To check if you need, or don't need planning permission, you can see our check if you need planning permission pages, or you can apply for a Certificate of Lawfulness.

You can also get impartial advice on all planning matters from Planning Aid Scotland or from a professional agent/architect. 

Planning Aid Scotland (PAS) is an independent charity that offers free, impartial and confidential planning advice, provided by staff and volunteers all of whom are chartered planners.

For pre-application advice

If you have a planning proposal prepared that you would like specific advice on, our optional pre-application advice service can provide the following benefits before you make your application:

• The advice will identify the relevant local development plan policies and supplementary planning guidance where relevant and offer the context on how the policies and guidance will be applied to your proposals.
• May allow the identification at an early stage of the need for specialist input in terms of transportation requirements, ground conditions (SI and CMRA), drainage, flooding, protected species (we will not be undertaking consultations as part of our pre-application advice).
• It may flag up unacceptable proposals at an early stage or ones that require significant changes to be acceptable thus saving the cost of submitting a formal application unlikely to receive a favourable recommendation.
• Early pre-application engagement may reduce the timescales for determination of the application - provided that all matters raised are included within the subsequent planning application submission.
• The service is confidential, and no information will appear on the public planning portal.

We will only arrange a meeting if we consider it necessary.

We will respond to you within four weeks for householder and local development or eight weeks for major development with an initial assessment of the development against the development plan and other relevant guidance. We will give an opinion of what the key issues are likely to be and a note of what supporting information should accompany the planning application.

Please be aware that pre-applicaton advice cannot guarantee that your planning application will be successful.

For householder development

If you are carrying out small building work to your home you may find our check if you need planning permission page useful.

To request pre-application advice for householder development, please complete the form and submit the relevant fee of £68.25 plus 20% VAT (£81.90).

For local development

The majority of applications we receive are for local development. Local development includes applications for changes to houses, smaller housing developments (less than 50 homes), retail and industrial applications. 

For local development, you can access all the relevant planning policy documents through our development plans. 

Our Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) and additional guidance for housing developments tells you the relevant considerations and any additional supporting information required in the formal submission of a planning application.

To request pre-application advice for local development, please complete the form and submit the relevant fee:

• Local development: £525 plus 20% VAT (£630)
• Single house development: £210 plus 20% VAT (£252)
• Commercial Developments and Change of Use (Floor Space Under 500m²): £210 plus 20% VAT (£252)
• Commercial Developments and Change of Use (Floor Space Over 500m²): £525 plus 20% VAT (£630)

A reduction of 50% will be applied to 'not-for-profit enterprises’ and ‘social enterprises’ as defined in Section 41 of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019.

For major development

These are developments of more than 50 homes, large retail developments and certain waste, water, transport and energy-related projects.

To request pre-application advice for major development, please complete the form and submit the relevant fee of £1050 plus 20% VAT(£1260).

A reduction of 50% will be applied to 'not-for-profit enterprises’ and ‘social enterprises’ as defined in Section 41 of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019.

Pre-application consultation with community

Major development applications need pre-application consultation (PAC) to be carried out between developers and communities. 

Where a PAC is required, the applicant must submit a proposal of application notice (PAN) to us at least 12 weeks before the submission of a planning application. A proposal of application notice is available from ePlanning.scot. 

A PAN is not a planning application but a notice to the council advising of how the developer intends to engage with the community about their proposal. This allows the community to put their views directly to the developer before a planning application is submitted.

For information on the requirements for pre-application consultation, please visit our Proposal of Application Notice web page.