Step 1: Check the site is in the Bedford Borough Council area
Check the Bedford parish map (PDF)
Step 2: Are the works permitted development?
Check what is permitted development and what this means on the interactive guides on the planning portal.
See other useful guidance:
- Dropped kerbs
- Electric car charging points
- Householder development in conservation areas (PDF)
- Schools, colleges, universities and hospitals
- How to check for permitted development and checking if permitted development rights have been removed (PDF)
For legal confirmation that something is permitted development you should:
- submit a lawful development certificate proposed if the proposal has not been carried out
- submit a lawful development certificate existing if your proposal has already been carried out
The links above provide the fee details and what needs to be submitted. If you want informal advice please continue below.
Step 3: Finding planning guidance online
Our How to guides provide assistance with planning matters. For example:
- how to find use classes of buildings / land
- how to amend planning applications (Guide 6)
- discharge conditions
- how to find applications and documents
Please also see the following pages for:
- Listed buildings and conservation areas including the conservation area maps
- Protected trees: subject to a Tree Preservation Order or in a conservation area
- Heritage statements and when they are required
- Shopfronts and advertisements in conservation areas (PDF)
- Hedgerow legislation
- High hedge complaints
You may want to appoint a professional (agent) to act on your behalf, this can be anyone that you wish to appoint, for example a builder, architect, planning consultant, loft company or someone familiar with the planning process.
If you choose to use an agent for your planning advice request, then all correspondence and enquiries will be with your agent, so please contact them if you have any queries.
Step 4: submit a planning enquiry for a response from planning
Due to current workloads we have taken the decision to temporarily suspend our discretionary pre-application advice service to enable us to prioritise the processing of current planning applications. During this time, we recommend you seek advice from an independent planning agent to assist you or proceed directly to submitting a planning application.
We do understand the significance of the decision that we have taken, and we will review the suspension of the service no later than March 2022. For those pre-application enquiries already registered and with officers, we will endeavour to provide concise responses to these as soon as possible.
If you want advice/legal certainty that something is permitted development / does not need planning permission prior to any works commencing, we advise you to submit a lawful development certificate application instead.
Archaeology advice
Minerals and waste pre-application enquiries
The minerals and waste planning service is provided by a team based at Central Bedfordshire Council. All minerals and waste related enquiries should be sent to: MWapplications@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
See full details of the charging scheme:
