Do I need planning permission?

If you are a householder, wanting to alter or extend your house. Permitted development rights allow you to carry out certain developments without needing consent from the council, for example:

• Small front porches
• Some rear extensions/conservatories
• Satellite dishes
• Replacement windows, etc.

These rights are extremely limited in Conservation Areas, meaning that even relatively small alterations and developments such as those listed above will need planning permission.

Find out more about Permitted development rights.

A Certificate of Lawfulness can be applied for should you seek formal confirmation that planning permission is not required.

Planning officers are happy to give informal advice to you over the telephone or in person at the Planning Office regarding what needs and what doesn't need planning permission. However, if you wish to receive a formal decision, you will need to apply for a 'Certificate of Lawfulness'.

Information on this process, including the fee which will be charged, is set out within this webpage. Alternatively you can also apply for certificates of lawfulness through the ePlanning system.

What is it? 

The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development)(Scotland) Order 1992 (as amended) is known as the GPDO and grants permitted development rights for a number of uses to carry out development without requiring planning permission. 

The Council offers a duty planning service available via email at planning@eastdunbarton.gov.uk or by calling 0300 123 4510 between 0930 and 1300 any weekday. This service offers free verbal advice on permitted development and the relevant classes that may apply to particular developments. Requests for written confirmation of permitted development must come in the form of a Certificate of Lawful Use or Development (CLUD) under Sections 150 and 151 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997. This webpage sets out guidance on how to submit this type of application and the costs associated with such an application.

Certificates of lawful use or development provide a mechanism for establishing the planning status of land, i.e. whether an existing or proposed use or development is lawful for planning purposes. Anyone (not just a person with an interest in the land) can apply to a planning authority for a decision on whether a specified existing or proposed use, operational development, or failure to comply with a planning condition or limitation, which has already been carried out on land, is lawful for planning purposes.

The majority of certificate of lawful use applications are likely to come from householders seeking to extend or alter a domestic property. Scottish Government Planning Circular 1/2024: Householder Permitted Development Rights is a user friendly guidance note on this topic which should be referred to when determining whether planning permission is required. You can view this on the Scottish Government website here.

Why is this beneficial? 

If a proposed development complies with the classes of permitted development described by the GPDO then a submission to the Planning Authority is not strictly necessary. However, a CLUD provides formal confirmation that planning permission is not required and as a result provides the following benefits:

• Certainty for the landowner that the proposed development does not require planning permission and, if built in accordance with the approved plans, will not be the subject of planning enforcement action in the future
• Reduced complications for house sales. Solicitors processing house sales will often ask the vendor for evidence that extensions or alterations either received planning permission or did not require planning permission. A CLUD would be the most definitive way to provide this evidence for permitted development works
• Minimise potential disputes with neighbours through written confirmation of the planning status of your development. 

How much does it cost? 

There is a charge for this service which is dependent on the scale of the development as follows:

Proposed works (householder) - 50% of the planning application fee. 

Proposed works or use (non-householder) - 50% of the planning application fee.

Existing works or use - The normal planning application fee.

Failure to comply with a planning condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted - £371.

Use or development as a dwelling - £742 for each dwellinghouse subject to a maximum of £185,524.

What can I expect in the response? 

If your proposal complies with the criteria set out in the GPDO then a formal certificate will be issued confirming this within 8 weeks of a valid submission.

This certificate provides a legal confirmation that no planning permission is required for the development. 

In the event of the development not complying with the GPDO criteria then we will advise you of this and offer you the opportunity to convert the submission to a full planning permission. This would involve the completion of the relevant form and the submission of the additional fee. 

What do I need to include in my submission? 

CLUDs can be either proposed (where a new permitted development is proposed) or existing (where a development has been in place for a number of years and has become lawful as a result). oth applications can be made through the Edevelopment.scot portal. The following information would be necessary for each type of submission.

Proposed: 

• Scaled plans including floor plans, elevations, location plan and block plan.
• The completion of the relevant form through the above portal (paper forms are also available there for printing)
• Payment of the relevant fee through the Council’s website or by calling 0300 123 4510. 

Existing

• Evidence of the length of time the development or use has been complete or operational. This may include building warrants, dated bills or receipts, date stamped photographs etc.
•  A location plan and any other plans or photographs necessary to describe the development
• The completion of the relevant form through the above portal (paper forms are also available there for printing)

• Payment of the relevant fee through the Council’s website or by calling 0300 123 4510. 

Please note that your Certificate of Lawfulness could be refused if it is found not to be lawful, in which case you will need to apply for full planning permission and pay an additional fee.

Other consent that you may need to include:

• If you are altering a Listed Building then you will need Listed Building Consent
• If you are demolishing a building or structure in a Conservation Area, you may require  Conservation Area Consent
• If you are installing  an advertisement, you may require Advertisement Consent
• If you are carrying out works to trees covered by a Tree Preservation Order or situated in a Conservation Area, you need permission in the form of a Tree Works Application
• If there are protected bird or animal species at the site, you will need permission to disturb them.

To apply for the first four of the above you should visit the eplanning.scot website to make an application online or download a paper form. For further information regarding permissions relating to protected species please visit the Scottish Natural Heritage website.

Building Warrants

New buildings and alterations to existing buildings need to meet the appropriate building standards and may need a building warrant. For more information please visit Building Standards section of the Council's website.

Changes of Use

The change in the use of land or buildings is ‘development’ and therefore requires planning permission in most circumstances. 

What amounts to a material change in the use of the land depends on the facts and circumstances of each case. Some individual uses which are similar are grouped into separate classes by the Use Classes Order 1997 as amended. Where a building or land is used for a purpose which is included in a particular class, the use of that building or land for any other purpose in the same class, is not generally taken to involve development and therefore it would not require planning permission in most circumstances. Planning permission may however be required if a planning condition restricting the use of the building or land has been applied. 

Changes are also permitted by the General Permitted Development Order 1992 as amended, which provides that certain changes of use, though involving development, are nonetheless permitted and therefore no planning permission is required. Where a proposed activity falls into two classes, the proposal is considered as ‘mixed-use’ and will likely require planning permission. 

Please note that Class 1 and 2 no longer exist and were replaced by Class 1A in March 2023. 

Please see below overview of the Use Classes Order 1997 as amended.

This overview is for guidance purposes only, for any clarification the planning authority should be contacted, or reference made to the following legislation and all subsequent amendments: 

• The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997
• The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Scotland) Order 1992 
• The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Scotland) Order 1997.