Planning Portal Reviews 

I just think you're a waste of money, I'd rather deal directly with my local council

Generally the planning application process is okay. However, on the documents to be submitted list at present you have for example ' Front elevation' or Rear elevation' as if they are individual drawings. I put all my elevations onto one drawing so it would be good to see 'Existing Elevations' and 'Proposed Elevations' options listed.

Use the planning portal often for group developments and find the nominate payment function very helpful

The portal guides one through the process in a step wise and easy to follow process. It is very user friendly as you can complete or part complete sections and come back to them and even edit before the final submission. A useful user question section is also provided at each step.

I have always enjoyed the smooth experience of submitting planning applications using the Planning Portal but finding the gradual and severe increase in their additional fees unfair and basically greedy!
I always now submit directly with the Local Authority if their allow so.
The fact that the LAs have increased their own fees unreasonable at the same time doesn’t help justifying the cost of submission.
I am aware the PP have increased their scope of services but they should see the recovery of their costs in setting up these extras by implementing a separate fee schedule separate to the price of submitting planning applications.

Found the process straight forward and it was completed very quickly

The portal is helpful, but for small applications like mine (a simple prior approval process for solar panels in a National Landscape) the administration fee of £85 is way too much. There should be a sliding scale of administration fees to reflect the complexity of the application.
Also, the LPA never close out the application on the portal (I have 2 that have been submitted to my LPA) and they just say "Received by LPA". Both these applications have received written approval from the LPA (years and months ago), so why aren't these applications updated accordingly on my Planning Portal account pages??

Ability to contact people prior to submission was very helpful.
Submission and tracking of the application was very involved and not always easy, more at the time help would really be beneficial

We've used the portal a few times for guidance as to if planning permission is required. We've also used for making a planning application, however, on using the pre booked advise service, charged per half hour, we were given inaccurate information and your own planning officers were unaware of this advise service when they visited our property to discuss work on our property. Perhaps internal training is required when rolling something like this out.

Good service

Planning Portal is essential if you submit planning applications regularly. If you get stuck, the staff are very helpful.

I received my telephone call exactly on time. The answers to my questions were clear and concise, with no havering about or indecisiveness. Given the nature of planning rules and regulations and the various interpretations of them, I felt I received authoritative advice that could be backed up in writing should the need arise. We could all do without spending £72 for a short phone call, but, in this case, I didn't begrudge a penny of it.

It was a pleasure to do business with planning portal. The advisor, Faith, was extremely friendly, listened with care and gave accurate advice on all the questions I had.

I booked a 30 minute call with the commercial advice services team to discuss several significant privacy issues that my neighbours and I have with a new commercial build next to our properties. I was seeking professional planning advice and guidance prior to a planned meeting with the developers and it was important that I speak to professional, experienced planners to better understand local planning rules to enable me to express our objections effectively.

My contact was John and I was immediately impressed that he had fully briefed himself with the planning application in question and the relevant planning decisions relating to our privacy concerns that I had earlier disclosed which allowed us to quickly focus on the issues and possible solutions.

John provided much needed clarity in navigating local planning regulations and also identified outstanding conditions yet to be discharged which may prove useful in our case which I will pursue prior to the meeting.

I found John to be easy to talk to, he was professional with a clear understanding of planning processes and had a genuine desire to help, I would definitely use this service again.

That I had my advisory call in mid-October, and have only now - in late March - seen the application which it discussed bear fruit, indicates how protracted and stressful the planning process can be. I don't however believe that this is any reflection on the portal personnel, or the council planners, but only emphasises the benefits of enlisting their support. My recourse to the Guidance Service cost a fraction of the more tailored advice that was available locally, and it left even a novice like myself with - as it turned out - everything that was necessary for a successful application.

Absolute waste of time and money, contacted the planing portal for advice on a motorbike storage shed at side of house. Representative (who I will not name here) about as rude, unhelpful and condescending as she could possibly be.

On top of this called late, had none of the images, plans and drawing I had sent prior to the appointment available. When invited to send to her during the discussion, the attachments were removed by their IT. At this stage she told me to ask for my money back !

As for the service itself, you can find the same information online, they won’t put anything in writing, and will not be held accountable for their advice if incorrect !

Feedback says it all really !

Having always carried out the submissions myself, I thought that using the Portal would result in the Application being registered & validation quicker, rather than sitting in an 'in' tray.
Oh! was I disappointed, took just as long as a manual submission with the same delay, charged a whopping £85.00 service charge & taking over a hour to carry out the task. If you make an error & need to alter the submission, it is not possible - you have to repeat the process & again pay the whole fee.
Submit it yourself, save the aggravation, using the local Councils validation list -- it is not difficult. To cap it all the admin charge mainly goes to a private company, rather than all to the LA/government.

Arsalan & Kriti were extremely helpful & and proactice. Arslan gave very detailed explanation on his visit, he was very professional. The report was very detailed and helpful. Kriti was extremely quick in getting report to me and very supportive throughout the whole process. Highly recommended!

Overcharged on crefit card, called three times to request refund, every time agent just hung up as soon as I said my credit card had been overcharged.

Very shady organisation - has been escalated to my credit card company as fraud.

The first problem is that I am a clearly a humble supplicant begging a blessing from an all-powerful planning department. There is a conceit that 'public servants' are there to help, but of course they know and act as if it's the other way round.
So I was firmly directed by the local authority website to use the Planning Portal to submit my application (for Lawful Development Certificates). I didn't realise there was another option, and I didn't realise they were a private company.
I had such a struggle to upload files or find what to include, because there was no specific dedicated 'form' for what I was applying for. There was no layman's language or explanation. I am applying for two LDCs at my property, and the help desk had no idea if it needed one combined submission or two separate ones. The fee calculation system was like a time trip to Stalin's USSR. I have paid £680 and have absolutely no idea if it's the correct amount... but I do know the Planning Portal got £85 of it.
I really want to make a stink about my planning department directing me to submit via Planning Portal, but as I said at the start: I don't want to poke the bear.