OS Planning Maps FAQs

If you are you extending your property, carrying out a small building project, installing solar panels or need a plan for exterior signage, you will probably have to apply for planning permission from your local authority.

For most property developments getting planning permission is a legal requirement. It's main purpose is to control the impact of buildings on the environment. The planning office may require up to six copies, which National Map Centre's Planning Pack can provide quickly and efficiently.

You will need to contact the planning officer at your local council to discuss what type of application is required. If you are applying for Full Planning Consent, your application will need to include detailed site location plans showing the extent of your development. If you live in a Conservation Area or in a Listed building, the requirements are more rigorous. Planning officers recommend using the most accurate and authoritative mapping available, such as Location Map.

You will usually need to submit up to six copies to illustrate:

The word boundary has no special meaning in law. In land ownership, it is understood in two ways:

the legal boundary - is the line which is not visible on the ground which divides one person's land from another's. It is an exact line having no thickness. It is rarely identified with any precision either on the ground or in the deeds.

the physical boundary – is a physical feature such as a fence, wall or a hedge. 

The legal boundary may be intended to follow the physical boundary, but this is not always the case. For example, the legal boundary may run down the centre of a hedge, along either of its sides, or anywhere within or beyond it.

Maps provided as A4 will print correctly on most laser and inkjet A4 printers.  Please ensure your printer prints at 100% sizing - i.e. not "fit to page" or any scaling, as your map needs to be precisely to scale.