Have Your Say on Planning Application Requirements

Opens 1 Sep 2025

Closes 26 Oct 2025

Contact

LVLConsult@westnorthants.gov.uk

Overview

West Northamptonshire Council is launching a public consultation on its draft Local Validation List for planning applications. This list outlines the documents and detail that someone must include when they apply for planning permission.

What is the draft Local Validation List - Summary

The West Northamptonshire Council’s draft Local Validation List outlines the required national and local documents for planning permission applications, including forms, plans, and statements specific to each application type.

This guide is designed to help applicants meet relevant regulations and helps the Council make informed decisions efficiently.

This consultation is part of the Council’s wider Planning and Building Control Service Improvement Plan, aimed at making the planning process more efficient, transparent, and responsive to local needs. Your views will help to shape the final version.

Background – read more about how we have reached this point

National planning guidance, as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), encourages all local planning authorities to publish and regularly review a Local Validation List.

To develop our draft list we have worked closely with internal departments including Ecology, Heritage, Highways, and also Flood Authorities to identify the types of information needed to support planning applications in West Northamptonshire. In doing so, we have considered how the level of detail reflects the area’s unique characteristics and the importance of preserving and enhancing them. These include:

  • Over 3,800 listed buildings
  • 117 Conservation Areas
  • Areas at risk of flooding or land contamination
  • Important ecological and archaeological sites
  • Key transport networks

Why your views are important

Your views are important to us as the aim of this consultation is to ensure the draft Local Validation List provides clarity for applicants and helps streamline the planning process. We are inviting feedback on:

  • Whether the draft list is clear and easy to understand,
  • If it strikes the right balance between national standards and local needs,
  • Any suggestions for additional or revised requirements,
  • Views on the supporting matrix is in identifying what is needed for different types of applications.

Documentation

How to feed back

You can submit your comments by:

  • Taking the online survey by following the survey link below.

Take me to the survey

Should you have any questions about this consultation or require it in an alternative format, please email: LVLConsult@westnorthants.gov.uk

The closing date for this consultation is Sunday 26 October 2025.

For information on how your data is managed please see Planning and climate change policy privacy notice.

What happens next

After the consultation closes, feedback will be considered, and the draft Local Validation List will be updated where needed.

The final draft will be presented to the Planning Policy Committee for approval. Once adopted, the new list will come into effect one month later. From that point, all planning applications must meet the updated requirements. Applications submitted before the adoption date will follow the current national standards.

Decisions will be made by the Planning Policy Committee, with support from senior officers and legal advisors to ensure everything meets national guidance.

Thank you for helping us by completing this consultation.

This activity will open on 1 Sep 2025. Please come back on or after this date to give us your views.

Interests

  • Consultations
  • Planning and building control