Planning - Information

The Development Control section provides general planning advice, is responsible for considering and deciding planning and related applications, defending the refusal of planning permission on appeal and taking enforcement action against breaches of control.

Changes to the Planning System 2008/9

The Planning system has been amended by the Government throughout 2008/9 through a number of measures. Fees were increased, permitted development rights for householders were increased and the appeals system was improved. Further details will be added here when they become available.

From 1st October 2008 new rules were introduced in respect of the types of development that a householder can carry out without planning permission.

These changes are intended to make it easier to improve a dwelling by relaxing planning controls on smaller extensions. There are also new controls however over hard surfaces such as driveways, aimed at reducing water run-off which contributes to flooding.

The changes apply to any new development commenced from 1st October onwards.

The Government has produced an interactive house guide to the new changes which may be viewed on the Planning Portal. 

Guidance on the types of surfacing that will be acceptable can be viewed at
www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/pavingfrontgardens

The full Statutory Instrument may be viewed at www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/pdf/uksi_20082362_en.pdf

The Hertfordshire Districts have worked in partnership to produce a series of guidance notes (The Herts Guide) to the amended General Permitted Development Order for householders. The amended GPDO has given rise to an extraordinary degree of debate amongst practitioners over interpretation due to a lack of clear definitions within the government document. The Herts Guide is an attempt at providing clarity and consistency across the Districts and is a result of a consensus view. The various elements of the Guide include version control and will be updated once case law develops. There are already several appeals pending over interpretation. It should be borne in mind that local authorities serve all elements of the community, those in favour of development and those opposed to it. There will therefore often be different points of view on relatively simple matters. The Guide is intended to give clear guidance to all parties. 

 Planning Guide for Neighbours DOWNLOAD

Frequently Asked Questions

A list of frequently asked questions and answers about Planning can be downloaded below.

Customer Service Charter

Our customer service charter can be viewed below.

If you have a general and straightforward question about a town planning matter, you can contact the Duty Planner for advice between 10am and 1pm, Monday to Friday.  This service is provided to personal visitors without an appointment and to telephone callers.

Please note that as from 10 August 2006, there is a complusory requirement to submit a Design and Access Statement with certain planning and listed building consent applications.  There are also changes in the format of Outline Planning Applications. Guidance about these changes can be downloaded below.

We determine some 1500-1800 applications each year and 90% of these are dealt with under officer delegated powers.   The Development Control Committee is a regulatory committee of the Council which deals with more controversial and larger scale developments. You can view forthcoming and previous agenda, reports and minutes on the Development Control Committee page.

Development Control Performance

The Department for Communities and Local Government sets targets for local authorities to determine planning applications. These are set as a % of applications received by category to be determined within a set period of time. The document below sets out how Three Rivers has performed against these targets for the last 4 financial years.

Smoking Shelters

The Government has introduced statutory provisions banning smoking in wholly and substantially enclosed workplaces including public houses and restaurants. Guidance to those considering ways of providing facilities for smokers whilst also complying with the new legislation can be downloaded below.

Advice on installing external lighting for residential properties

Development on potentially contaminated land

Enforcement

Three Rivers District Council takes a firm approach to anyone breaching planning control.  The following documents detail the role of the Enforcement Team of the Development Control Section.

Sustainability and the Environment Seminar 2008

The powerpoint presentations of the Heads of Service who addressed the Council’s 2nd Annual Seminar held at Three Rivers House on 5th June 2008 are set out below. If you have any trouble opening these please contact geof.muggeridge@threerivers.gov.uk