In August 2025, the council moved to a new case management system, across Planning Development, Licensing and Environmental Health. This change involved moving 25 years worth of data from multiple systems into one new system and learning how to use the new system. 

Our officers have been working hard to continue working throughout the change, but there was a period of downtime, and we are still working through some of the backlog. As a result, our response times are longer than usual, and we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. 

Thank you for your understanding and patience. 

Pre-Application Fees increase 1 April 2025 

Planning pre-application fees increased on 1 April 2025 along with a restructuring of the pricing schedule affecting new residential and commercial development.  Prices at the domestic/householder level are subject to a small increase only.

General information

General information on planning and home improvements is available on the Planning Portal Interactive House.

Pre-application advice service

We have a chargeable pre-application advice service which is designed to provide consistent, quality advice on proposed developments.

The 2025-26 pre-application fee for householder enquiries are

  • Written advice for 'do I need permission'  £46.00
  • Written advice for 'is my proposal likely to get planning permission  £69.00

Our pre-application guidance notes give further information on the service, what the fees are and when you can expect a response.

Face to face appointments and site visits are available, if you would like to arrange one of these please email the team at planning.development@havant.gov.uk

No advice will be available over the telephone.

Why should I get pre-application advice?

If you are a homeowner or resident, our advice service will help you to:

  • Find out if your proposal needs permission, including a property check against permitted development rights
  • Find out if we recommend any changes to your proposal before applying for permission

If you are an agent or developer, our advice service will help you to:

  • Find out relevant material planning considerations
  • Receive guidance on policies and financial contributions
  • Identify any issues that needs addressing and assess the information you need to provide with your application

Where a pre-application requires drainage or landscaping guidance, we offer additional chargeable advice from our in-house planning consultees within the Civil Engineering and Landscape Team.

How do I obtain pre-application advice?

  • Use the online pre-application enquiry form for householder or non-householder enquiries
  • By email to planning.development@havant.gov.uk or by post to Planning Services at the Plaza. Payment should be submitted with your enquiry. If you are submitting a request for a commercial development, please use our new non-householder checklist for targeting our response to your requirements.

What do I need to provide?

  • A clear description of your enquiry
  • Plans, sketches or photographs.

The quality of information you are able to provide will be reflected in the advice we are able to give to you.

How do I pay?

  • Call Customer Services on 023 9244 6019 (say 'Planning' when asked for the service you require) for telephone payments.
  • Cheque made payable to Havant Borough Council and posted to Planning Services, Havant Borough Council, Public Service Plaza, Civic Centre Road, Havant PO9 2AX.

Confidentiality

Requests for pre-application advice and the response provided will not be placed on the council’s website. 

There is the possibility that under Freedom of Information Regulations (FOI) or Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), we will be asked to provide information about enquiries and we have to decide whether the information can be released.

If your information needs to remain confidential, please let us know when making your request.