Minor Operations Pre Planning Application Advice

This service is appropriate for the following types of application:

• Residential schemes between 1-5 units
• Non-residential schemes up to 500sqm
• Agricultural Buildings up to 540sqm
• Glasshouses up to 465sqm
• Plant and machinery
• Telecommunication Masts
• Car Parks
• Advertisements
• Forestry Services
• Demolition of Buildings
• CLEUD’s
• Discharging of conditions
• Trees
• Non-material alterations
• Minor-material alterations
• Change of use
• Shop fronts

The charge for the Minor Operations Pre Planning advice service is £240 (including VAT) per meeting (or letter) which we must receive before any research, consultation or meeting takes place. A refund cannot be given if you subsequently cancel the meeting, as preparatory work would have already taken place.

• Credit Card payments can be made by phoning 0300 123 5014
• Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to ‘Cheshire East Council’

Scope of advice

• Information on the relevant policies and other planning requirements.
• Provision of advice regarding the procedure, consultation, and estimated time scale concerning the processing of the application
• The required information for making a valid planning application
• Informal and without prejudice comments and guidance on the content, and presentation of an application likely to satisfy the Council’s planning policies

Minimum information required for a Minor Operations pre-application discussion

The Council will require sufficient information to enable a quality advice service to be provided. This includes: 

• A description of the proposed development
• Photographs and / or sketch drawings showing the site, buildings and trees as existing
• Outline of proposal (on plans scale 1:50 or 1:100)
• Sketch drawings showing the size, height and scale of development

Further specialised information may be required for schemes involving agricultural considerations, plant and machinery, telecommunication masts, highways matters, forestry services, and trees. The case officer will advise on further information on receipt of the pre-application request.

What the applicant will receive

Subject to the availability of all the required information, you will receive:

• A detailed advice letter outlining the planning issues, constraints and requirements which have been agreed by the Development Management Service, plus a view on whether the scheme is acceptable
• The name of the planning case officer(s) who will be handling your enquiry and their contact details

Any advice given by Council officers for minor operation schemes will not constitute a formal decision of the Council with regards to future planning consents and will be made based on the information provided. Any views or opinions expressed are given in good faith, and to the best of ability, without prejudice to the formal consideration of any planning application, which will be subject to public consultation and ultimately decided by the Council. You should therefore be aware that officers cannot give guarantees about the final formal decision that will be made on your planning or related applications. However, the advice note will be considered by the Council as a material consideration in the determination of the future planning related applications, subject to the proviso that circumstances and information may change or come to light that could alter the position.

Little or no weight will be given to the content of the Council’s pre-application advice for schemes submitted more than 1 year after the date of the advice being issued.

The service has the right to decline a request for this type of pre-application advice where it is not considered either appropriate or necessary.

Page last reviewed: 11 November 2022