What it means
An FI request is neither a refusal nor a grant. It usually means the planner sees a way to a decision but needs something resolved first. Common requests:
- Sightlines shown on a survey drawing, or a revised entrance. See sightlines.
- More on wastewater: a revised site suitability assessment or system design.
- Evidence of local need.
- Design changes: size, siting, materials, landscaping.
- Reports: a flood risk assessment, AA screening or an archaeological assessment.
Timing
- Your reply: normally within six months of the request. The council can extend this by up to three months if you ask before the deadline and there's good reason.
- The decision: once the council receives your reply, it normally decides within four weeks.
- Significant further information: if the council considers your reply significant, you'll be asked to publish new newspaper and site notices, and the public gets a new period to make submissions. The decision then follows that period.
Responding well
- Answer every item, in the same order and numbering as the request.
- If something's unclear, ask the planner what they need before you prepare it.
- Get the right professional for each item: engineer, site assessor, ecologist, architect.
- Don't add changes nobody asked for; they can make the response "significant".
- Watch the deadline. A late reply means starting again.
Clarification of further information
After your reply, the council can ask for clarification of it, a narrower follow-up, before deciding.
The Planning and Development Act 2024 is being brought into force in stages and may change these steps. Check the current rules with your council.
Sources
- Planning and Development Act 2000, section 34
- Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended), Articles 33 to 35
Last reviewed 2026-10-02.