The purpose of this guide is to provide further information and clarification of the information required to submit a planning application to Salford City Council.
If the relevant details are not submitted with the application, then the application may be returned as invalid. This will result in a delay in its registration and subsequent determination.
Your application will be considered against the criteria outlined within this document. If all the information is provided as outlined in the ‘national requirements’ section of this checklist, then the application is assessed against the ‘local requirements’ required by Salford City Council. If there is essential information missing, from the application, then the application will be deemed to be invalid.
This guide is not exhaustive. There may be specific circumstances where we may request the submission of additional documents either during the application process or prior to the validation of an application, particularly for larger scale developments. This may include documents such as:
Similarly, there may be occasions when documents set out in this checklist are not required. Specific validation requirements for proposed developments will normally be identified through the pre application process.
If your application is missing relevant validation information you will be advised in writing of what you will be required to provide in order to make the application valid. You will normally have 14 days to provide that information, although it is acknowledged longer periods may be required depending on the information being sought.
If the correct information is received, within this timescale, then the application will be validated and processed accordingly. Where an application is deemed to be valid, the date it will be recorded as valid will be the same as the date upon which the fee or final document required by this checklist is received.
Where an application is invalid and remains invalid for a period of 28 days or greater the application will be returned, and the council will retain a portion of the application fee to cover the administrative costs incurred. This will typically be 20% of the application fee up to a maximum of £250.
The council will endeavour to identify all the information that is required prior to the validation of the application. However, it may become apparent through the consideration of the application that additional information is required to enable the officers to properly assess and determine the application. Where such information is substantial the application could either be refused or you may be asked to withdraw it and resubmit when the information is available.
Applicants are strongly advised, especially on major planning applications where a large amount of supporting information is required, to seek pre-application advice, in part, to clarify what information will be required to validate the application. Full details of the pre-application advice service.
Applicants for major developments are also advised to consider entering into a planning performance agreement with the city council. A planning performance agreement is a project management tool which is agreed between the local planning authority and the applicant in advance of the submission of a planning application.
The agreement sets out the standard of service and target planning decision programme that can be expected from the local planning authority and the applicant. In recognition of the additional burden of work and activity which the agreed programme is likely to require of the local planning authority an additional fee contribution is required and again is agreed between the local planning authority and the applicant prior to the submission of the planning application. Further details on planning performance agreements.
An application cannot be validated unless all the information specified by the national and local requirements is submitted in support of the application. Once all the information is submitted then the application will be validated, and the determination process will begin.
The planning portal acknowledgement is not confirmation of the validation of the application. When an application is considered to be valid a letter of acknowledgement confirming the planning application number, case office, target date for determination and confirmation of the description of development will be sent out to the applicant or agent.
Please follow the links below to find out what details you need to supply with your planning application.