In accordance with the councils encouragement of early engagement with our customers in advance of a planning application, all applicants/agents are strongly advised to use our pre application enquiry service. The service is designed so that it can be responsive to the needs of our customers and ensure that we can offer professional, flexible, tailored and timely advice. It promises to help applicants save time and improve outcomes later during the planning application process and we can also discuss the type of permission needed, it’s validation requirements and how to submit.

Please view Pre-Applications advice and enquiries - Winchester City Council - Winchester City Council

The best way for submitting a planning application is via the Planning Portal

Applications - Applications - Planning Portal 

The Planning Portal have prepared a you tube guide to help you submit an application.  Link to guide

If you are unable to submit an online application, you can download the application form from the Planning Portal

Find and download paper forms - Paper Forms - Planning Portal

You will need to ensure when you submit your application, you comply with the validation requirements – National and Local Validation List Requirements - Winchester City Council

Where there is a need to submit information considered ‘personal data’ or ‘sensitive personal data’ under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) this information should be submitted in a separate document without cross-referencing in documents that can be made public, and clearly marked as confidential. The definition of ‘personal data’ and ‘sensitive personal data’ can be found in the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Guide to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and will include for example personal circumstances and health information.

Development Management Privacy Notice - Winchester City Council

How to format and label documents

Make sure all pages in a file are the right way up. All pages in a file should have the same orientation.

Avoid using colour unless it is necessary.

Put documents in separate files

Ideally have each drawing type i.e. elevations or floor plans or site plans etc. as a separate page for uploading and labelling for easy reference on the electronic systems and your neighbours.

Upload labelled colour photos of the public views of the site and proposal and relevant elevations and boundaries, in context.

File Size

When uploading supporting documents for your online application, the file size limit for each should not exceed 10MB.  You can split larger documents into separate files and label them as part 1, part 2, and so on.

Your files must be less than 30MB in total.

File Names

Name and number each document or drawing clearly and uniquely, using the full suite options available on the Planning Portal. You should include the title, drawing number and version, for example Drawing 001 Revision A – Existing floor plans.

More information is available Planning Portal advice on submitting documents

For large documents for Major or complex applications, we use Egress which will allow you to make a submit documents that exceed size limits up to 30 MB on the Planning Portal or Email restrictions. We will also accept a CD. Please contact 01962 848 177 or the case officer to make an arrangement for efficient receipt. This can be discussed as part of your pre application. It is helpful also for MDAs and Major applications that you also provide us with 1 paper copy. The case officer may request this from you.

If you submit via the planning portal you will receive an acknowledgement via the Planning Portal, and later a Winchester City Council Acknowledgement.

Your application will be checked to ensure we have all the relevant validation information, in accordance with the Local Validation List where a planning officer will contact you.

Validation is the process of checking that all relevant documentation and fee (where applicable) has been provided.

If an applicant/agent submits an application without the necessary documentation, fee, or with clear inaccuracies, we will contact the applicant/agent letting you know what is insufficient. If information or fee is not received as required or as per agreed deadline you will be charged administration fee for us to follow this up with you and administrate a formal invalidation of your application. If information, application fee or validation fee still fails to be submitted as required or as per set deadline we will return your application as invalid, and let you know we have closed down the case with option of retaining the administration fee from the refunded application fee as appropriate.

If you consider a required item is not applicable to your particular application, then you will need to discuss with the case officer who will contact you when they pick up your application in chronological order from the applications we receive from the Portal. You can negotiate informally or if your application has been formally invalidated you may send a formal notice to the authority setting out your reasons for refusing to supply the information under The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) Part 3 Article 12. The applicant/agent must have submitted all the other information needed to validate the application together with the fee (where applicable). The authority will then either confirm the information is no longer required and issue an acknowledgement letter confirming the statutory start date or disagree and issue a letter of invalidation against which the applicant may then appeal under Section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended).

The extent of information requested for validation has been the subject of consultations and will be sought on the basis of what is considered to be reasonable and proportionate having regard to the scale and nature of the proposed development and material considerations - as set out in The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) Part 3 Article 11 (3) (c).

The case officer will assess  your planning application in accordance with the Development Plan, Policies and other material considerations.

If your local validation requirements are met through the validation process with documents front loaded, this will speed up this process, or we may need to request this further information at this stage, but will need an extension of time to do this.

We will then consult on and advertise the application including any statutory consultees and neighbours.  You can find full information about the planning application process at (link to local gov website Consultation and pre-decision matters - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Once it has been made valid the application will be available for the public to view on our public access system, where you can sign up to be notified of all applications in your area. 

This may be made in two different ways.

Delegated Decision made by the Planning Officers, using the delegated powers given to them via the Councils scheme of Delegation.

Committee Decision the application is taken to a planning committee and discussed and decided at the Planning Committee. 

Committee details - Planning Committee - Winchester City Council

A Decision Notice will be emailed to you by your Planning Officer.