Steps to getting pre-application advice - South Downs National Park Authority

Getting pre-application advice

There are four steps to getting pre-application advice from the South Downs National Park Authority.

Step 1 – Identify who you need to go to for advice

We are responsible for planning across the entire National Park and have agreed unique partnerships with the local authorities operating within the National Park boundaries.

Find out who is best placed to give you advice.

Step 2 – Find out if there will be a charge
Please see our list of fees for planning advice.

The following are, however, exempt from pre-application fees:
- 100% affordable housing development
- Agriculture and farm diversification
If you consider that your scheme qualifies of a fee exemption please provide and explanation with your enquiry form.

Step 3 – Complete and return the form and pay
You need to make sure we have the correct information. All requests for pre-application advice must be made using the relevant form, together with any supporting information outlined on the form.

Please use one of the following forms:
Forms can be completed electronically and emailed to the relevant authority, or completed by hand and returned by post to the relevant authority.

Please email/send the completed for and supporting information directly to:

The South Downs National Park Authority for all sites in Adur and Worthing, Arun, Brighton and Hove, Horsham, Mid-Sussex or Wealden district within the National Park, to planning@southdowns.gov.uk

The relevant partner Local Authority for all sites in the following districts within the National Park area (even if you think the National Park Authority may deal with the enquiry in house):

Chichester – dcplanning@chichester.gov.uk

East Hampshire – planningdev@easthants.gov.uk

Lewes/Eastbourne – planningfirst@lewes.eastbourne.gov.uk

Winchester – sdplanning@winchester.gov.uk

Please note that all the required information and the fee, if applicable, must be submitted before we can deal with your enquiry.

Please note that all the required information and the fee, if applicable, must be submitted before we can deal with your enquiry.
- To pay online
  Payments are handled by Brighton and Hove City Council on behalf of the South Downs National Park Authority.
  
  Use the links below to make an online payment by credit or debit card for pre-application fees handled by the following teams:
  
  Chichester Team
  East Hampshire Team
  Horsham Team
  Lewes Team
  Winchester Team
  SDNPA Team
  
  To make sure your payment is correctly identified and linked to your submission please use the following references:
  - If the fee relates to a previous application that has been declared invalid (no original fee or additional fee required) use the application reference; or
  - If the fee is for a new application use the first line of the site address.
- To pay by telephone
  - For Adur and Worthing, Arun, Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, Mid-Sussex, Wealden or West Sussex you can pay over the phone by debit or credit card by calling 01730 814810 and asking for the Technical Support Team.
  - To make a telephone payment within Chichester, East Hampshire, Horsham, Lewes or Winchester please contact the relevant planning service directly stating that you wish to pay a pre-application advice fee for a South Downs National Park Authority application.
  - For payments for sites in Eastbourne please contact the Lewes Planning Service.
- To pay by BACS transfer
  - For Adur and Worthing, Arun, Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, Mid-Sussex, Wealden or West Sussex please call 01730 814810 and ask for the Technical Support Team who will be happy to provide you with our account details.
  - To make a BACS payment within Chichester, East Hampshire, Horsham, Lewes and Winchester please contact the relevant planning service directly stating that you wish to pay a pre-application advice fee for a South Downs National Park Authority application.
  - For payments for sites in Eastbourne please contact the Lewes Planning Service.
  To make sure your payment is correctly identified and linked to your submission please use the following references:
  - If the fee relates to a previous application that has been declared invalid (no original fee or additional fee required) use the application reference; or
  - If the fee is for a new application use the first line of the site address.
Step 4 – Our advice

The Authority or one of its partner authorities will send you an acknowledgement receipt for your enquiry, together with the name and contact details of the case officer.

Our service operates through a staged process in regard to the level of written response you should expect.

Site visits will normally be unattended and appointments will be made wherever possible, particularly if access to the site appears difficult.

Pre-application advice is not published online at this stage. However, if a subsequent relevant planning application is submitted, then our advice will be made available online.

Requests for pre-application advice and the response provided will only be published on the Authority’s website should a subsequent application be submitted..

There is the possibility that under Freedom of Information Regulations (FOI) or Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), we will be asked to provide information about enquiries and we have to decide whether the information can be released.

However the provisions of the FOI or EIR are binding to the Authority and therefore it should be presumed that information supplied to the Authority is likely to be disclosed under the above Act should a request be made. You should state clearly if you want information to remain confidential and why. Information sent to the Authority “in confidence” may still be disclosed under the above Act.

All pre-application advice constitutes an informal opinion based upon the information you have provided.

This advice will not prejudice any decisions that the South Downs National Park Authority or other planning committees may make on any future formal planning applications.

As planning applications are publicised and consulted on there may be other matters which only come to light during a formal application and which may influence how it is determined.