Planning

What is Permitted Development?

You can make certain types of minor changes to your house without needing to apply for planning permission. These are called "permitted development rights"

There is "permitted development" for a wide range of building works but they can be different from one property to the next, depending upon whether the house is a listed building, is in a conservation area, the type of works proposed and its position on the house.

Therefore you should proceed with care. One way of checking whether your proposal needs permission is to view the householder's guide on the Planning Portal that can explain permitted development for all types of house and proposal.

The City Council also provide a ‘Permitted Development Enquiry' service, which for the avoidance of doubt will provide a written response to the applicant concerning whether the development they wish to proceed with is permitted development or whether a formal application for planning permission is needed.

The service is chargeable and the fees can be found here

Please check that your property falls within Worcester City Council administrative boundary. We are unable to respond to property queries outside of Worcester City (refunds are subject to £10 administrative fee).

Submit a permitted development enquiry

The City Council actively encourages the use of the Planning Portal for online submission of Planning Applications, we currently receive 50% of all applications online and are seeking to increase this further.

The Planning Portal Service is free and registration is easy, the benefits include;

Immediate delivery and acknowledgement
Savings on postage and printing costs
Online help function when completing applications
Online record of your completed applications
Online payment

For the above reasons we recommend you make your application via the Planning Portal.

Make an online application

Please Note: Applications submitted to the Council must be accompanied by the correct application form in order for the application to be registered on submission.

A wide range of application forms are available via the Planning Portal, the most common forms submitted to the City Council are;

Householder Development (works to and within the curtilage of existing dwellings)
pdf Full Application (1.87 MB) (Includes erection of dwellings, change of use etc.)
Listed Building Consent (works and alterations to Listed Buildings)
Advertisements (consent to display and advert)
Discharge of Conditions (application to discharge conditions after a decision has been issued)
Works to Trees (application for tree works; trees subject to TPO and/or works to trees in Conservation Areas)
document Variation of obligations Section 106 (38 KB)

For the full range of planning application forms available please visit the Planning Portal and utilise their E-Cabinet for application forms here.

The City Council processes a wide range of applications every year and for most consultation with local residents is an essential part of the process.

Why are you consulted?

When making decisions about planning applications, the Council takes into account the views of those people who are likely to be affected by the development. You may wish to support an application, suggest changes to it to overcome any concerns you may have, or raise objections.

If an application has been submitted, properties with land adjoining the application site will normally be consulted for their views. For Major proposals which would have a greater impact on the local area sometimes additional consultation with surrounding properties is required. In all cases consultation is undertaken in accordance with the statutory requirements of National Government and the pdf Statement of Community Involvement (1.38 MB) .

How are you consulted?

In the first instance any correspondence from the City Council will be in the form of a letter, the letter sets out the application reference number, describes the development and the time scale for any comments to be provided (in most cases this is 21 days from the date of the letter). Please note that should you provide us with your email address any additional contact will be via email.

Making comments

Make a comment

If you wish to provide the City Council with your comments on an application it is recommended that you utilise the Planning Search Function to review the online documentation and make comments online. This allows the City Council to process the comments quicker and provides you with a notification of receipt.

Please note It may take a few days before your comment is viewable on the online planning application.

Should you be unable to provide comments online, it is helpful to quote the application reference number and the site address of the application to which your comments relate. Comments made by letter should be addressed to Planning, Worcester City Council, The Guildhall, High Street, Worcester, WR1 2EY. Please note that no acknowledgement of receipt will be provided for comments made in this way. Generally, the City Council requires 48 hours to process comments made on planning applications.

Should you wish to make any further representations to an application following publication of the Planning Committee agenda all comments should be received by no later than 4pm on the Tuesday before the Planning Committee meeting to enable circulation to Members of the Planning Committee for their attention in the consideration of the application at the meeting.

If you experience any technical problems when using our webpages then please let us know by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Any comments made on an application will in conjunction with the name and address of the consultee, form a public document and be displayed online for viewing by members of the public. For full privacy information please see the Development Control Privacy Notice

The content of your comments should accord with the pdf Terms and Conditions (68 KB) of the Planning Search Function. The City Council can only take into account what are referred to as material planning considerations when reviewing the content of public comments. Any comments that are inflammatory or slanderous will not be displayed online or considered by the Case Officer. Anonymous comments will also not be considered by the Case Officer.

A guide to making comments on applications has been produced that sets out the issues that can and cannot be considered by the City Council.

Notification of Decisions and Planning Committee Meetings

The City Council does not notify members of the public of decisions taken on applications. The Planning Search Function is updated once a decision is reached and the relevant Decision Notice is available to view.

The City Council does not notify members of the public which Planning Committee meeting an application may be taken too. The Planning Search Function however is updated with a Target Committee Date if an application is selected for a Planning Committee meeting.

It is advisable that interested parties should review the Planning Committee information to familiarise themselves with the process.

Worcester is a city of significant heritage importance and as such Worcester City Council play a vital role in ensuring that all new proposed development is of a sufficient appropriate quality. The City Council deal with over 900 applications each year of which over 90% are approved either through delegated officer powers or Planning Committee. The City also boasts 18 conservation areas and 707 listed buildings as well as areas surrounding the city wall and cathedral being of significant archaeological merit; all of which contributes to Worcester's status as a heritage city.

Search planning applications View weekly lists of planning applications Planning application process Commenting on planning applications Apply for planning permission Do I need planning permission?What is Planning Committee?Do I need Building Regulations?

We endeavour to provide a comprehensive and informative service and also covers a broad range of services including:

How Planning Policy is involved in decision making Planning Enforcement Archaeology Heritage Biodiversity Works to trees Street naming and numbering Land searches and charges City Centre Masterplan

The Town and Country Planning (Brownfield Land Register) Regulations 2017, which came into force on 16 April 2017, require Local Planning Authorities to prepare, maintain and publish registers of previously developed (brownfield) land. Brownfield land registers are intended to provide up-to-date and consistent information on sites that local authorities consider to be appropriate for residential development.

The Register consists of two parts:

part 1 is a list of all sites considered to be appropriate for residential development
part 2 is made up of sites which have been taken forward from Part 1 of the Register and given Planning Permission in Principle (PIP)

The Council is required to update its Brownfield Land Register at least once a year.

In order for sites to be included in Part 1 of the Register, i.e. appropriate for residential development, they must meet the following criteria:

the site must be classified as Previously Developed Land, as defined by the glossary to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
the site should be at least 0.25 hectares in size or capable of supporting at least 5 dwellings
the land is suitable for residential development;
the land is available for residential development
residential development of the land is achievable within 15 years

Detailed guidance on brownfield land registers was published on 28 July 2017 through National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG). The format of the brownfield land register is set out in the Brownfield Land Registers Data Standard published by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

default View the 2025 Brownfield Land Register (32 KB) .

Please note that all sites on the Brownfield Land Register 2025 have been included on Part 1 of the Register. There are currently no sites on Part 2 of the Register.

This data has been provided under the Open Government Licence.

Additionally, maps of the sites that have been included in Worcester City Council’s Brownfield Land Register 2025 can be viewed or downloaded in PDF format via the following links:

Under legislative instruction, the register will be reviewed at least annually. If you have a site that you think could be included on the Brownfield Land Register or have any other queries, please contact the planning policy team via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..