Planning Services
Development Control
The Development Control Team is responsible for regulating development in the borough, mostly through the processing of planning applications.
What is development?
Under the Town and Country Planning legislation development is defined as any building, engineering, mining or other operations in, over or on land, or the making of any material change in the use of any building or other land.
This means that not only physical building works, such as house extensions, may require consent, but that changes in the use of buildings may need planning permission.
What we do in Development Control
We deal with planning applications and consider objections to planning applications.
We regulate the use of land within the borough in the public interest. We seek to balance the interests of the community at large with the rights of an individual to develop land.
Decisions are made in line with both national legislation and guidance and within local policies as set down in the Unitary Development Plan.
Copies of the Unitary Development Plan can be viewed in the Borough's libraries and at the Planning Reception, Town Hall, 1 Town Square, Barking.
Background material and advice to help you make a successful planning application.
London Thames Gateway Urban Development Corporation
On the 31 October 2005 London Thames Gateway Development Corporation took over planning powers for certain large planning applications in parts of the borough. We will still process planning applications, but the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation development control board will decide whether to grant or refuse permission for developments.
The London Thames Gateway Development Corporation area includes land to the south of the A13 and parts of Barking Town Centre.
A full list of the type of applications that London Thames Gateway Development Corporation will decide is in appendix A of the London Thames Gateway Urban Development Corporation Service Agreement 
PDF 73K
To view PDF files requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software.
If you are making an application that will be decided by the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, then you will need to pay the fee to them and not the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
For larger schemes applicants and their agents are encouraged to have pre application discussions with from the Council and London Thames Gateway Development Corporation.
Making a planning application|
The procedure of making an application explained and the opportunity to submit a form in paper or online.
View planning applications that other people have made and comment on your neighbours application, if no decision has been made yet.
View decisions notices, read Development Control Board Agendas and Minutes, find out the reason for the decision from the officers report. Find information on how to make an appeal.
Other useful information
Building Control deal with the standard that your development is built to and help you to make sure it is safe.
Other agencies that play a role in the planning process.
