How UK Planning Guide Builds Its Guidance
Every page is intended to be useful on its own, but the site works best when users understand what comes from national planning rules, what comes from local authority context and what still needs site-specific confirmation.
How The Guidance Is Built
National baseline first
Project guides start with the national planning position that commonly applies to domestic works, including permitted development principles and the limits that usually matter most.
Local layer second
Local project and council pages then layer in authority context such as conservation areas, listed building controls and Article 4 signals where present.
Scenario pages third
Scenario hubs and rule pages isolate the planning issue that is actually blocking progress, so users do not have to reread an entire project guide.
Usefulness Standards
- Pages should answer a real planning question in plain English.
- Tools should help users make a better decision, not just create another click.
- FAQ pages should cover process, restrictions and verification steps that people genuinely struggle with.
- Where an answer depends on measurements, design history or special controls, the page should say so clearly.
What Users Should Still Verify
- Exact dimensions, overall site coverage and roof heights.
- Whether previous extensions or outbuildings have already used development allowances.
- Whether the property is listed, in a conservation area or affected by an Article 4 direction.
- Whether a separate consent is needed, such as listed building consent, highway approval or building regulations approval.
If a proposal is close to a limit or there is any doubt about the planning route, a lawful development certificate or pre-application advice is usually more valuable than relying on assumptions.
Useful Entry Points
Planning Permission hub
Start with the broad planning route when you need the main rule first.
Open hubPermitted Development hub
Check the usual PD baseline before moving into project detail.
Open hubPlanning decision tool
Get a fast first-pass answer before you compare detailed guidance.
Open toolDo I need planning permission?
Read the core answer to the most common planning question.
Read answer