Planning Maps for a New Build or Development Site

Confirm the consent route and level of detail

The route may be full planning permission, outline permission with reserved matters, permission in principle followed by technical details consent, or a project-specific permitted-development or prior-approval route. These are not interchangeable and require different information. Check the development plan, the authority's current local validation list and any pre-application advice before commissioning the final pack.

A self-build label does not remove ordinary planning requirements. In England, the former statutory BNG exemption for qualifying self-build and custom-build applications ended for applications made on or after 6 August 2026; assess the current exemption rules instead.

Build the map and survey hierarchy

Use a location plan to identify the site and a detailed existing-site plan or topographical survey to design it. The red line may need to include access, visibility, parking, drainage, landscaping and open areas necessary for the development. Other nearby applicant-owned land is shown separately where required.

• Current licensed location mapping at a suitable scale
• Verified red and blue boundaries and stated site area
• Measured topographical survey with levels and relevant site features
• Existing constraints plan for trees, habitats, utilities, water and heritage
• Proposed layout with buildings, access, parking, refuse, cycle storage, drainage and landscape
• Consistent coordinate base, north, datum, drawing numbers and revisions

Coordinate the architectural and engineering drawings

The proposed site layout should agree with floor, roof, elevation and section drawings. Sloping or constrained sites usually need sections and finished levels; schemes affecting a street or settlement edge can need street scenes, verified viewpoints or contextual elevations. Access, drainage, utilities and landscape drawings must use the same building positions and boundary.

Do not treat an OS-derived CAD file as a topographical, boundary or utilities survey. Commission measured information appropriate to the design and risk.

Identify report triggers before fixing the layout

Reports are driven by the development and local list, not by a universal bundle. Possible requirements include a planning statement, design and access statement, transport or access evidence, flood-risk assessment, drainage strategy, ecology surveys, tree information, landscape and visual assessment, heritage or archaeology work, contamination or ground reports, noise, air quality, energy and sustainability evidence and utility capacity.

For an England application in scope of statutory BNG, establish the habitat baseline early and allow room for the strategy. From 6 August 2026, development on a site no larger than 0.2 hectares is exempt only where it does not impact onsite priority habitat; other exemptions have their own tests.

Use the rules for the correct UK nation

Planning policy, application types, permitted-development routes, biodiversity duties and validation requirements differ across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Use the receiving authority's terminology and forms. Scotland's planning-permission-in-principle process, for example, is not simply another name for England's permission-in-principle route.