Informal advice and getting in touch
You can contact us for informal advice about whether planning
permission is required, or the likelihood of obtaining planning
permission.
Advice can be obtained by telephone, letter (our address is at
the bottom of the page), email or by calling at the
Planning Helpdesk in reception at
our Woodbridge offices where there is a duty officer
available every weekday, including basic lunchtime cover.
To contact the Planning Helpdesk call
01394 444403 or 444428 or
email
d.c.admin@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
Our fax number is 01394 385100.
If you require an informal opinion as to whether a proposal is
likely to be acceptable you may wish to forward a letter, sketch
plans and photographs of the site and its context for
consideration.
Householder applications
On 1 October 2008 new rules came into effect for
householders wanting to extend or add to their homes. Some types of
building work will no longer require an application for planning
permission if they fall within a new set of limits and conditions.
Full details of the planning permission requirements for most
common types of building work are available on the Planning Portal
website:
You can also view the Planning Portal's interactive house guide
to find out what you may or may not need planning permission
for:
You can apply for planning permission online or make a
paper application - follow this link for information on
how to apply for planning permission.
Householders can print out and send us a completed
householder alterations form (new window PDF
30KB) to get an informal opinion as to whether or not
planning permission is needed.
Guides to planning permission
The guides below will help you to find out if you need planning
permission:
Important - if it appears that planning
permission is not required you are advised to forward a rough,
dimensioned, sketch of your proposal to us (our address is at
bottom of the page) so that a double check can be made.
Permitted development rights may have been removed on a previous
planning application, meaning planning permission may still be
required.
You can apply for planning permission online or make a
paper application - follow this link for information on
how to apply for planning permission.
Air conditioning units, biomass boilers and woodburners
Please contact the
Planning Helpdesk to check to see if planning
permission is required for the installation of air conditioning
units, biomass boilers and woodburners. You should also contact the
Council's Enviromental Protection and
Building
Control teams to check that all regulations are complied
with.
Listed buildings
Any works to a
listed building that affect its character either
externally or internally normally require listed building consent.
This includes, for example, replacing windows with new windows.
Drawings submitted with an application need to be accurate and
detailed.
Supplementary Planning Guidance 13 provides
important information and advice to anyone who might own, or may be
involved with proposals to repair, alter or extend a historic
building.
You can apply for listed building consent online or
make a paper application - follow this link for information on
how to apply for planning permission.
Supplementary Planning Guidance
Supplementary Planning Guidance provides
guidance to the Council's policies on issues such as household
alterations and extensions, shopfronts, signs and advetisements,
conservation areas, repairs, alterations and extensions to historic
buildings and the use of redundant buildings in the
countryside.
Lawful Development Certificate
If you wish to obtain a formal determination about whether your
proposal would be lawful without needing any further planning
permission you can make an application for a Lawful Development
Certificate for the proposed use or development. You are advised,
however, to seek an informal opinion from the Council about
whether permission is required prior to making such an application.
You can apply for a Lawful Development Certificate online or make a
paper application - follow this link for information on
how to apply for planning permission.
What you can expect from us
We aim to reply to written enquiries within 28 days. Some
enquiries may be dealt with more quickly if they are
straightforward although some may take a little longer if, for
example, additional research, consultation or a site visit is
required. Follow this link
to find out about the service you can expect
when we deal with planning applications and the standards we work
to.
We would also welcome any comments about the way we provide our
planning service and any suggestions on how we can further improve
our service. You can email your comments to
d.c.admin@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk
or write to the Head of Planning Services at the address below:
Head of Planning Services,
Suffolk Coastal District Council,
Melton Hill,
Woodbridge,
Suffolk IP12 1AU.