coal Board have information which can help you when preparing a valid application.

You have a right to appeal if planning permission is refused.

If you are unhappy or unclear about the reasons we give for refusing planning permission, please discuss these with the planning officer who dealt with your application. In some cases a change in your plans might make a difference.

If you're aggrieved by the decision of your local planning authority to refuse permission for the proposed development or to grant it subject to conditions, then you can appeal to the Secretary of State for the Environment under Section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. However, appeals are intended as a last resort and can take several months to decide. It is often quicker to discuss with us whether changes to your proposal would make it acceptable.

If you want to appeal a decision, you can submit an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate and you must do so within:

• 6 months of the date of the decision for full applications
• 12 weeks of the date of decision for householder applications
• 8 weeks of the date of the decision for an advertisement consent.

If you have not received a decision, you can appeal for up to 6 months from the date your decision was due to arrive using the Planning Inspectorate's appeal service.

For information, please visit: Gov.uk - Appeal planning decision.