Pre-application advice

Pre-application advice will help to:

• see whether your proposal requires planning permission or falls under permitted development
• see whether officers think the proposal would be approved and provide guidance on possible improvements
• address any potential problems with your application
• highlight any specialist advice you might need
• avoid submissions of invalid applications

We'll discuss your proposal in more depth, including the design and any materials you plan to use before you submit a planning application. The more information provided will mean we can give you a more detailed response.

Types of advice

We offer two types of advice:

• written advice
• a one-hour meeting with planning officers

Both include the option to request follow-up advice if required.

Each pre-application advice request should relate to only one redevelopment scheme for a specific site. Do not submit advice requests for multiple schemes for the same site.

If you need advice for the same scheme on multiple sites, the second site will be charged at half the original fee. For schemes involving more than two sites, please contact the Planning Technical Team by email: PlanningTechnicalTeam@maidstone.gov.uk for further advice.

Types of work

Household

This would be changes to an existing property within the property boundary:

• adding a dropped kerb
• adding dormer windows
• adding solar panels
• building or converting a garage
• building a car port
• building an annexe
• extensions
• garden outbuildings like sheds and summer houses
• loft conversions

Minor

• works affecting more than one existing property
• new builds of one to nine houses, apartments, flats or holiday lets
• commercial builds with up to 999 square metres of floor space
• mixed builds of one to nine houses, apartments, flats or holiday lets and up to 999 square metres of commercial floor space
• changes to the use of land less than a hectare in size
• garden outbuildings like barns, greenhouses, and stables
• shop advertisements

Major

• new builds of 10 to 39 houses, apartments or flats
• commercial builds with between 1,000 and 4,999 square metres of floor space
• mixed builds of 10 to 39, apartments or flats and between 1,000 and 4,999 square metres of commercial floor space
• changes to the use of land between 1 and 5 hectares in size

Large

• new builds of over 40 houses, apartments or flats
• commercial builds with over 5,000 square metres of floor space
• mixed builds of over 40, apartments or flats and over 5,000 square metres of commercial floor space
• changes to the use of land over 5 hectares in size

Cost

Our fees vary based on the type of development and the type of advice you need:

• household and minor works
• major and large works

Applications

Before you begin you will need the following:

All applications

• a card to make the payment that is in your name or you have permission to use
• a site location plan with the site outlined in red
• existing and proposed elevations
• existing and proposed floor plans

Elevations and floor plans can be hand drawn but need to include dimensions.

Household

• a plan or sketch drawing showing the existing buildings, trees etc. already on the site
• photos of the site

Minor, major and large

• accompanying statements where needed
• existing and proposed block plans

Documents should either be Word documents, JPEG/PNG photos or PDFs and 10MB or smaller. You can send us additional documents later, we'll let you know how once you've submitted your application.

You also need to know if the location of the planned works are in a conservation area or likely to have any impact on protected trees. You can check using our maps portal and going to the 'My Maps' tab.

Apply

After applying

We'll check your application and may contact you if we need more information.

Written advice

You'll get a written response within 20 working days.

Meetings

A planning officer will contact you within five working days to arrange a meeting. This can either be on-site or at Maidstone House and lasts for one hour.

You'll then get their written advice within 15 working days of the meeting.

Follow-up advice

There is a six month timescale for follow-up advice.

You will need to send a red outlined site location plan and any additional information in an email to PlanningTechnicalTeam@maidstone.gov.uk.

You can pay for any follow-up advice using our form.