Practical guides on Design & Access Statements, permitted development rights, NPPF policy, and planning applications in England.
A £548 fee with no free retry, appeals that can no longer hear new evidence, and — from 31 October 2026 — no committee to persuade. Three changes have converged on one point: the documents you submit on day one are the whole case.
Read article →When a home extension needs planning permission and when it's permitted development — rear and side extensions, lofts and outbuildings — plus the local rules that change the answer in East Sussex and Kent.
Read article →The three most common reasons Rother District Council refuses householder applications — design, neighbour amenity and overdevelopment — and how to answer each in your Design & Access Statement.
Read article →Design, neighbour amenity and the High Weald National Landscape — the three refusal triggers in Wealden, and how to answer each against the Core Strategy (2013).
Read article →Design, neighbour amenity and heritage/conservation-area impact — the three refusal triggers in Hastings, and how to answer each against the Development Management Plan (2015).
Read article →Design/character, neighbour amenity and heritage — the three refusal triggers in Lewes district, and how to answer each against the Local Plan Part 2 (2020).
Read article →Design, neighbour amenity and disproportionate additions in the Green Belt or High Weald — the refusal triggers in Tunbridge Wells, and how to answer each against the Local Plan 2020-2038.
Read article →Design, neighbour amenity and conservation-area impact — the three refusal triggers in Eastbourne, and how to answer each against the Core Strategy (2013) and saved Borough Plan.
Read article →Design in a dense city grain, acute neighbour amenity, and conservation-area impact — the refusal triggers in Brighton & Hove, and how to answer each against City Plan Part Two (2022).
Read article →A clear explanation of what a DAS is, when planning authorities require one, what it must cover, and how to write one that supports your application.
Read article →Everything architects need to know about Class A permitted development rights for rear extensions — size limits, height rules, neighbour consultation, and when you need prior approval.
Read article →A practical, section-by-section guide to writing a DAS that planning officers find compelling — with advice on policy citations, site context, and design justification.
Read article →NPPF paragraph 11(d) no longer exists. Policies S3, S4 and S5 replaced it, and a housing land supply shortfall now matters only outside a settlement, via policy S5(1)(j).
Read article →A guide to the key local plan policies across East Sussex — covering design, housing, heritage, and sustainability requirements for planning applications.
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