Permits and planning
A development permit passes through four hands before it is granted. The system keeps the application visible at every one of them, and refuses to grant it while fees are owed.
The stages
- Submitted — the application is logged with the plot, the proposed use, the floor area and the estimated cost.
- Screening — documents checked, fees assessed.
- Planning officer — technical review against the approved scheme.
- Spatial Planning Committee — the decision-making body.
- Decision — granted or refused, with remarks.
Use Move to next stage to advance, or Defer or Reject with remarks. The remarks are shown to the applicant in their own account, so write them for the applicant rather than for the file.
Fees first. An application with fees outstanding cannot be approved. The button will refuse and tell you why. This is the control most often missing when permits are processed on paper.
Fees
There are two: a flat processing fee and a permit fee based on the floor area. Both are taken from the fee fixing resolution. When the applicant pays, post the payment as a normal receipt against the planning revenue item and mark the application as paid.
Stage inspections
A granted permit carries conditions: the developer must notify the department at foundation, lintel and roofing stages. Record each visit and whether it was compliant. A non-compliant inspection is the evidence behind a stop notice.
Environmental health
Premises inspections are recorded separately, with an outcome of pass, warning, fine or prosecution, and a re-inspection date where one is required. A fine raised here is receipted against the insanitary premises line of the resolution like any other revenue.