Planning decisions are full of jargon that means something specific and precise — not what it sounds like. This glossary defines the terms you'll encounter in planning applications, decision notices, enforcement notices, and appeal decisions.
Agricultural occupancy condition (AOC): A planning condition restricting occupation of a dwelling to people employed in agriculture or forestry in the local area. Runs with the land permanently. Also called an agricultural tie. Appeal: A formal challenge to a planning decision made to the Planning Inspectorate. Planning appeals are free. Strict time limits apply. Article 4 Direction: A formal instrument issued by a local planning authority that removes specified permitted development rights in a defined area.
Character and appearance: The most common reason for planning refusal — the visual impact of development on the surrounding area. CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy): A charge levied by some local planning authorities on new development to fund local infrastructure. CLEUD: Certificate of Lawful Existing Use or Development — formal confirmation that an existing use is lawful. Conservation area: An area of special architectural or historic interest with reduced permitted development rights. CON29: The part of the conveyancing search pack that records planning decisions and enforcement notices. Does not reliably surface withdrawn applications or pre-merger data. Curtilage: The land immediately surrounding and associated with a building.
Decision notice: The formal document recording the grant or refusal of planning permission. Delegated decision: A planning decision made by a planning officer under delegated authority, without going to planning committee. The majority of applications are determined this way. Development: Defined in Section 55 of the 1990 Act as building, engineering, mining, or other operations in, on, over, or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land. DPD (Development Plan Document): A statutory planning policy document forming part of the Local Plan.
Enforcement notice: A formal notice issued by a local planning authority alleging a breach of planning control and requiring specific steps to remedy it. Can be appealed to the Planning Inspectorate within 28 days of service. Enforcement register: A public register of enforcement notices issued. In theory enforcement notices appear on Land Charges searches — in practice, pre-merger notices and legacy notices may not. Extant permission: A planning permission that remains valid because development has been lawfully commenced within the time limit.
GPDO (General Permitted Development Order): The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. The statutory instrument that grants permitted development rights. Amended regularly. Green Belt: Land designated around settlements where development is restricted to prevent urban sprawl. The NPPF requires that inappropriate development be refused unless very special circumstances exist.
LDC (Lawful Development Certificate): Either a CLUD (for proposed development) or a CLEUD (for existing use). Confirms lawfulness without being a planning permission. Listed building: A building of special architectural or historic interest requiring listed building consent for any works affecting its character. LLC1 (Local Land Charges search): The part of the conveyancing search revealing planning restrictions and listed building status. Does not always capture pre-merger enforcement notices. Local Plan: The statutory planning policy framework for a local planning authority area.
Material change of use: A change in the way land or buildings are used that is significant enough to require planning permission. Whether a change is material is a matter of fact and degree. Material consideration: A factor a planning authority is legally entitled to take into account when deciding a planning application — including relevant planning policy, design quality, impact on neighbours, and planning history.
NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework): The government\'s national planning policy statement for England. Local plans must be consistent with the NPPF. Non-determination: Where a local planning authority fails to make a decision within the statutory time limit. The applicant can appeal against non-determination as if the application had been refused.
PCN (Planning Contravention Notice): A formal notice requiring information about the use of land as part of an enforcement investigation. Failure to respond is a criminal offence. Permitted development: Development authorised by the GPDO without requiring a planning application, subject to conditions and limitations. Planning unit: The unit of land assessed for planning purposes — not always the same as the ownership boundary. Prior approval: A lighter form of planning consent for certain development types where the authority can only consider specified matters.
RAMS (Recreational Impact Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy): A framework requiring residential development near European Protected Sites to contribute to recreational impact mitigation — particularly relevant near the Broads, North Norfolk Coast, and other SACs. Retrospective application: A planning application made after development has been carried out. Treated the same as a prospective application.
S106 (Section 106 agreement): A legal agreement between a developer and the local planning authority imposing planning obligations. Runs with the land and binds subsequent owners. SAC (Special Area of Conservation): A European-designated habitat site. Development affecting an SAC must demonstrate no adverse effect on its integrity. Settlement boundary: A boundary in the Local Plan around a settlement, within which certain development is more permissible.
Use class: The classification of a building or land use under the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987. Changing use within the same class may not require planning permission. VSCC (Very Special Circumstances): The test that must be met for inappropriate development in the Green Belt — the harm must be clearly outweighed by other considerations.
Standard searches check the public register. We go further — querying live portals, blocked legacy systems, pre-merger authority databases, committee PDF archives, Land Registry title constraints, and comparable decisions across your postcode cluster. What we retrieve determines what you know before you build, buy, or appeal.