a guide to the planning system
and how we can help you navigate through it.
planning permission is required for all new houses built as permanent residential homes.
We will guide you through the process from start to finish.
It all begins with an idea.
Maybe you can’t find the perfect home in the area you want to live, or you have always wanted to build you own home. Or maybe you have your own design you want to bring to life.
Step 1. acquire land
A lot of our customers come to us hoping to build on land they already own, but without any permissions in place, others with land they have purchased with planning permission already in place.
If you need to purchase land, we would recommend buying a piece of land that has outline planning permission in place already - this means the local government planning department is happy for some sort of house to be built on the land, normally only defined by the number of bedrooms and/or storeys.
If you buy land with no planning permissions in place, you are not guaranteed to receive permission to build anything on that land.
Step 2. apply for planning permission
Whether you have land with no permissions in place or have purchased a plot of land with outline or full planning permission already in place, it is likely you will need to apply for full planning permission for the specific house design you want to build.
We will work with you to customise one of our designs to suit your needs, or create a fully bespoke design.
Our RIBA chartered architect will then create floor plans, elevation drawings and sectional drawings suitable for a full planning application, along with a site plan and location plan if required.
We can submit the planning application and liaise with the local planning authority on your behalf, you can submit it yourself, or we can arrange for a specialist planning consultant to handle the application process if it is likely to be a difficult case.
The building warrant package is akin to creating the recipe for a very complicated, expensive cake.
The building warrant is a comprehensive list of instructions detailing how your house is to be built.
Having all the technical decisions made and checked before building commences means any alterations are made at the design stage, on paper, not during the build which could be very costly.
Step 3. apply for a building warrant / building control approval
In England, you can technically start building as soon as you have planning permission. To ensure as smooth a build as possible, we always recommend preparing all the technical drawings, specifications and reports before you start building. When the build is complete, you submit for building control approval that is only granted if all parts of the build comply with the relevant regulations.
In Scotland, you must submit a building warrant application before you break ground. This involves the production of a suite of technical drawings and reports created by the architect, a chartered structural engineer, drainage specialists, energy performance engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency and others.
Your local building standards case officer will check through all the technical details, and once satisfied they comply with all regulations, will grant your building warrant - permission to start building.
We offer a building warrant package that covers all the desk-based technical information required for your building warrant, as well as the submission of your application.
Site investigation reports created by specialist engineers for foundation and drainage design may be required, we may be able to arrange for these to be carried out on your behalf, or you can arrange these locally.
Step 4. Order your kit and start building
Once you have received your building warrant, your custom log house kit can go into production while your builders make a start on the groundworks and foundations.
Kit delivery will be arranged to coincide with completion of the foundations, so construction of the log house kit can commence as soon as it arrives on site.
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Each local government area creates long term development plans that set out how places should change and develop in the future, and also set out the high-level policy used to make the decisions about planning applications. They describe what type of development should take place where, and where should not be developed. It also sets out the best locations for new homes and protects places of value to people and wildlife.
Individual council areas are covered by local development plans; this can provide a detailed explanation of how the council would like to see particular sites or small areas develop. When looking to buy land for building your log home you should look at these local development plans, downloadable from each council’s website, to ensure you purchase a site that is in an area that is ear-marked for development, otherwise gaining planning permission might be very difficult.
You can read more about the planning process in Scotland at the following link:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/guide-planning-system-scotland/
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Permission in Principal, also called Outline Planning Permission is where the relevant local council has officially stated they are happy for a particular parcel of land to be developed and have a building of some kind constructed on it.
This permission normally lasts for three years from the date permission is granted.
Generally there are some conditions attached. E.g. the number of buildings, number of bedrooms, number of storeys permitted may be specified. A full, detailed planning application will still need to be submitted and planning permission granted for a specific house design before construction can begin.
‘Permission in Principal’ is often sought by landowners looking to sell land, as permission in principal gives prospective purchasers peace of mind that the local council is happy for the land to be developed in some way. If a plot does not have at a minimum ‘permission in principal,’ you risk purchasing a piece of land that will never be granted permission for anything to be constructed on it. As a result, the financial value of land increases significantly when permission in principal is granted.
