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Minerals and waste planning applications

Find and comment on existing applications. Make a minerals and waste planning application if your development relates to quarries, mines, landfills and various other forms of waste in our area.

We handle planning applications for all mineral and waste management related development (including wastewater infrastructure) in our area outside of the national parks.

You should contact the national parks planning teams if your development is in:

Find and comment on minerals and waste planning applications

Use our online minerals and waste planning register to find and comment on existing planning applications and see decisions made on past applications:

Find a minerals and waste application

Read our guidance on how to comment on a planning application.

Make a minerals and waste application

You will need to make a minerals and waste planning application if your development is relating to:

  • quarries
  • mines
  • landfills
  • other forms of waste management

Make an application

For waste management proposals and for some types of application related to mineral extraction, you can make an application online through the Planning Portal.

You'll need to register with the Planning Portal, they charge for their services.

Or you can email an application form to us.

If your new development involves opening up a new mineral extraction site, extending an existing one or installing new mineral processing infrastructure you can't apply using the Planning Portal - you will need to make an application by email using the form below.

Please contact us for guidance notes.

If the development you are proposing is on some one else's land - it is up to you to let them know.
You will need to send them Notice to be Served on Landowners and/or tenants (PDF , 111KB).

Email the completed forms to us: MWplanning@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk

Pre-application advice and fees

This is a paid for service.

Pre-application advice can speed up the planning process, advise if an application is likely to be approved or not, and highlight any potential issues.

We will:

  • research the history of the site
  • where necessary undertake an unaccompanied site visit
  • consult with key consultees where appropriate
  • identify and assess the prospective application against the council's and national policies and standards
  • arrange to attend a meeting with you where appropriate
  • provide a detailed written response without prejudice
  • comment on the planning merits, possible areas for improvement and identify proposals that are unlikely to be supported
  • identify, validation and consultee requirements
  • establish timescales and explain the planning processes

We won't provide:

  • binding opinions or opinions on lawfulness
  • a formal planning decision or guarantees that an application will be valid or approved
  • detailed technical advice or design the proposal for you
  • an opinion that is future-proofed against policy changes
  • A request for pre-application advice must be made on the application form below.

Make a request for pre-application advice form (PDF 198KB / 2 pages)

We aim to let you know we have received your request within 10 days.

We will confirm:

  • that the fee is correct or if a fee has not been submitted, what the fee is
  • any additional information that is required before pre-application advice can be offered
  • the name of the planning case officer who will be providing the advice and their contact details

The case officer will contact you to confirm the timescales for issuing their advice.

If necessary, a meeting can be arranged to discuss the proposal prior to the case officer providing advice.

We aim to respond to a valid request within six weeks although this cannot always be guaranteed, especially for more complex schemes.

The application process

Applications are validated

We check that we have everything we need to assess the application.

The information required to be provided to support an application is set out in our National and local planning validation requirements.

We will get in touch with you or your agent if we need more information.

All applications are published on our website once they are valid. 

Notification and consultation

Once the application is valid, we notify neighbours and put up a ‘site notice’ close to the site. There might also be a press notice.

The site notices are displayed for a minimum of 21 days and the neighbours have 21 days to make comments.

We consult the local parish council on most applications. We may also consult specialist external organisations (like the Environment Agency or Natural England) when necessary. They also have 21 days to comment. Their responses are published on our website.

We assess the application

A 'Planning Case Officer' is appointed to deal with an application. Applicants or agents will be given their contact details so if you have any queries you can contact them.

They will assess your proposed development against local and national planning policies.

Pre decision amended plans

Sometimes minor amendments to the proposed scheme are received, either because we ask for amended plans in order to make the development more acceptable or because you may have a change of mind or circumstances.

Amended plans will be published on our website alongside the original plans. In some cases we might need to go back out to consultation.

If we think the amendments are acceptable the original plans will be replaced and the amendments will be detailed in the 'decision notice'.

Officer recommendation

Most decisions are made at officer level in line with our scheme of delegation. Such delegated decisions involve review and sign-off by a senior officer who is not the Planning Case Officer.

Generally only major and complex applications will be decided by planning committee.

Time scales for making decisions on applications

National Government has established statutory time limits for determining a planning application.

Decisions

We usually make one of two types of decision:

1. Granted with conditions

Although you now have planning permission you might still need to maintain contact with us. This is because most planning permissions are subject to conditions requiring more detailed information like, a landscaping scheme, detailed surface water drainage scheme and samples of materials proposed.

Some conditions mean that you have to submit extra details before work can start. We will check that you have met the conditions and if so approve the details, this is called 'formal discharge'. It is your responsibility to check if conditions need to be ‘formally discharged' by us.

The details of how you have met the conditions must be submitted on the 'Approval of details reserved by condition' form together with the current application fee.

You can submit the form:

If there is more than one condition to be  discharged, you can apply to deal with them all on one application and pay a single fee. If you choose to discharge conditions separately each application must have a separate application form and fee.

If you wish to change or remove any of the conditions attached to the decision, you can submit an ‘application for removal or variation of a condition following grant of planning permission (Section 73)’

You can find the forms:

Alternatively you can submit an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

2. Refusal

When an application is refused, the applicant can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

Appeals must be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in accordance with strict time limits. Only the person who submitted the application can appeal. There is no third party right of appeal.

Post-decision, non material amended plans

Sometimes we receive amended plans after the decision has been made. This usually happens where the applicant has had a change of mind or the site conditions mean the original plans cannot be carried out.

If the changes are minor and acceptable we will consider these changes on an application for a non-material amendment.

If we approve the changes a new planning permission will not be issued. The original permission still stands and the two documents should be read together.

If the proposed changes are significant we will ask for a completely new planning application.

Contact us

Email: MWplanning@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
Telephone: 01539 713 548
Address: Minerals and waste planning team, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4DQ