Submit a planning application

You can submit planning applications online to us from the Planning Portal website.

 This allows you to:

• Fill in your forms on screen

• Submit your plans electronically

• Pay your fee securely online

• Avoid delays in the post - we will receive your application within minutes

• Help us to be environmentally friendly by saving paper

• Requirements for Validation of Planning Applications - In order to provide more certainty, a quicker, more predictable and efficient planning service, the Council has adopted a local list for the validation of planning applications. The requirements are listed within a guidance matrix and further details are outlined within the validation document. You are advised to refer to these before submission of a planning application. Failure to comply may lead to the planning application being made invalid by the Planning Authority, and so take no further action with it.

We use the 1App Application forms which can be found by downloading the document 'links to planning application forms' on the right hand-side of this page.

Planning fees can be complex to calculate, but the correct fee must accompany your application when submitted. The Planning Portal offer a fee calculator or you can call us on 0118 974 6433 for further guidance.

Our own guidance on planning application fees and fee exemptions are available to download on the right hand-side of this page.

See our planning policies and research pages to find out more about what planning policies may affect your property.

If you are submitting a planning application for the erection of a house/s, flat/s or the conversion of a building to a house/s or flat/s in the Borough south of the M4 see information on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.

A Design and Access Statement is a short report which supports a planning application. This should include information on the process that led to the development proposal and to explain and justify the proposal in a structured way.  

CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) have produced some useful guidance on how to read, write and use Design and Access Statements which can be found on the CABE website.

The attached guidance explains the process we use to assess if proposed changes to an existing planning consent can be considered as a minor amendment or if a new planning application is required.

The guidance also details the level of information we require to determine minor amendment submissions.

Any information you send to us will be published on our website. All documents submitted are also available as part of the public register at the our offices. If you consider any information to be personally sensitive - such as ex-directory phone numbers - do not submit it.

This may also apply to any type of communication about an application including letters, emails, etc sent to us from neighbours or other interested parties.