Response 3984017

Response to request for information

Reference

3984017

Response date

15 April 2026

Request

I am writing to request information regarding the pre-planning advice services provided by your planning office.
 
Specifically, I would be grateful if you could provide details on the following:

1. The typical scope and level of detail included in the advice provided
2. The average time taken to deliver pre-planning advice from the point of submission
3.  Any target response times or service standards you aim to meet
4. Current fees associated with pre-planning advice (if applicable)

This information will help me better understand the service and plan accordingly for a potential future application.
 
If this request falls under the Freedom of Information Act, please treat it as such. Thank you for your time and assistance. I look forward to your response.

Response

Thank you for your email. Some of the information you have requested is available to view on our website, links are provided below for your convenience.
 
https://www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/planning-growth/planning/pre-application-advice/
and
https://www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/about-us/about-the-council/fees-and-charges/pre-planning-application/
 
Whilst the published guidance linked above gives some indication of what advice we would not provide, it is not possible to give details of a typical response as responses are tailored to the request and level of information provided. This is so varied that there is no 'typical' level of response. 
 
In respect of your question seeking average response times, I would be unable to provide a response without dates across which the average should be calculated. I would also add that as pre application requests range from simple householder advice to requests relating to substantial commercial developments, any global average is unlikely to be revealing about the likely response time on any particular type of submission.

Additional Question.

Thank you for the response. For clarification I would be interested in annual figures for responses times for pre planning advice over the last 5 years. By annual I mean 1st of January to 31st December for years 2020 to 2025.

I would like this to be limited to single property domestic extensions. Excluding new builds or commercial construction.

I hope this helps to clarify the request. As this advice is a paid service offered by the council I would hope statistics are kept and measured.

Response to Additional Question

We have considered whether the Council hold a data-set within the scope of the request in accordance with section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We confirm that we do not record or catalogue pre-application advice by type. As such, we do not hold a data-set recording the information requested specific to householder domestic extensions.