Search for planning considerations and constraints which may affect your development
If planning constraints apply to your area then you may need further consents.
Check the adopted local plan for polices relevant to your site. There may be ones that affect your development. The decision on granting planning permission should generally follow the development plan policies. This is unless there are material considerations that state otherwise.
The 'Find My Nearest' facility on our website is a useful tool. Information you can find includes:
Select a particular property by entering the post code or street. Then select any designations/considerations from the drop-down box.
Neighbourhood Plans cover the whole of Torbay. They contain planning policies and supporting information for each of the respective areas. They are part of the Development Plan for Torbay.
If there is a conservation area in/near the development, contact us for clarification. Do not solely rely on this system. Conservation Areas are areas of special or historic interest. The character or appearance of these areas is worthy of preservation or enhancement. They are judges on how special they are against local and regional criteria. They are the red shaded areas on the map.
If there are protected trees in/near the development, contact us for clarification. Do not solely rely on this system. We will then be able to tell you whether a tree:
A listed building is officially of national, historical, or architectural interest. It could be a building, object or structure. The map displays:
A pre-planning application will guide you on what permission you may need. It is useful if you are unsure about what type of planning application you need.
Flooding is an important issue. It is likely, due to climate change, that flooding will get worse. Within Torbay some areas are at a higher risk of flooding than others. Many areas are at little or no risk. There are a number of factors that contribute to making an area at risk from flooding. These are:
The risk of flooding can become greater when there are extreme storm events.
Due to the severe flood risk within Torbay, most of the area lies within the Torbay Critical Drainage Area. This means that you need to submit a flood risk assessment with most planning applications. It should identify predevelopment and post development flood risk. Development proposals should not increase flood risk either on or off the site.
Key considerations and useful resources
The Torbay Local Plan Policy ER1 Flood Risk boundaries (2015) seek to combine these data sets. They include coastal, pluvial/surface water and fluvial modelling. They are only indicative and subject to change. We have published a Sustainable Drainage Systems ‘SUDS Design Guide’ to provide assistance.
Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) Design Guide A guide to assist developers and other individuals in designing drainage systems incorporating SuDS features and provide information to aid approval of these features within Torbay.
We are required to protect and enhance wildlife habitats, species and geological sites through the planning process. Some habitats and species are protected through legislation, others are protected through national and local policy. Examples of protected species which are widespread in Devon include bats, dormice, nesting birds and reptiles. Please also see our South Hams Special Area of Conservation (SAC) pages for information relating to the SAC designation covering at Berry Head, Brixham.
Please read Devon's wildlife and geology guidance and refer to the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark Briefing Document for Planning for guidance on wildlife and geology and the planning process.
All planning applications must be submitted with a wildlife and geology trigger table. This helps to indicate whether the proposed development may impact on protected / priority habitats or species and will indicate whether a wildlife or geology report is required.