What Planning Committees Look For: An Insider's Guide

The Rules Beyond the Rulebook

You’ve read your council’s Local Plan, and you believe your project ticks all the boxes. So why do some seemingly compliant applications get refused? The answer is that the Local Plan is a strategic, high-level document. The nitty-gritty details that planning officers and committees fixate on are often hidden in a second layer of policy documents that many applicants never read. Learning how to find and use these documents is the single biggest advantage you can give your application.

• TL;DR: Your Research Checklist

  • Go beyond the Local Plan; find your council’s Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) and Design Guides.

  • Search the planning portal for past applications similar to yours in your local area.

  • Download and read the Officer’s Report and Committee Minutes for those applications.

  • Use this intelligence to tailor your application and Planning Statement, referencing the specific policies and precedents you’ve found.

Level 1: Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) and Codes

Think of the Local Plan as the main textbook and SPDs as the essential revision guides. SPDs add detail to the broader policies in the Local Plan. A council will often have specific SPDs for common projects.

Look for titles like:

• "Residential Design Guide SPD"

• "House Extensions and Alterations SPD"

• "Trees and Landscaping SPD"

These documents contain the specific, granular detail that your assigned planning officer will use to assess your proposal. They might dictate acceptable roof pitches for extensions, specify window-to-wall ratios, or list preferred brick colours for your area. Increasingly, these are being supplemented or replaced by Design Codes, which can be even more prescriptive.

How to find them: Go to your local council’s website and search for "Planning Policy". You should find a page for the Local Plan and another for "Supplementary Planning Documents" or "Planning Guidance".

Level 2: The Goldmine of Past Planning Applications

This is where the deepest intelligence lies. Your council’s online planning portal is a searchable database of every application submitted over the last decade or more. By researching applications similar to yours, you can see exactly how your council interprets its own policies in the real world.

Your mission:

1. Use the search function to find 3-5 recently decided applications for projects like yours (e.g., "two-storey side extension," "new dwelling") in your ward or a neighbouring one.

2. Focus on the "Documents" tab for each application. Ignore the architectural drawings for now.

3. Find the key document: the "Delegated Report," "Officer's Report," or "Committee Report."

Level 3: How to Analyse an Officer or Committee Report

This report is the planning officer’s formal assessment of the proposal. It is the single most important document for understanding your council's priorities. When you read it, look for the following:

• The Key Issues: The officer will list the main points of debate. Is it the impact on a neighbour's light? The design's effect on the street scene? Parking? This tells you what to focus on in your own application.

• Cited Policies: The officer will list every local and national policy relevant to the decision. This is your checklist. Make sure your application addresses every single one.

• Consultee Comments: Read the comments from the Highways Engineer, Tree Officer, or Conservation Officer. This reveals their specific concerns, which are often non-negotiable.

• The Recommendation & Logic: Read the final summary where the officer justifies their recommendation of approval or refusal. This is their argument in its purest form. Model your own justification on the logic they use for approvals.

If the application went to the planning committee, also download the Minutes of the meeting. This will tell you which councillors voted for or against it and what specific points they debated. You may find that certain councillors are consistently concerned about, for instance, modern design or the loss of family housing.

Putting Your Research into Action

Now you have a deep understanding of your council’s real priorities. Use this intelligence to:

• Refine Your Design: Tweak your plans to align with the specific preferences revealed in the SPDs and past decisions.

• Write a Killer Planning Statement: Structure your supporting statement to address the key issues you’ve identified. Explicitly reference the SPDs and relevant policies. You can even cite recent, similar approvals as precedents (e.g., "As with the approved application at 123 Smith Street (ref: XX/12345), our proposal uses high-quality materials that respect the local character...").

By speaking the planners' language and using their own evidence, you demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and have designed a thoughtful, policy-compliant scheme, making it much harder for them to say no.