Minor or Major Planning Application?

One of the first considerations when submitting a planning application to the local authority is – will it be a minor planning application or a major planning application? This is where planning permission has been requested.

Thankfully this is fairly easy to determine. The definition for major planning applications is made in the Development Management Procedure (England) Order 2015 or DMPO 2015 for short. This is of course subject to revision. If development does not meet the DMPO definition of major development it is non-major for the statutory determination-period rules. That does not mean every other consent or application should be labelled a minor planning application.

Major Planning Applications

A major development is any application that involves:

• Mineral extraction
• Waste development
• Residential development of 10 or more dwellings
• Residential development on a site area of 0.5 ha or more and the number of dwellings is unknown
• Development of floorspace of 1,000 sq m or more
• Development on a site of 1 hectare or more

As defined in Article 2 (interpretation) of the DMPO.

The major or minor split has consequences beyond the determination period. Major development is the main trigger for a design and access statement. Under DM1 of the August 2026 NPPF it should also be accompanied by a concise planning statement, and the major/minor distinction also affects the publicity the council must carry out.

Non-major and minor planning applications

For the statutory decision-period rules, development which does not meet the DMPO definition of major development is non-major. The term minor development is also used for specified smaller categories in planning statistics. Common examples include:

• Residential development of between one and nine dwellings
• Development where the floorspace is less than 1,000 sq m
• Development on sites less than one hectare
• Gypsy and traveller sites – up to nine pitches

Do not assume that every other planning procedure is therefore a minor application. Householder applications, advertisement consent and listed building consent are distinct application or consent categories, even though they are not major development for the ordinary planning-permission timetable.

Strategic Planning Applications

You may have heard of the term Strategic Planning Application. This is not a scale that is recognised by the government per se. It is more of a local authority decision.

Some local authorities will consider larger applications to be strategic in nature. This will vary depending upon the local authority. Although these are still major planning developments. This might be say over 300 dwellings or a commercial development of 10,000 sq m. Not all local authorities publish their guidelines for strategic planning applications. Typically such applications would be considered by a strategic planning committee if that exists.

Essentially more consideration might be given to larger schemes that might affect a larger number of residents or road users.

Timescales

A minor planning application should take 8 weeks, whereas a major planning application should take 13 weeks. These periods come from article 34(2) of the DMPO and begin with the day immediately following the day the valid application is received, which includes payment of the fee. Where the proposal is EIA development the period is longer, and it is set by the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations rather than by article 34 itself.

Two shorter periods are easily missed. An application for technical details consent, which follows a grant of permission in principle, is 10 weeks for major development and 5 weeks where the development is not major.

The determination period can also be extended, but only by written agreement between you and the local planning authority. Importantly, that route closes once you have given notice of appeal, so an authority cannot ask you to agree an extension after you have already appealed.

I say should as these timescales are often exceeded due to workload at the local planning authority. See more on timescales

If the application has not been dealt with within these timescales, then you have a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate for non-determination. Although in reality working with the officer might be the better option.

If the applicant has not exercised their right of appeal, and the application is still undetermined once the relevant guarantee period has passed, the fee paid by the applicant should be refunded under the planning guarantee. The guarantee is a separate policy commitment about refunding the fee, so do not confuse its timescale with the determination period set by article 34.

What it costs

Whether your application is minor or major also drives the fee, because the national fee scale is banded by the scale and type of development. Fees are set nationally rather than by your council, so the same proposal costs the same wherever it is submitted. See our guide to planning fees for how the bands work.

Other Planning Application Sections

Major planning application Page Updated: 22nd August 2026