How to Create a Location Plan: Step-by-Step

1. Confirm the rules that apply

Identify the UK nation, application route and determining planning authority before drawing the plan. England's national guidance identifies 1:1,250 or 1:2,500 for location plans, but each authority can publish further validation requirements. Scotland has separate national guidance, while Welsh and Northern Irish authorities publish their own requirements.

Use the authority's current checklist, not a plan copied from an older application. A certificate, prior-approval request or specialist consent may ask for a different site definition or supporting information from a full planning application.

2. Select current mapping, scale and coverage

Use a current, appropriately licensed map and choose the scale and paper size together. A compact urban site is commonly clear at 1:1,250; a large or rural site may need 1:2,500 so that the access and surrounding context fit on the sheet.

• Centre the correct plot, not merely the postcode pin
• Include enough named roads, buildings or landmarks to find the site
• Keep the entire boundary inside the printable map frame
• State both the metric scale and original sheet size

3. Define the application site

Draw one continuous red line around the land to which the application relates. In England, that should include all land necessary to carry out and use the proposal, which can include access to the public highway, parking, visibility splays, drainage or landscaping where they form part of the scheme.

Do not automatically use the whole ownership title or draw a tight ring around the proposed building. The planning site, the legal title and the physical features shown on the map answer different questions. Other close or adjoining land owned by the applicant is normally shown in blue where the applicable rules require it.

4. Add the identifying information

The final sheet should be intelligible without the ordering screen. Give it a clear title or site address, show north, retain the scale bar and mapping acknowledgement, and make the red and blue lines distinguishable over the base map.

• Site address or drawing title
• North point
• Metric scale and paper size
• Scale bar
• Map copyright and licence details
• Drawing number, date or revision where part of a drawing set

5. Export without changing the scale

PDF is normally the safest issued format because it preserves a fixed page. Export at the intended sheet size and avoid reopening the file in software that crops the margins, changes page dimensions or uses fit-to-page. If the plan will be uploaded through the Planning Portal, check its current file-format rules as well as the authority's requirements.

6. Run a final validation check

Open the finished file rather than relying on the editor preview. Confirm that the right site is marked, every boundary closes, all necessary access is included, north and scale remain visible and the site can be found from the surrounding context.