For landowners and small developers in England
Permission in Principle (PiP) for Small Sites
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 8 min read
The short answer
Permission in principle (PiP) is a two-stage route to planning permission for small housing-led sites in England. The first stage settles only location, land use and amount; the detail follows in a technical details consent.
- You can apply to the council for PiP on a minor scheme: fewer than 10 houses, under 1,000 m² of new floorspace and a site under 1 hectare.
- Sites on Part 2 of a council's brownfield land register already have PiP, by default for five years.
- The council fee since 1 April 2026 is £531 for each 0.1 hectare, and the decision is due within 5 weeks.
- PiP carries no conditions and no Section 106 agreement, so larger or more complex sites usually need outline or full permission.
Permission in principle (PiP) is a two-stage route to planning permission for small housing-led sites. The first stage asks one question: is this site suitable for housing in principle? The detail follows later, in a second application called technical details consent.
The route exists in England only. It suits owners who want an early answer on a plot before paying for full drawings and reports. Without one, you can spend on design for a site the council will never accept for housing. Our planning consultants for small sites use PiP where it fits, and say so when it does not.
Have a plot in mind? Ask for a free site appraisal. We test the site, price the build with our own construction team and tell you which route fits. Our Development Director, Rob Barton, took 10,000+ homes through planning in his previous roles.
What permission in principle (PiP) is
Section 58A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 sets the rule. "Permission in principle may be granted for housing-led development of land in England". It cannot be granted for minerals working.
Government guidance limits the first stage to three things: "location, land use and amount of development". The council does not judge design, layout or materials at this point.
When it grants PiP on an application, the council must state a range. It sets the minimum and maximum net number of homes permitted in principle. Any non-housing use must be named with its scale. Housing must take up most of the floorspace.
| Stage | What it decides | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Permission in principle | Location, land use and amount of development | An agreed principle, for a set period |
| 2. Technical details consent | Every matter needed for a full planning permission | Planning permission to build |
PiP is an English consent. The Act says references to it are ignored for land in Wales. Scotland uses the same name, planning permission in principle, for a separate consent. The Scottish Act makes it closer to outline permission: set matters need approval before work begins.
There are two ways to get PiP. You apply to the council, or the council places the site on Part 2 of the brownfield land register. Not sure your project needs consent at all? Start with our guide on whether you need planning permission.
The application route for minor schemes
The application route is for minor schemes. The Permission in Principle Order 2017 bars four kinds of development from it:
- Major development. Here that means 10 or more houses, 1,000 m² or more of new floorspace, or a site of 1 hectare or more.
- Householder development. Extensions and other works to an existing home.
- Habitats development. Schemes likely to have a significant effect on a protected European site.
- EIA development. Schedule 1 schemes, and Schedule 2 schemes unless screened out of environmental impact assessment.
In practice, that makes PiP a route for up to nine houses. The Order does not count flats as houses, so a scheme of flats is tested only against the floorspace and site area limits.
The application asks for less than a full planning application:
- The form. The national application form, with the particulars it asks for.
- A site plan. A plan identifying the land, drawn to an identified scale and showing North.
- The fee. Worked out on the site area, as set out below.
The council then publicises the scheme. A site notice must stay up for at least 14 days, and the details go on the council's website. Statutory consultees have 14 days to respond.
The brownfield register route
Every council in England keeps a brownfield land register. Sites on Part 2 of it have permission in principle already, by default for five years. The register can include major sites that the application route excludes. It cannot include land that has not been developed before.
A register entry needs a site of at least 0.25 hectares or room for at least 5 homes. You cannot appeal if the council leaves your site off. So check the register first, and apply yourself if your plot is not on it.
Technical details consent: the second stage
Technical details consent is where the scheme is designed and tested. Guidance says the application must "specify all matters necessary to enable full planning permission". When it is granted, you have planning permission.
The principle is not reopened at this stage. The Act says the council must decide the technical details in line with the permission in principle. Location, use and the agreed range of homes are settled. Design, layout, access, amenity and similar matters are assessed now.
