Outline permission and Permission in Principle are staged routes: further approvals are needed before construction. [1][2][3][4]
Householder: work to an existing house
The householder route covers proposals such as extensions, roof alterations and works within the garden of a single house. It does not cover alterations to a flat, the creation of additional dwellings or changes of use. Calling a proposal a “home improvement” does not make it a householder application. [1]
For example, an extension that remains part of one house and a project that turns that house into separate flats require different application routes. Describe the intended final use, not just the building work. [1][2]
Full: the detailed proposal
A full application seeks a decision on the detailed development submitted. This is the relevant starting point for many new houses, flat conversions, alterations to flats and commercial projects. The drawings and supporting information must explain the whole proposal sufficiently for the council to assess it. [2]
Choosing full permission does not mean that every construction detail will be approved as part of that decision. Planning conditions and separate regulatory approvals may still need attention. [2][5]
Outline: establish the principle, reserve specified details
Outline permission can establish whether a development is acceptable in principle while leaving specified matters for later approval. The matters potentially reserved are access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale. The application must make clear what is being submitted now and what is reserved. [3]
This can be useful where the principle of development is the main uncertainty. It is not a shortcut around a site's constraints, and an outline approval should not be treated as an approval of illustrative drawings in every detail. Read exactly what the decision reserves. [3]
Permission in Principle: a different two-stage route
Permission in Principle separates location, land use and amount of development from the subsequent technical details consent. It is a housing-led route, with housing forming the majority of floorspace where other uses are included. Householder development is excluded; an application for major development is also excluded from this application route. Other exclusions apply. [4]
A favourable first-stage decision is not enough to start. Technical details consent must follow, and must accord with the Permission in Principle. [4]
Choose against your actual objective
Before commissioning the submission, write down the existing use, proposed number of homes, complete building works and whether you need a detailed approval or an initial decision on principle. Then check the eligibility and information requirements for that route. The application guide is a useful starting point, but the route should follow the proposal rather than whichever form appears simplest. [5]