Some planning services unavailable during system upgrade works

From Wednesday 29 January 2025, we will be upgrading our planning system. Some services will be unavailable over a one week period whilst the work is carried out.

The work is due to be completed by Thursday 6 February 2025.

Affected services

Planning, planning enforcement, building control, local land charges, and trees will be affected, resulting in potential delays and slower response times.

Planning

You will be unable to search for, view, or comment on planning applications. Deadlines will be extended accordingly. Details of applications will not be visible through My Richmond or the My Richmond app. Planning applications can still be submitted through the Planning Portal, but they will not be processed during this period. 

Planning Enforcement

There may be a slight delay in our usual service while we upgrade our software. You can continue to use our online form to report a breach of planning control during this time. 

Building Control

Applications submitted from Wednesday 29 January 2025 will not be processed until Thursday 6 February 2025. Deadlines will be extended accordingly. You will still be able to request site visits, and these will be processed as normal. 

Local Land Charges

You will be unable to request a local land charges search from 5pm on Friday 24 January 2025, this is so we can clear all requests from the current system before the upgrade period. We will not be able to process any requests during this time. 

Trees

You will be unable to search for, view, or comment on an application for tree works to trees subject to Tree Preservation Order or Section 211 notices for trees in Conservation Areas. Applications can be submitted through the Planning Portal, but they will not be processed during this period.

What this means for residents

If you would like to submit a new planning application, you can do so through the Planning Portal, but applications will not be processed until after Thursday 6 February 2025.

If you have an existing planning application, this will be transferred to the new system, which you will be able to access from Thursday 6 February 2025. You will not be able to make comments on planning applications between 29 January and 6 February 2025, however, deadlines will be extended accordingly.

Features of the new planning system

The new planning system will look and function largely the same as the current system.

There are some minor differences in how planning applications can be filtered and viewed. The new system also allows for longer submissions to be uploaded rather than being limited to 4,000 characters. You will also be able to include images as part of your submission.

We welcome your feedback on the new system once it is live. You can submit your comments and feedback to citizensportal@richmond.gov.uk.

You can sign up to receive information on planning and other services including waste and recycling and roadworks by subscribing to our email updates. Thank you for your patience during the upgrade works.