Meanings
plural planning permissions
- UKcountableuncountablebusinessLegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land.First known use mid 1940s
At the Newcastle end, the first intention was to erect a steel lattice tower above the platforms at Newcastle Central station, immediately over an existing telecommunications apparatus room, but planning permission for a tower of the required height could not be obtained.
1964 August, “The NER's microwave radio-telephone begins work”, in Modern Railways, page 1295 more examples
If I am not sure whether what I want to do needs planning permission, how can I find out? You can write to your Local Planning Authority and ask them to give you a ruling (or, as the Act [the Town and Country Planning Act 1947] calls it, a 'determination') whether you need planning permission or not, and if you disagree with their ruling you can appeal to the Minister.
1949, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Central Office of Information (Great Britain), Town and Country Planning: The 1947 Act; 144 Questions and Answers, number 9, London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office, →OCLC, question 15, page 8The real wealth of information that could be drawn from planning permissions and refusals concerning housing, offices, industry, shops, etc., remains a largely untapped source and a number of assertions appear in the daily press and elsewhere about delays in granting planning permissions which only too often cannot be either confirmed or refuted, let alone be judged against statistics showing the wider context of the implementation of planning permissions.
1978, J[ohn] T[erence] Coppock, L[eonard] F[rank] Gebbett, “Review No. 15: The Statistics of Town and Country Planning”, in W[ynne] F[rederick] Maunder, editor, Land Use […] and Town and Country Planning […] (Reviews of United Kingdom Statistical Sources; VII), Oxford: Published for the Royal Statistical Society and the Social Science Research Council by Pergamon Press, →ISBN, section 1.4 (Survey for Plans), paragraph 1.4.1, page 113Difficulties arise when a use is abandoned and resumed. The question is whether planning permission is needed for resumption. Where a new planning permission is granted and implemented, the old use rights are lost. Planning permission runs with the land once implemented; cessation of use does not prevent resumption later on (this is particularly important in mineral working). Whereas a planning permission may be replaced by another planning permission, which is implemented, it is normally only uses that did not originally have planning permission that can be abandoned.
1997, Keith Thomas, “Legal Aspects of Development Control”, in Development Control: Principles and Practice, London; Bristol, Pa.: UCL Press, →ISBN, page 46The UK has possessed a land-use planning system since 1948 which allows substantial discretion in the consideration of the environmental implications of new development. It is possible for local planning authorities (LPAs) to prepare plans in which environmental policies are emphasised and to refuse development, or to impose conditions for planning permissions, for environmental reasons.
2003, Christopher Wood, “EIA [Environmental Impact Assessment] in the UK”, in Environmental Impact Assessment: A Comparative Review, 2nd edition, Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, published 2013, →ISBN, page 52Northumberland County Council will need to grant itself planning permission to build the stations in its area (Ashington, Bedlington, Bebside, Newsham and Seaton Delaval) and will need to receive planning permission from North Tyneside Council for Northumberland Park station.
2021 June 16, Philip Haigh, “North East passenger plans take an important step forward”, in RAIL, number 933, page 28Synonyms: building permit, construction permit, PP
Synonyms & antonyms
nounLegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land.
Origin
The term was possibly introduced by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 (10 & 11 George VI, chapter 51) of the United Kingdom.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch omgevingsvergunning, bouwvergunning
- omgevingsvergunninglegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
- bouwvergunninglegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
Finnish rakennuslupa
- rakennuslupalegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
French permis de construire
- permis de construirelegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
German Baugenehmigung, Baubewilligung
- Baugenehmigunglegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
- Baubewilligunglegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
Greek οικοδομική άδεια
- οικοδομική άδεια (oikodomikí ádeia)legal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
Hungarian építési engedély
- építési engedélylegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
Italian permesso di costruire
- permesso di costruirelegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
Japanese 開発許可制度
- 開発許可制度legal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
Polish projekt budowlany
- projekt budowlanylegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
Russian исхо́дно-разреши́тельная документа́ция
- исхо́дно-разреши́тельная документа́ция (isxódno-razrešítelʹnaja dokumentácija)legal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
Scottish Gaelic cead-dealbhachaidh, cead-dealbhaidh
- cead-dealbhachaidhlegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
- cead-dealbhaidhlegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
- cead-planaidhlegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
Swedish bygglov, byggnadslov
- bygglovlegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
- byggnadslovlegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
Turkish inşaat ruhsatı
- inşaat ruhsatılegal permission granted by a government authority to construct on one's land, or to change the use of the land
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with planning permission
Cite this entry
planning permission. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/planning%20permission
“planning permission.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/planning%20permission. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “planning permission,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/planning%20permission.
Source: planning permission on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.