Information requirements for planning applications set

An Order amending the rules on the information which must be submitted with an English planning application will come into force on 31 January. This Order removes existing national requirements for information on layout and scale to be provided with outline applications where these are reserved matters to be determined at a later date. Current rules require applications in which the layout is a reserved matter to state the approximate location of buildings, routes and open spaces. Where the scale is a reserved matter, the application must state the upper and lower limit for the height, width and length of each building. The Order also makes it clear that a local planning authority’s ‘local list’ of information requirements for planning applications will only apply to a specific application if the list has been published within two years prior to the date of the planning application.