Glossary
The Planning Portal and submitting a London application
The national online service for submitting planning applications to UK local authorities.
The national online service for submitting planning applications to UK local authorities.
The Planning Portal is the national online service for submitting planning and building control applications in England and Wales. It handles the forms, the document upload, the fee calculation and payment, then routes the application to the relevant local authority.
The application form, ownership certificate and agricultural holdings certificate, a location plan at 1:1250 with the site edged red, a site or block plan at 1:500 or 1:200, existing and proposed floor plans, elevations and sections at 1:50 or 1:100, and any supporting statements the local validation list requires.
Every drawing needs a unique number, a title, a scale, a north point on plans and a paper size stated. Drawings without a scale bar are a common validation rejection, because officers print at reduced size.
The Portal charges a service fee on top of the statutory application fee. The statutory fee itself — £548 for householder — goes to the council. Some authorities also accept direct submission through their own systems without the service charge.
Once the council registers it, the application appears on the borough's own public access system with a reference number, the documents, the consultation responses and the target date. That, rather than the Portal, is where the case progresses.
A worked Brent example of planning portal: with 22 conservation areas — the Queen's Park Conservation Area and the Mapesbury Conservation Area among the best known — London Borough of Brent (Brent Council) sees planning portal constantly, and an Article 4 direction is in force there, so permitted development cannot be assumed. Where planning portal pushes a Brent scheme out of permitted development, the route becomes a £548 application decided in 8 weeks rather than a £249 prior approval in 6 weeks.
| Covers | England and Wales |
|---|---|
| Location plan scale | 1:1250, site edged red |
| Site plan scale | 1:500 or 1:200 |
| Drawing scales | 1:50 or 1:100 |
| Statutory householder fee | £548 |
| Tracking | The council's public access system |
No. Many councils accept direct submission through their own system.
1:1250, with the application site edged red and any other owned land edged blue.
Yes, though validation rejections for missing or unscaled drawings are common.
Pick a slot that suits you. No obligation and no sales pressure, just straight answers on your planning route.
