Pre-application advice

Getting advice from a planning officer before making your application is very worthwhile. It can help the process run more smoothly and quickly, while reducing the chances of submitting an invalid application.

Advice on the phone

A duty officer is available on the telephone (01590 646615) from 10:00am to 11:45am, Tuesday to Thursday, to help with general planning enquiries from members of the public. This is a free service.

Advice in writing

Contact us for formal, written advice by clicking on the Submit your pre-application enquiry online button below. If you need help creating an account, or submitting an enquiry, please see more guidance on our dedicated page here.

There is a fee for formal written pre-application advice. You’ll find more information on the Pre-application fees page below.

The fees for pre-application advice increase on 01 April each year in line with inflation.

We aim to acknowledge pre-application requests within three working days of receipt. An acknowledgement letter will advise the name and contact details of the Planning Officer dealing with the application, a response date and reference number. If you need to contact us, please quote the reference number.

A planning officer will write to confirm the advice given at the pre-application stage within 15 working days of receiving your application. All advice given will be based on an objective assessment of the information provided, but will be given without prejudice to any final decision we might take in the matter.

When submitting your pre-application request, where possible, the following supporting documentation should be provided:

• site location and block plan
• elevations
• photographs
• any other supporting documentation

Please be aware that in some instances the case officer may be required to pass your enquiry on to an external consultee as part of the consultation process.

If you’re unable to submit your enquiry via the online system, you can still contact us for formal, written advice by emailing planning@newforestnpa.gov.uk. 

You can also write to us for advice at New Forest National Park Authority, Lymington Town Hall, Avenue Road, Lymington, SO41 9ZG.