Luton Borough Council
Planning application forms and validation guidance
Making viability assessments public
Our supplementary planning document on planning obligations sets out the requirement that for applications which are not policy compliant, applicants are required to submit an open book viability appraisal for independent assessment.
In keeping with the recommended approach in the National Planning Policy Framework (2018), appraisals will now be publicly available and published on our website.
Publication will take effect for all appraisals submitted on or after 18 October 2018.
New payment service
A new payment service is on place for submitting planning applications available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Please see the guidance notes for information which may affect you.
Please submit your planning application online using the orange buttons below.
Planning application fee changes to take effect on 17 January 2018
Parliamentary approval has been given to legislation that will increase fees by 20 per cent. The fees are set nationally and this is the first increase in planning fees for five years.
The changes will come into force on 17 January 2018.
Examples of the increase in fees include:
- householder applications increasing from £172 to £206
- standard fee rate for the erection of dwelling houses increasing from £385 to £462.
The complete list of the increases in planning application fees can be viewed via the new amendment regulations Statutory Instrument 2017 No. 1314. Full details of the new planning application will be available on Planning Portal when the increases take effect and the Planning Portal’s Fee Calculator will be updated for all applications submitted on 17 January to ensure you submit the correct fee.
Please note that if you are submitting a planning application shortly, it is the date that the application is valid which will determine the requisite fee required, not the date on which the application was received.
Download a copy of Luton's validation requirements below to ensure that you have submitted all the relevant details with your application. This will prevent delays in processing your application.
An example of the type of drawings required for submitting your application can be downloaded below.
Please note that hard copies of the submitted application will be required for the scale of development as set out below.
One hard copy of the application will be required where:
- the number of residential units to be constructed is between 10 and 199 inclusive or if the number of units is not given, the site area should be between 0.5 hectares and less than 4 hectare
- for all other uses, floor space is between 1,000 square metres and 9,999 square metres or the site area is between 0.5 hectare and less than 2 hectares
- for retail Mezzanine floors – floor space is within 1,000 square metres and 9,999 square metres
Two hard copies of the application will be required where:
- the number of residential units to be constructed is 200 or more or if the number of units is not given, the site area should be 4 hectares or more
- where there is 1,000 square metres of industrial, commercial or retail floor space
- for all other uses, floor space is between 10,000 square metres, or the site area is more than 2 hectares
- for retail Mezzanine floors – floor space is greater than 10,000 square metres or retail Mezzanine floors – floor space is greater than 10,000 square metres
For strategic major applications, you may be required to submit 3 hard copies of all documentation but this will be clarified in the pre-application process.
Important notice
When submitting your application through the planning portal, you will need to press the submit button. If you press the save button, it will save your application in your drafts folder and we will not receive it, resulting in delays.
It is recommended that you check our online planning portal by searching on the address after 48 hours to check your application has been received.
If in doubt, please email us on [email protected].
Hard copy application forms can be requested by writing to [email protected] or at the address below. Please note that it may take up to 10 working days to fulfil your request.
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© 2020 Luton Council, Town Hall, Luton LU1 2BQ