Pre-application advice

Apply for pre-application advice

You can seek pre-application advice from our planning team before submitting a formal planning application. We can provide policy-based advice and tell you whether your application is likely to be viewed favourably by officers. We can also advise on how to make your proposal more acceptable.

Send your completed form to enquiries@threerivers.gov.uk. You will need to pay the relevant fee with your application by calling customer services on 01923 776611.

After receiving your request, we will contact you to arrange a site visit within 10 working days of receipt of the application. In some cases, a site visit will be followed by a meeting. A written advice note will be issued for each pre-application enquiry.

We aim to provide a written response within 25 working days of receipt of a valid submission. If a meeting is arranged we aim to issue the written response within 15 working days of the meeting unless otherwise agreed.

If necessary, our planning team may seek input from specialists, such as tree and landscape, urban design and conservation officers. Additional charges may apply if specialist input is required.

During the planning application process, we encourage you to consider the compliance of your design with building regulations. We may be able to arrange a meeting with a surveyor from Hertfordshire Building Control who can review your proposal and advise on compliance issues. Building control is separate to planning and requires a separate application and approval.

Please note that the pre-application service cannot confirm whether proposed developments or amendments to existing planning permission will require planning permission. Such determinations can only be made following a formal planning application.

Follow-up advice

We provide formal follow-up advice where amendments have been made to a proposal in response to the planning officer’s comments. It is at the discretion of the planning team as to whether to accept proposals based on follow-up advice. If a follow-up proposal is materially different or does not respond to officer comments, a full pre-application fee may be required.

We aim to provide a written response to follow-up enquiries within 15 working days of receipt of a valid submission. If a meeting is arranged we aim to issue the written response within 15 working days of the meeting unless otherwise agreed.

To apply for follow-up advice, please complete the pre-application advice request form at the link above, ticking the 'follow up' box. Send your completed form to enquiries@threerivers.gov.uk.

Information for developers

A Solid Waste Storage/Collection Guidance (PDF, 1.6 MB) document has been produced to be used by developers and landowners when planning and designing waste management and storage facilities for new and refurbished developments. This includes information on bin store size, design and location.

Freedom of Information

Pre-application submissions and our written response to them are not normally published on our website or made available for public viewing. However, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) we may receive requests for information relating to pre-application requests and any advice given.

We are obliged to provide this information, however this does not include personal details, confidential or commercially sensitive information. If you feel your submission contains confidential or commercially sensitive information you must bring this to our attention at the start of the correspondence.