Planning is a complex area for most people to get their head around, whether you are someone seeking to make an alteration to your premises or whether you are a citizen concerned about the impact of a planning application near to where you live.

On this page we list resources that will be of use to anyone who needs to engage with the planning system in any way. 

The information is provided for educational purposes only. Professional advice should always be obtained from a suitably qualified professional or from from the Local Planning Authority, which for Spalding is South Holland District Council.

National Resources

The Planning Portal is delivered by PortalPlanQuest Limited, which is a joint venture between TerraQuest Solutions Limited and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG).  This site has lots of useful guidance for anyone considering undertaking a development, whether it be a new building, an extension or simply an alteration to an existing building.

The Government’s Planning Practice Guidance  collection includes links to the National Planning Policy Framework that all planning authorities need to consider when developing local plans or when considering individual planning proposals. This guidance is referred to when planning applications are considered by the local planning authority. Therefore, if a planning proposal takes into account this guidance, then it is more likely to be considered acceptable by a local planning authority.

Outdoor advertisements and signs: a guide for advertisers is a booklet that sets out when planning consent for advertising, including shop signs, may be required under The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007.  

The Government’s National Design Guide sets out the characteristics of well-designed places and demonstrates what good design means in practice.

The Local Government Association’s booklet Probity in Planning provides advice for Councillors and Officers who are involved in decision making on planning. It clarifies how councillors can get involved in discussions on plan making and on planning applications on behalf of their communities, in a fair, impartial and transparent way.

Historic England is the public body that champions our national heritage and identifies and protects that heritage. They provide a wide range of resources, support and grant advice to help planning professionals and owners of older buildings to look after our heritage in a sustainable way.

Historic England’s National Heritage List for England is the only official up-to-date register of all nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England. Any building or site that is on the list will be subject to tighter planning controls.

National Amenity Societies

National Amenity Societies have expertise on historic buildings of a particular period. Many are statutory consultees for planning applications, but they also offer advice to owners of historic buildings on a range of issues. Several provide membership schemes allowing people with an interest in buildings of a particular period to become actively involved in their protection.

Historic Buildings & Places champions historic buildings and places of all ages and all types and work to provide a sustainable future for all of them.

Council for British Archaeology champions archaeology across the UK.

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings focuses mainly on buildings and structures dating from before 1700. 

The Georgian Group specialises in buildings of the Georgian period of the 1700s and the early to mid-1800s.

The Victorian Society specialises in buildings of the Victorian and Edwardian periods between 1840 and 1914.

The Twentieth Century Society specialises in high-quality buildings from 1914 to the end of the last century.

The Gardens Trust helps to protect historic parks and gardens.

Local Resources

South Holland District Council is the local planning authority for Spalding and the South Holland area. Their planning pages include contact information for advice in connection with planning matters and on planning enforcement issues. Their pages also include current and historic planning applications in the local area. 

South East Lincolnshire Local Plan sets out the local plan for parts of South & East Lincolnshire covering the period 2011-2019 adopted by South East Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee made up of Councillors from Lincolnshire County Council, Boston Borough Council and South Holland District Council. The local plan includes local planning policies that are supplemental to national planning policies. This guidance is also referred to when planning applications are considered by the local planning authority. Therefore, if a planning proposal also takes into account this guidance, then it is more likely to be considered acceptable by the local planning authority.

South & East Lincolnshire Traditional Buildings Design Guide together with the Spalding Shopfront Design Guide were put out for consultation at the end of 2025. The consultation period is now closed. This guidance, together with the Spalding Heritage Strategy and conservation area appraisals for various local towns including Spalding, can be found on the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership website.