What changes at the second stage:
- Conditions. None can be attached to permission in principle. They can be attached to technical details consent.
- Section 106. A planning obligation cannot be secured at the PiP stage, but it may be agreed now.
- CIL. The Community Infrastructure Levy may apply once consent is granted, payable when work starts.
- One application. Guidance says you cannot split technical details consent into separate applications for phases.
Publicity is wider than at the first stage. The site notice runs for at least 21 days. If an environmental impact assessment turns out to be needed, it must be done before consent is granted.
PiP does not promise the second stage. The council decides the detail under the usual planning rules, so it can still refuse technical details consent. That refusal comes after you have paid for surveys and drawings. So test the detailed design, access and neighbour impact before you rely on the principle alone.
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PiP fees and timings in 2026
Permission in principle has its own fee, based on site area. Technical details consent is charged as a full application. The table shows the council fees in England since 1 April 2026, with the figures proposed for 8 December 2026.
| Application | From 1 April 2026 | Proposed from 8 December 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Permission in principle | £531 for each 0.1 hectare (or part thereof) | £825 flat fee |
| Technical details consent, fewer than 10 new homes | £610 per home | £752 per home |
| Outline, homes, site under 0.5 hectares | £610 for each 0.1 hectare (or part thereof) | £719 for each 0.1 hectare |
The proposed figures apply only if Parliament approves the draft regulations. An application made before they come into force pays the current fee. Our guide to planning application fees in 2026 tracks the change.
Here is a worked example. Six homes on a 0.25 hectare plot count as three parts of 0.1 hectare. PiP costs 3 × £531, so £1,593. Technical details consent costs 6 × £610, so £3,660. The two council fees total £5,253. Under the proposed fees, the total would be £5,337.
| Step | Time limit |
|---|---|
| PiP decision | 5 weeks from a valid application |
| Technical details consent decision | 5 weeks, or 10 weeks for major development |
| Technical details consent with EIA | 16 weeks |
| PiP lifespan, application route | 3 years by default |
| PiP lifespan, brownfield register | 5 years by default |
| Appeal against a PiP refusal | 6 months from the decision notice |
The council and the applicant can agree a longer decision period in writing. The council can also set a shorter or longer lifespan for PiP if it has planning reasons. These council fees are only part of the cost: surveys, design and reports for the second stage come on top. Budget for them before you apply.
When outline permission is the better route
Outline planning permission also settles the principle first and leaves detail for later. Those later details are the reserved matters: access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale. Unlike PiP, outline has no size limit, and it can carry conditions and a Section 106 agreement.
Outline is usually the better route in these cases:
- The scheme is major. At 10 or more houses, 1,000 m² of new floorspace or 1 hectare, the PiP application route is closed.
- The principle depends on conditions. If the site only works with flood, highway or other conditions attached, PiP cannot carry them.
- The site first needs a feasibility check. If the unit count, access or value is still unproven, a development feasibility and site appraisal should come before either application.
- A buyer or lender needs more. Outline can fix access and a Section 106 position, which PiP cannot.
- The scheme is not housing-led. PiP needs homes to take up most of the floorspace.
- Environmental impact assessment applies. Schemes that need an EIA are excluded from PiP.
| Point | Permission in principle | Outline permission |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Minor schemes on application | Any size |
| What is settled first | Location, land use and amount | Principle, plus any matters you choose to include |
| Conditions and Section 106 | Not at the first stage | Yes |
| Decision target | 5 weeks | 8 weeks, or 13 for major development |
| Time limit | Technical details within the PiP period | Reserved matters within 3 years, start within 2 years of the last approval |
The clocks for outline permission are set out in our guide on how long planning permission lasts. For a straight answer on the routes, see how to get planning permission.
Sometimes the right first step is neither. A pre-application enquiry gets the council's view before you pay an application fee. Our guide to what town planning is explains how the local plan frames that view.
At Allitsen Road in St John's Wood, a vacant corner building in a conservation area became four costed options in four weeks. Your plot gets the same treatment. Send us the address for a free site appraisal. You find out whether PiP, outline or neither is worth paying for, and what the homes would cost to build.
