Planning application architects in Brighton and Hove

Where do you find Brighton and Hove planning applications?

The council runs a Planning Register for searching and commenting on current applications and viewing historic ones, though it does not include Permission in Principle cases. Registered users can set alerts and see applications on a map, and the register uses a separate login from the council's MyAccount (find and comment). Comments must carry your full name and postal address or they will not be recorded for the case officer, and the council does not reply to comments. It publishes a weekly list of applications too, and says relevant ones are advertised every Friday in The Argus (forms and checklists). Site notices are sometimes sent to the applicant to display.

Searching a street before you instruct anyone is cheap insight. Look for neighbours' extensions, dormers and conditions, and read the officer's report when a similar scheme was approved or refused. Those reports show which parts of SPD 12 the council actually leans on.

Householder form or full application?

Most work to a single dwelling, such as an extension, a loft, a porch or outbuildings, goes through the householder checklist. Three situations push it towards a full application. The council says a householder form must not be used for extensions or alterations to small houses in multiple occupation (use class C4), which need the full form (householder checklist). Its checklist for full applications covers extensions other than householders in a single dwelling, replacement windows and doors, changes of use or conversions, and new residential or commercial buildings (checklist for full applications). Third, flats have no householder permitted development rights, so external work to one starts from a full application.

A citywide Article 4 direction also makes planning permission necessary in Brighton and Hove to change a house from C3 to a small HMO, and policy limits where new HMOs are accepted (HMO guidance). If your plan involves adding rooms for sharing, check that route first, since it can decide the project before design starts.

What does the council expect with the application?

The core set is a form, a location plan, a block plan where required, floor plans and elevations at a stated scale and the fee. Locally it adds: a CIL additional information form for extensions and lofts, a tree plan if building work is within 5 metres of a tree, a flood risk assessment in a flood risk zone, and a heritage statement where a listed building, conservation area, archaeological area or registered park is involved. The council's heritage page says a heritage statement should answer five questions: what is affected, what is known about it, why it matters, how the proposal affects it and how the design lessens harm (heritage statements).

The wildlife assessment check is the local requirement people most often miss. It applies to householder applications for extensions, outbuildings and loft conversions, and to full applications paying the householder fee, including work to an individual flat. It does not apply to fences, garden walls, windows, doors, satellite dishes or applications for a lawful development certificate. The council says you must submit it with the application, and that any ecologist survey the check calls for must be done before you apply (wildlife check). Biodiversity net gain, by contrast, does not apply to householder applications or permitted development, though it does reach many minor schemes (forms and checklists).

What does it cost?

Planning fees are set nationally, and the council points applicants to the Planning Portal's fee calculator and fee sheet. Applications not submitted through the portal incur an extra £103 service charge including VAT (fees and payment). Pre-application advice is optional and charged separately. For householders it costs £154.50 for a written response, £194.10 with a virtual meeting, £237.16 with a site meeting and £37.55 for a follow-up note; where heritage advice is agreed necessary for a listed building or conservation area, the four fees are £408.54, £752.18, £860.15 and £118.42 (household pre-application advice). The wider service also covers minor schemes of under ten homes, listed building work and, through DesignPLACE review, major schemes (pre-application service).

Which Brighton conservation and listing rules sit alongside?

Listed building consent is needed in addition to planning permission where your property is listed, and the council warns that even minor changes in a conservation area may need planning permission. Article 4 directions limit permitted development in some areas, and the council tells applicants to check whether permitted development rights have been removed or limited at their address (when you need planning permission, conservation areas, Article 4 directions). With 34 conservation areas on the council's list and 39.6% of homes built before 1919, a heritage check should be your first step, not your last. The council's supplementary planning documents list includes SPD 12 on extensions and SPD 9 on architectural features (SPDs).

What if the council refuses?

For a refused householder application in England, the Planning Inspectorate's procedural guide sets the appeal deadline at 12 weeks from the date of the decision notice, with six months for most other refusals (procedural guide). Only 5.1% of Brighton and Hove householder decisions were not grants in the year to June 2026, so a refusal is the exception. If it happens, ask the case officer whether an amended scheme would succeed before appealing, because a revised application may be quicker.

More context is on the Brighton hub. The national explainer on planning applications covers the general process, and our pages on Brighton extensions and Brighton loft conversions cover design tests. Our guide to finding your local planning authority helps near the council boundary.

Questions to put to an architect before they file

1. Check they appear on the Architects Registration Board register at arb.org.uk.
2. Ask whether your scheme is a householder or full application, and why.
3. Ask who prepares the wildlife check, the heritage statement and any design and access statement.
4. Ask whether they will submit through the Planning Portal and who pays the planning fee.
5. Ask for written quotes on one brief, stating what happens if the council asks for more information.