Watford Borough Council

• Please follow the links from the main Planning page for information on planning permission, applications and policy.

If you would like to speak to someone, please contact us. Our planning officers are available to give technical planning advice in person at our Customer Service Centre and on the telephone on tel: 226400 between 9am and 1pm, Monday to Friday.

We provide a walk in planning advice service providing general guidance about the planning process at our Customer Service Centre, without appointment with a Planning Support Officer from 9am to 5.15pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 4.45pm on Fridays.

You are encouraged to make an appointment for more complex enquiries that may require research in order to minimise the length of the appointment and to allow the service to provide you with the most comprehensive information.

Our pre application advisory service provides written responses to more complex enquiries. The council strongly encourages you to seek pre application advice before making a planning application. By doing so, you will reduce the likelihood of your application being refused and ensure that a decision can be made quickly.

We have a code of practice for planning procedures to ensure there can be confidence in the planning system, and that the process is open and transparent. The code sets out the way in which the council deals with planning and other applications. It is applied to councillors and officers of the council who are involved in the planning process, states what applicants and third parties can expect of the council and describes the roles of councillors and officers.

For a copy of the code please contact the Development Control team on tel: 01923 278293 or by email using the address at the bottom of the page.