A council planning department has introduced a new preliminary process for prospective applicants who contact the department before they have decided what they want to build, where they want to build it, or whether they want to build at all.
The Pre-Pre-Application Discovery Phase, which came into effect this month, applies to enquiries submitted through the department’s online portal that do not include a site reference, a proposed use, or a clear indication that the enquirer has formed a settled intention. Where the system detects an absence of all three elements, the enquiry is automatically routed to the new phase before the standard pre-application process begins.
Applicants entering the Discovery Phase are asked to complete a Discovery Intent Form, which invites them to describe the general type of development they are considering, to identify whether they have a site in mind or are open to suggestions, and to rate their current level of commitment on a five-point scale ranging from “early curiosity” to “fairly confident.” Submissions scoring at the lower two points of the scale are placed on a twelve-week reflection window before the department reviews them again.
“The purpose of the Discovery Phase is to help us understand where an applicant is in their journey,” a spokesperson for the department said. “We found that a proportion of enquiries were arriving from people who were essentially testing whether they had an idea. The new system gives those enquiries a proper home.”
Applicants who complete the Discovery Intent Form and receive a positive review are then eligible to proceed to the Pre-Application stage, which continues as it always has: a site-specific meeting, an initial fee, and a written response within the standard processing window.
However, the department confirmed that a further tier is currently under consultation. The proposed Pre-Discovery Eligibility Review would apply to enquiries received before a person has decided whether to submit a Discovery Intent Form, offering a brief eligibility assessment to determine whether their level of interest is sufficient to warrant the Discovery Phase at all. The consultation closes on a date that has not yet been confirmed, pending an internal review of whether the consultation period is itself appropriate in length.
A community note attached to the pre-consultation documentation advises that members of the public who wish to comment on the length of the consultation may do so via a separate feedback mechanism, which is expected to go live in the second quarter. The mechanism will be open to members of the public, provided they can confirm they are aware it exists.
The department said it remained committed to making the planning process as accessible as possible, particularly for applicants who were, in its phrase, “yet to become applicants.”