Full Planning Permission – the relevant local council has granted permission for a plot of land to be developed based on detailed drawings and information submitted to them. The building constructed must meet the conditions attached to the planning permission, i.e. you have to follow the design you have submitted and they have approved, along with any other conditions they may have added.
If you decide to make any changes to the design after planning permission has been granted, an application to amend the planning permission needs to be made for minor alterations. A new full planning application may be required if the changes to the design make it significantly different from what was originally granted permission.
Full planning permission normally is valid for three years from the date permission is granted.
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Full Planning Permission is where the relevant local council grants permission for a plot of land to be developed based on detailed drawings and information submitted to them. The building constructed must meet the conditions attached to the planning permission, i.e. you have to follow the design you have submitted and they have approved, along with any other conditions they may have added.
Submitting an application for full planning permission requires payment of a fee directly to the council as well as the below documents as standard, however the council may request additional information:
Location Plan – this is a scaled map that outlines the boundary of the site within the wider landscape as well as well as outlining the land owned if different.
Site Layout – This is a scaled drawing within the site boundary showing the floorplan of the building, access to the site and disabled access to the house, drainage for surface water runoff and drainage for sewage, plus any additional relevant details e.g. mature tree placement on the site, watercourses etc. If you are not able to connect to a mains sewer, a percolation test and additional drainage design may be required to show how waste water is to be disposed of safely.
Floor Plan – This scaled and dimensioned drawing shows the internal layout of the building for each floor, including window and door placement, plus any steps or ramps providing access to the house.
Elevation Drawing – This shows exterior views of the front, back and sides of the proposed building as well as information on items that will be visible externally, e.g. roof covering, roof angle, window and door placement and size, what the walls are to be constructed from and what colour they will be, placement of solar panels etc.
Section Drawing – Not always required, but a section drawing shows the interior and exterior profiles and additional technical information using a cut-through of the building showing the different floor levels and further information such as ceiling heights.
Full planning permission normally is valid for three years from the date permission is granted.
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Once your application has been received by the planning authority you will receive an acknowledgement letter, details of corrections and any additional information or clarification that is required.
Details of the application will be advertised locally, and neighbours of the site will be notified an application has been submitted.
This process can take up to two months before you hear if your application has been successful. The planners may request alterations are made to the design before they grant permission.
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We can provide customised architectural floorplan, elevation and section drawings suitable for a full planning application based on our standard designs, or we can work with you to create a fully bespoke design. Location plans and site layout drawings as well as submission of your application can be provided as an additional service.
If site investigations or specialist drainage designs are required, this will need to be carried out separately by a qualified local contractor.
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A building warrant gives you legal permission to build your log home on your land and is granted by the local council in your area. The local council Building Control officers are responsible for granting building warrants in your area. When assessing your application for a building warrant, the building control officers apply standards set by national regulations. These provide minimum standards for health, safety, welfare and convenience of people, and also for the conservation of fuel and power.
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We will supply:
A full suite of architect’s technical building warrant drawings including plans, elevations, site layout and electrical layout as well as a construction specification.
Full structural engineering drawings for the foundation and superstructure based on predicted weather conditions for your site, including a SER certificate.
A SAP energy performance report for your home based on the technical details of the kit, the insulation specified, your chosen heating system and any renewable energy systems you plan to install.
Submission of the the building warrant application by our architect and handling of all subsequent correspondence from your building standards case officer up to approval.
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Your local council will charge a significant administration fee for checking over your application and granting you permission to build. This needs to be paid directly to the council and is generally calculated on a per square metre basis. It varies by region, but exact details can be found on your local council website.
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Creating the bespoke and detailed technical information, drawings, calculations and reports that need to be created for each building warrant application takes a lot of work by a number of different specialists. This can take 4 to six weeks, but during busy periods can sometimes take longer.
It may take 6 to 8 weeks from the date you or your architect submits the building warrant application to the time that your building standards case officer actually starts to look at your application. They will then check through all the files carefully and either give you a building warrant, or more often than not, give you a list of points of clarification or amendments that need to be added to the plans before they will give you the building warrant. After re-submitting the corrected application it might be another few weeks before you get the go ahead.