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Everyone who sells alcohol, puts on entertainment or serves hot food after 11pm must hold a Premises Licence/Club Premises Certificate to be able to trade under the Licensing Act 2003.

There are four types of premises licence:

If we refuse your planning permission, you have the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate against our decision.

Who can appeal?

Only the person who made the application for planning permission can appeal. Appeals should be made to the Planning Inspectorate.

Who makes a decision about the appeal?

Appeals are considered by a Planning Inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State.

We try to determine most applications at officer level under the approved scheme of delegation. Any applications which cannot be dealt with at officer level are determined by the Planning Panel. This would normally include all major applications and other development which raises significant local concerns.

Major development proposals are often complex and raise a number of issues. We strongly encourage all developers to enter into early discussions on major proposals.

We will take a proactive approach to such discussions and where appropriate will organise a development management meeting where all the key technical bodies and consultees will be invited to attend. These meetings have the following benefits:

What is pre-application planning advice?

This is a process which encourages anyone wanting to carry out development to talk with the Local Planning Authority to obtain informal guidance in advance of submitting a formal application.

The Local Planning Authority request that the pre-application request advice form is completed in full and submitted alongside the required information identified on the form.

Pre-Application Fee and Category Schedule

To report any breach of planning control, contact us or complete our 'report a planning breach' form.

To help us to investigate your complaint, the following information is useful:

Consent to display an advertisement(s) is required for certain types of advertisement. You can find more information on advertisement consent on the Planning Portal website.

A guide is also available from the Planning Portal titled ‘Outdoor advertisements and signs: a guide for advertisers’.

Change of use

Uses of land and buildings are divided into various categories known as 'use classes'.

In many cases involving similar types of use, a change of use of a building or land may not need planning permission. Planning permission is not needed when both the present and proposed use fall within the same use class, for example a greengrocers shop can change to a shoe shop without permission.

Some alterations to your home may not require planning permission and could be carried out as a permitted development, if they satisfy certain limits and conditions. These may include the following:-

What constitutes a protected hedgerow?

These regulations relate to any hedgerows that are growing on, or adjacent to, land used for agriculture. There are a few exemptions and it is advisable contact us to discuss your individual case.

Hedgerows within the garden areas of dwellings cannot be protected under this legislation.

Copeland Borough Council

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Who can appeal?

Who makes a decision about the appeal?

Change of use

What constitutes a protected hedgerow?

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