Purpose

To provide clarity to customers on the
National Validation Requirements that are currently in place, and
to introduce new Local Validation Requirements permitted by current
legislation. All our neighbouring local planning authorities,
together with most local authorities across the country have
published Local Validation Requirements. The introduction of Local
Validation Requirements sets out the information and documentation
required to make a planning application valid, i.e. live. This
means that Officers will have all the information needed to
determine an application. Currently a notable number of
applications have to be refused on insufficient information and
whilst we ask for the additional information where possible, this
is often not possible within the statutory timescales. The
introduction of the Local Validation Requirements will not only
ensure RBWM is on a par with other LPAs, but also provide clarity
and guidance for our applicants. This should, in turn, lead to
fewer refusals, fewer appeals, more approvals and greater customer
satisfaction

Content

AGREED: That Cabinet
noted the report and:
i)                
Approved the adoption of the National and Local Validation
Requirements and its implementation on 24th February 2026.
ii)              
Delegated authority to the Assistant Director of Planning in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning, to approve and
publish any minor changes to the National and Local Validation
Requirements, prior to its publication.