Highway Authority pre-application planning service and charges

Information for our pre-application advice service.

We offer a comprehensive pre-application advice service for highway related enquiries associated with development proposals. Fees will depend on the service requested and the scale of the development proposed. You can view our pre-application charging schedule. 

Where pre-application advice is required for all aspects of a development proposal, and not specifically related to highways, pre-application enquiries should be addressed to the appropriate District or Borough Council or the Broads Authority.

Direct highway related pre-application advice will exclude the wider considerations associated with pre-application advice sought through District or Borough Councils or the Broads Authority. Therefore, any highway related pre-application advice should be seen as standalone advice. Further consideration will be given to advice received by other stakeholders throughout any subsequent pre-application or planning process.

Note: If you are seeking highway related pre-application advice within East Suffolk or Ipswich you will need to apply directly through this service. 

Fees, request forms and disclaimer

A formal request will need to be made and specific information submitted with the request, accompanied by the appropriate fee.

Note: The advice provided is based on officers’ professional judgement, without prejudice, and does not bind the County Council to any course of action. It also doesn't prejudice any future decision made by the District or Borough Councils or the Broads Authority in determining any subsequent planning application that is submitted.

Please note that we cannot accept payment by cheque.

Please note that manual payment processing of applications is available, but requests will incur an additional fee of £50 to cover administrative costs. We encourage using our online Portal for automated payment processing at no extra charge. Please contact Highways.DevelopmentControl@suffolk.gov.uk if you are unable to use the Portal.

Payments and application form submissions are all submitted through Highway agreement and works licence payment portal.

Make payment online

Process after application

Once your request has been validated, pre-application written advice will be received within 21 business days.

When a meeting is arranged, the pre-application written advice will be given within 14 business days of the meeting, or within 21 business days of validation, whichever is longer.