Glossary
Determination: how a London council decides your case
The statutory 8-week period (householder) or 13-week (major) within which a council must decide an application.
The statutory 8-week period (householder) or 13-week (major) within which a council must decide an application.
Determination is the formal decision on a planning application. A householder application must be determined within eight weeks of validation, a major application within thirteen, and a prior approval for a larger rear extension within six. Missing the deadline gives the applicant a right of appeal for non-determination.
Submission, validation, consultation, assessment, decision. Validation is the point the clock starts: the authority checks the application against the national and local validation lists, and an incomplete submission simply sits until the missing item arrives. Neighbour consultation runs 21 days from notification.
The decision notice sets out the outcome, the conditions, the reasons and the appeal rights. Approval subject to conditions is the normal outcome for a well-prepared householder application.
The applicant may appeal for non-determination, or agree an extension of time with the officer. In practice agreeing an extension is almost always better: a non-determination appeal removes the decision from a local officer who is close to approving and hands it to an inspector months later.
Approval, approval with conditions, refusal, or a split decision on a mixed application. Conditions are the commonest complication — pre-commencement conditions must be discharged before any work starts, and discharging them is a separate application with its own fee.
Determination (planning decision) in a Bexley context: London Borough of Bexley (Bexley Council) runs 16 conservation areas including the Bexley Village Conservation Area and the Old Bexley Conservation Area, and there is no borough-wide Article 4 direction, so permitted development generally survives outside conservation areas. That decides how determination (planning decision) is handled: £548 and 8 weeks for a Bexley householder application, or £274 for the Lawful Development Certificate that records determination (planning decision) as lawful. The law behind determination (planning decision) sits in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the GPDO 2015 and the Building Regulations 2010.
| Householder period | 8 weeks from validation |
|---|---|
| Major development | 13 weeks |
| Prior approval, larger rear extension | 6 weeks |
| Neighbour consultation | 21 days |
| Non-determination | Right of appeal arises |
| Householder fee | £548 |
At validation, not at submission. An invalid application does not start the clock.
Yes, by written agreement with the applicant.
You can appeal for non-determination, though agreeing an extension is usually better.
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