Apply for planning permission

Preparing and submitting your application

Preparing your application

When you've decided what you want to do, you need to prepare your application. This involves getting all the information about your development ready. It's really important that you follow our guidance on how to prepare a valid planning application. This will help ensure you get your application right the first time and avoid delays.

Submitting your application

When your application is ready, you can choose how you want to submit it to us. 

Submit online via the Planning Portal website

The Planning Portal website is the fastest and easiest way to apply. Your fee payment will be taken on the Planning Portal when you submit your application.

Submit planning application via Planning Portal

If you are submitting a Lawful Development Certificate application, then we recommend that you use our new online application portal. Your fee payment will be taken when you submit your application.

Submit by email

We also accept applications by email. A member of our Planning Support team will contact you to explain how to pay your fee after we receive your email. You can see all application forms and download the form you need from the Planning Portal website

In your email, you must:

  • confirm what type of application you're submitting
  • attach your completed application form 
  • attach all other forms, drawings and supporting documents
  • tell us how you want to pay; if you pay online, let us know in your email 

Submit application via email

Pay application fee online 

Submit by post

You can post your application to: Planning, 5th Floor Hub 2, Southwark Council, PO Box 64529, London, SE1P 5LX

You must:

What we do when we receive your application

We will let you know:

  • when we've received your application
  • when we have made it valid

Once we've made your application valid, a Planning Officer will be responsible for looking at your case. They will decide whether the works you want to do are acceptable and will contact you if they need more information. 

See our planning FAQs for commonly asked questions about everything that happens after you've submitted a planning application.

What we will do if there are issues with your application

If we find a mistake in your application or if there is any information missing, we will not make your case valid. We will tell you what you need to do to make it valid. You will have 21 days to respond to us and to fix any mistakes or send us missing information. If we do hear from you after 35 days, we will close your application and you will need to apply again.

Page last updated: 21 November 2023

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