What is the pre-application advice service?
Our pre-application advice service can:
- give you and idea on whether your proposal will be approved or not,
- speed up your planning application,
- help you ensure that you provide the right information,
- help find any issues with your application before you submit it,
- recommend any changes.
Our service can save you time and money. We usually do not consider changes on a live planning application.
Pre-application advice service fees
The cost of the service is dependent on the size and complexity of the project.
- From 1st April 2025, the schedule of fees will come into effect.
Complete a pre-application service enquiry
How to complete a pre-application enquiry:
- Firstly you will need to sign in or register for a MyHarrow Account.
- Return to this page, then select the button below to access the portal.
- Once in the portal, select 'Planning' then, 'Submit pre-application.'
What happens next?
After we receive your application and payment, we will verify the payment amount. We will contact you if further payment is needed. If you paid for a meeting, we will contact you to arrange a convenient time and date. Your case officer will send you a letter with their findings after writing their advice.
How long does the service take?
We aim to provide written responses within 15 working days. This is for householders and small businesses. For all other enquiries, it is 20 working days of receiving your valid enquiry.
If a meeting is requested, we aim to agree a date with you within 10 working days. We will send a written response within 15 to 20 working days of the date of the meeting.
If we cannot respond within this time, we will contact you within 15 to 20 working days to set a new deadline.
If you would like to meet an officer to discuss the proposal, you can ask for this on the enquiry form. Fees for each category of development are set in the schedule of fees.
No meeting will be arranged until we receive all plans, documents, and the full fee.
Refund policy
If you cancel a meeting, it is likely that a significant part of the fee will not be refunded.
This is because we need to cover the cost of the research and preparatory work. We will try to reschedule meetings if asked.
If the Planning service cancels the meeting, an alternative time will be offered. If the alternative is not acceptable, the fee will be refunded in full.
Duty planning service
The duty planning service is for informal phone queries about planning. It is not for those seeking comments on a proposed scheme. If you need project specific advice, continue with our pre-application service.
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Phone number: 020 8424 1660.
Pre-application advice service disclaimer
The service may speed up and improve your chances of getting planning permission. But, it cannot guarantee application approval.
Council Members make the final decision on some applications. Decisions are made after consulting the public and statutory bodies. In some cases, the decision is delegated to senior officers.
Our service is without prejudice to the final decision on the planning application.
We will not publish any pre-application material on our website. A third party might request disclosure of pre-application material about your site.
This is under the provision of the Freedom of Information Act. It follows the Environmental Information Regulations.
If a request for disclosure of pre-application material is received from a third party, we will need to consider it.
We will explore if any exception allows us to refuse it, under the relevant laws.
You can request confidentiality in the confidentiality section of our pre-application request form. This is to see if these reasons are an exception to disclosure.