House Planning Help Podcast HPH396: Getting planning permission for a replacement dwelling – with Mark Doodes
Feb 9, 2026
Mark Doodes, a chartered town planner who advises on residential and replacement dwelling planning, walks through what submitting a demolish-and-rebuild application involves. He explores where to start with planning research. He covers green belt strategies, permitted development tactics, designing for local context, common refusal reasons, realistic timelines and using fallbacks and pre-purchase assessments.
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Career Flip From IT To Planning
- Mark left IT for planning after spotting demand for e-planning and joined a local authority planning team.
- Losing his job in the credit crunch pushed him into private practice and led him to set up his own firm.
Planning Is A System Of Interlocking Rules
- The planning system blends legislation, local plans, neighbourhood plans and case law to guide decisions.
- Understanding all moving parts is essential because one element alone rarely determines the outcome.
Start With The Local Plan
- Start research at the local plan, not just Google Earth or utilities on site.
- Check allocations, five-year land supply and policies before assuming a site is developable.