Definition
Permission in Principle (PiP)
A two-stage planning consent route for small housing sites in England. The first stage locks in whether you can build housing; the second deals with what it looks like.
In one sentence
Permission in Principle is a fast, low-cost planning consent that establishes the principle of housing on a small site, leaving the design detail to a follow-up Technical Details Consent.
The two stages
STAGE 1
Permission in Principle
- Fixes three things: location, land use, amount of housing
- 5-week statutory determination
- Council application fee: £539 per 0.1 hectare
- No detailed drawings needed
- Valid for 3 years
STAGE 2
Technical Details Consent (TDC)
- Deals with design, access, drainage, etc.
- 10 weeks for major sites, 5 for minor
- Council cannot revisit the principle of housing
- Must be applied for within 3 years of PiP
- Then a normal 3-year implementation window
Which sites are eligible
The PiP route is only open to certain sites:
- Predominantly housing — some non-residential floorspace is allowed but housing must be the main use.
- Minor development — fewer than 10 dwellings on a site less than 1 hectare.
- Not Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) development or development likely to have significant effects on European protected sites.
- Not retrospective — PiP can't be used after work has started.
PiP vs outline planning permission
| PiP + TDC | Outline + Reserved Matters | |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 fee | £539 / 0.1ha | £578 / 0.1ha (typical 4-home site) |
| Stage 1 timescale | 5 weeks | 8 weeks (often more) |
| Stage 1 drawings | Site location plan only | Indicative layout, scale, access |
| Surveys typically needed | Minimal — sustainability case | PEA, BS5837, transport, FRA, etc. |
| Best for | 1–9 home sites, testing principle cheaply | Larger sites, complex constraints |
Fees correct at time of writing. Always check current GOV.UK fee schedule.
When PiP is the right route
PiP is brilliant when the question on the site is "is housing acceptable here at all?" — and the answer will turn on a small number of policy points rather than design. Typical use cases:
- A landowner wants to test marketability before committing to design fees.
- A serviced-plot scheme where the buyer will design their own home.
- A site on the edge of a settlement boundary where the planning case is about location, not design.
- A site where the council will likely approve in principle but argue endlessly about layout.
- An infill plot or backland site where the principle is the whole battle.
The things to watch
The principle has to actually be acceptable
PiP is not a back door for sites that would fail outline on principle. Green Belt, AONB or outside-settlement sites still face the same policy tests — PiP just gets you to the answer faster.
TDC is not a rubber stamp
Stage 2 still tests design quality, drainage, ecology and trees. A council can refuse TDC even where PiP was granted — but the principle of housing is fixed.
CIL liability is calculated at TDC, not PiP
Some councils get this wrong. Make sure self-build exemptions are filed at the right stage to avoid a surprise CIL bill.
Time pressure is real
TDC must be submitted within 3 years of PiP. Then a normal 3-year implementation window starts. If the site sits on the market for too long, the PiP can lapse.
Related terms
- Technical Details Consent (TDC) — the stage-2 follow-up to PiP.
- Outline planning permission — the older, slower alternative.
- Reserved matters — the outline equivalent of TDC.
- Hope value — what PiP turns from a hope into a real number.
- Self-build register — councils with unmet register demand are more likely to grant PiP.
Could your site work for PiP?
Tell us where the site is and we'll come back with an indicative view on whether PiP is the right route, and what it would take to get a permission across the line.