Now that I have got pre application advice from Redbridge Council, I can apply for planning permission for a loft conversion in my flat.
Most planning applications are decided within eight weeks. As I had builders booked in for October, I applied for planning permission in early June. At first, I was going to do it all myself through the Planning Portal, but it was so complicated and time-consuming I ended up paying a planning consultant to make an application for me.
My planning consultant, John from Discount Plans, told me that many of his clients actually attempted to make an application themselves but gave up halfway through the application. I was happy to know that it wasn’t just me. If you are unfamiliar with the terminology, it is advisable to have a planning expert make an application for you.
It then took more than two weeks for the council to send me an acknowledgment of my application. However, they made a decision within eight weeks from the date when John made an application. I was over the moon when I was granted planning permission the first time around!