Planning forms
How to submit an application and local validation requirements
To start a planning application please visit the Planning Portal (opens new window). For information before you submit your application, see our planning information page. Submission through the portal is the Council's preferred method of receipt. If applications are submitted in paper by hand or post, this may delay registration of the application as all the documents will need to be scanned and uploaded onto the Council's website.
For information on the fees for submitting a planning application, please see the Planning Portal fee calculator (opens new window). For requirements when submitting a planning application please see our local validation checklist.
Please use one of the following payment methods if you are submitting direct to Great Yarmouth Borough Council:
- using the Council's Pay online facility
- cheque - made payable to 'Great Yarmouth Borough Council' and sent to Development Management, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Town Hall, Great Yarmouth, NR30 2QF, making clear the application it relates to.
- BACs - contact us for more information - plan@great-yarmouth.gov.uk
Local validation checklist and planning application forms
The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 (opens new window) (as amended) sets out the national information requirements for planning applications, known as the national list. All planning applications must be accompanied by the information set out in the national list, otherwise they cannot be validated and the process for deciding the application will not commence.
In addition to the national list, the Council has published a local list. The list was re-published on 22 August 2024 with no changes from the previous list. The local list clarifies what information is usually required for applications of a particular type, scale or location. The requirements for each type of application are set out in the pages below -together with the relevant forms which you can use should you not wish to use the Planning Portal.
When we receive planning applications, we check to see that we have all the information we need to determine an application, and that the plans, certificates and fees are correct. This process is referred to as the validation of the application and it is recommended that everything required has been completed prior to submission to ensure the application is passed to a planning officer without delay. If an application is invalid and sufficient information/material is not provided within 28 days of notification of the application being invalid, the Council will return the application to the applicant. In these scenarios the Council will retain an administration fee from the planning fee in accordance with our fees and charges schedule.
If a scheme is acceptable and permission is granted, then planning conditions may be imposed requiring the submission of further information. Further applications to discharge these conditions, for which a fee is payable, need to be submitted. Submitting the additional information from the outset - at the planning application stage - in order to avoid the submission of further details later that may hold up your development, may be prudent and should be considered. Areas in which information can be provided beforehand to prevent conditions being applied are listed on our additional information page. In addition to the specific policy references included within the application pages below, some policies (within the borough-level Local Plan documents and the neighbourhood plans), include their own specific requirements. It is therefore recommended that, in addition to the requirements set out in these pages, the requirements of the relevant policies are submitted with applications. This ensures that applications have appropriate levels of information to demonstrate compliance with policy and/or why an exception to policy should be considered.
The validation checklist requirements for each type of application, along with the appropriate application forms, are set out below. Please ensure you read the validation checklist requirements before proceeding to submit any application to the Council. Additional information on some of the detail in the lists is included on our further guidance on validation requirements page. We have also set out some common reasons why applications are invalid within Great Yarmouth.
- Full planning application
- Outline planning application
- Reserved matters application
- Householder development
- Change of use (where no physical and/or operational development is proposed)
- Application for variation/removal of condition
- Certificate of lawful use or development (existing or proposed)
- Discharge of condition details or confirmation of compliance with conditions
- Non-material amendment
- Listed building consent
- Advertisement consent
- Hedgerow removal notice
- Prior notification - agricultural (Part 6 - Class A) or forestry (Part 6 - Class E)
- Prior notification - agricultural buildings to flexible commercial use (Part 3 - Class R)
- Prior notification - agricultural buildings to residential (Part 3 - Class Q)
- Prior notification - change of use from offices to residential (Part 3 - Class O)
- Prior notification - change of use to a school (Part 3 - Classes S and T)
- Prior notification - demolition (Part 11 - Class B)
- Prior notification - large extension to dwelling (Part 1 - Class A)
- Prior notification - storage or distribution to residential (Part 3 - Class P)
- Prior notification - telecommunications (Part 16)