Make a planning application

1 Overview

We deal with applications for:

the management of waste
the extraction of minerals
the extraction of oil and gas
the County Council’s own development (Regulation 3), such as schools and libraries.

For all other types of planning application, contact your district or borough council or the South Downs National Park Authority.

Find out whether you need planning permission.
Visit the Planning Portal to find out what it costs before applying, or to view a guide to the fees.

Before submitting an application we recommend you refer to:

our landscape and environment documents for advice on the landscape character and local distinctiveness
the guidance on water neutrality, which affects some parts of the county.

Visit our minerals and waste policy pages to find out about the policies and plans that guide where minerals and waste developments take place.

2 Your data

The Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) requires the determination of planning applications to be a transparent public process, and, as a planning authority, we are required to provide a publicly-available register of planning application details.

So, you need to be aware that information provided to us as part of the planning process may go online.

We will only use the information for the purposes of dealing with and considering planning applications, and we will process your personal data in accordance with the County Council’s data protection policy.

For further details see our privacy notice for planning applications.

3 Pre-application advice

Further information can be found on the Pre-application advice page.

4 Validation

Before we can register your application, we have to make sure that it contains all the information required to make a decision. This is called validation.

You must provide documents that meet national and local requirements:

National requirements are available on the Planning Portal
Local list for the validation of planning applications (PDF, 260KB)

5 Apply

We always recommend that you apply online, where possible, but if you wish to apply by post use the relevant forms below.

Waste and County Council applications

Apply online on the Planning Portal (external link)

When choosing an application type on the Planning Portal, please ensure that you select ‘Application is for Waste Management’ or ‘Application comes under Regulation 3’, as appropriate. Otherwise the application will go to the relevant district or borough council.

Apply by post:

Download an application form from the Planning Portal

Extraction of minerals applications

Apply by post:

Extraction of oil and gas applications

Download an application form from the Planning Portal

The application form and guidance notes are listed under the section 'Consent types not available through the online system and paper form chooser.'

Pay application fees

You can pay for planning applications:

when you submit your application through the Planning Portal
through the County Council's online payment system - select 'Miscellaneous', then 'Planning' and then 'Planning application fees including discharge'
by cheque, made payable to West Sussex County Council with the site location and applicant's or agent's details on the back, sent to the address below
by internal transfer (Regulation 3 applications for the County Council's own developments only).

If you are paying using the County Council's payment system, cheque or internal transfer, you must select 'Exempt from payment' when you submit your application through the Planning Portal, then arrangement payment as described above.

6 What happens after you have submitted an application

For valid applications we will:

validate and register it within 3 working days - larger or more complex proposals may take longer
confirm registration in writing within 2 working days of registration and provide the contact details for a planning officer, application reference and fee receipt.

For invalid applications we will:

clarify what additional information or fee is needed for validation
allow you up to 14 days to provide the additional information or fee, and if more time is needed an additional 14 days will be given if you request this in writing
return incomplete applications if we receive no response.

When processing applications we will:

consult on and advertise the application and consider the responses received
take into account any other relevant comments, including those submitted on behalf of the applicant or by third parties
take into account relevant government, regional, county or local policy, legislation, standards, advice and guidance
visit the site and assess the application, taking into account its possible effect on the local area.

Find out how we consult on and publicise planning applications in our Statement of Community Involvement.

7 Decisions and appeals

A decision is made by either a planning officer or the Planning Committee. We will then:

issue the decision notice and send it to the applicant or agent, usually within 3 working days of the decision date
make sure the decision notice includes all relevant information, including any planning conditions imposed or reasons for refusal
inform all third parties who submitted comments of the final decision within 7 working days of the decision date.

Information on how to appeal a decision is available on the Planning Portal.

Is there a third-party right of appeal if planning permission is granted?

There is no third-party right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate if a planning permission is granted.

However, if a third party considers that the planning permission was granted unlawfully and due procedure was not followed, they can challenge the decision through a judicial review in court. The judicial review process can only consider the lawfulness of the procedure that the Local Planning Authority took in coming to the decision to grant planning permission; it is not to consider the planning merits of the case.

A judicial review has to be logged within 6 weeks of a date where a challengeable ground arises; this is generally the decision notice date for a planning decision but is not always the case. Anyone considering a judicial review would be advised to seek independent legal advice.