Approved
You now have planning permission for the work shown on the approved plans. This planning permission will last for three years from the decision date. If you do not start the development within this time, the permission will expire and you will need to reapply with a full application.

It is your responsibility to make sure that your development is built in accordance with the approved plans. You must let us know if you make any changes to the plans before you start building. For very minor changes, you should send us a letter and revised drawings giving details of the changes. We will write to you to let you know if we approve these changes. For most changes, including any increase in size, you will need to submit a new application.

You may need to apply for building regulation approval for the work you want to do. This is separate from planning approval, and is to do with the construction itself. See our Building Control pages for more information.

Approved with conditions
This means that we've given you permission to do the work but only if you meet all the conditions we've placed on the permission. The conditions will depend on the type of development but generally deal with things such as:

• starting the work within the required timescale;
• the type of materials and landscaping you are planning to use;
• obscure glazing in windows;
• how you will manage the building process in terms of noise, hours of work and storage on site;
• access and parking on site; and
• environmental and sustainability issues.

On some schemes there may be a number of pre-commencement conditions.  These are conditions where you will need to send additional information to the council for formal agreement before you start work.  We will 'discharge' any conditions when they have been met and work must not start on site until this has happened. Please refer to How do I discharge a condition? for further information, including the fees payable.

We will describe all of the conditions in the decision notice. Your case officer will be able to give you further advice on these.

Approved with Section 106 agreement
A section 106 agreement is a legally binding document to ensure you meet certain conditions when you develop your site. The requirements that are covered by legal agreements vary widely. For example, if you are a homeowner we may ask you to enter into an agreement to:

• demolish an old garage before you build a new one; or
• to implement an extension at the same time as your neighbour.

A very different example is asking a housing developer for a financial contribution towards the provision of recreational facilities in the local area.

We will not give a final decision on your application until the legal agreement has been signed.

Refused
If we refuse your application, you can do one of the following:

• Ask us to suggest changes
  We are happy to discuss changes if we feel that these will lead to a successful decision. These discussions are usually undertaken before submitting a revised application.
• Appeal to the Planning Inspectorate within six months (or 12 weeks if a householder application) of the decision
  If you want to appeal against our decision, you will need to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate (this page opens in a new window). The Planning Inspectorate will review the case and make a decision on your application. Read our Can I appeal against a decision? page for more information.

Planning Enquiries
Guildford Borough council
Millmead House
Millmead
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 4BP

Tel: 01483 444609
Email: planningenquiries@guildford.gov.uk