Guide

How to check if you need planning permission

We know that many of the rules and regulations around planning permission can seem complicated, especially if you’re not familiar or experienced with the process. That’s why you should always contact us early in your project – before you’ve started the work – to check if you need planning permission.

Contact us to check if you need planning permission:

If you’d like to contact us by phone, our duty planner is available Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 12:30pm.

Other information about planning permission

What planning permission is

Planning permission means that we’ve given you our approval to move forward with a development project that requires our consent.

‘Development’ includes but is not limited to:

• constructing new buildings
• changing the use and appearance of existing buildings
• making other changes to the way land is used.

Find out more about how to apply for planning permission.

Permitted development

Some types of work are known as ‘permitted development’, which means you do not need planning permission for them.

Find out more about permitted development.

Guidance for residential properties

If your property is residential, download our householder development guidance. It includes rules and advice for different types of development projects, including:

• porches
• extensions
• dormer windows and roofs
• conservatories
• outbuildings, including garages and carports
• decking, terraces, and balconies
• boundary walls, fences, gates, and hedges.

It also includes other important information about the planning process, including guidance on preparing your proposal, rules about overshadowing your neighbours’ properties, and more.

Download the householder development guidance:

Get external advice

You may want to get external advice (advice that’s not from the council) about your planning proposal.

For example, Planning Aid Scotland offer free, impartial, and confidential advice on a wide range of planning issues, including:

• planning matters related to your own home
• planning issues in your local area
• how to represent yourself or engage the services of an appropriate professional.

Find out more on the Planning Aid Scotland website.

If you’re not sure what to do

Asking us if you need planning permission is free. It’s better to contact us before you’ve started the work than to learn that there’s a problem later on.

Contact us to check if you need planning permission:

If you’d like to contact us by phone, our duty planner is available Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 12:30pm.

Religious marriages

A religious marriage, which includes any belief system, can take place anywhere in Scotland.

Civil marriage or civil partnership

In Renfrewshire, you can have a civil marriage or civil partnership at:

• Paisley Marriage Suite in Renfrewshire House
• Johnstone Registry Office
• Paisley Town Hall, Renfrew Town Hall and Johnstone Town Hall
• another venue with a registrar.

Our marriage suites

Paisley Marriage Suite at Renfrewshire House

Civil marriages and civil partnerships can take place on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday at the Paisley Marriage Suite.

The Paisley Marriage Suite at Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, can accommodate up to 64 people, including the wedding party. 

If you would like to have your ceremony there, you can arrange to see the marriage suite before your ceremony.

Paisley Marriage Suite

Johnstone Marriage Suite

Civil marriages and civil partnerships can take place on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday at the Johnstone Marriage Suite.

If you would like to have your ceremony there, you can arrange to see the registry office before your ceremony.

What we provide at our registration offices

We provide music and silk flowers at the Paisley Marriage Suite or Johnstone Registry Office, but you can personalise your ceremony to include your own vows, music, poems, or readings. 

If you want your own personal touches, let us know if you have any special requests when you have your appointment to give notice before the ceremony.

If you want to take photos or record the ceremony, you’ll need to arrange your own photographers or video recording.
If you’re having a civil partnership signing with no ceremony, you can take photos at the venue after the signing if you wish.

Paisley Town Hall, Renfrew Town Hall, and Johnstone Town Hall

Weddings and ceremonies at these venues are managed by OneRen.

Find out about these wedding venues on the OneRen website.

Other venues in Renfrewshire

You can have a civil ceremony with a registrar Mondays to Sundays at another venue of your choice in Renfrewshire.

Contact us first so we can let you know if the venue is suitable and available for your ceremony.  

You should check with the venue what wedding details they provide or what you can arrange yourself. 

Give notice

Whether you have a civil or religious wedding, you’ll need to register your marriage or civil partnership first. This is called ‘giving notice’.

Find out what you need to do before you get married or form a civil partnership.

You can have a religious ceremony anywhere in Scotland, or a civil marriage or a civil ceremony at a registration office or other venues in Renfrewshire.

Religious marriage

A religious marriage, which includes any belief system, can take place anywhere in Scotland.

It can only be performed by a minister, clergyman, pastor, priest, or other person entitled to do so under the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977. 

Civil marriage and civil partnership

A civil marriage or civil partnership can take place at a registry office or at another venue with a registrar.
It can only be conducted by an authorised registrar or assistant registrar. 

It cannot be a religious or beliefs-based ceremony. 

Civil partnership signing 

You can register a civil partnership with no ceremony at either of our registration offices. 

You’ll still need to book the signing, give notice, and pay the registration fees.

You can take photos at the venue after the signing if you wish.

You can have a:

• religious marriage
• civil marriage or civil partnership.

For all marriages and civil partnerships, you need to book an appointment to register your marriage or civil partnership.

This is called ‘giving notice’.

If you or your partner has been married or in a civil partnership before

If you or your partner has already been married or registered as a civil partner, you must produce evidence that the marriage or civil partnership has been ended by death, divorce, annulment, or dissolution.

If you were divorced or your separation was legally granted outside of the UK, you must complete either a:

• foreign divorce questionnaire if you were previously married
• foreign dissolution or annulment questionnaire if you were previously in a civil partnership

If your former partner has died

You’ll need to provide us with a death certificate of your former spouse or civil partner if they have died.

How to order a death certificate. 

If you or your partner is a non-UK national

If you or your partner is a non-UK national, you may need to complete a Declaration of Status by Non-UK Nationals form.

Find out more about getting married if you or your partner is a non-UK national (National Records of Scotland website).

If you live outside the UK

If your permanent residence is not in the UK, you may need to provide a:

• certificate of no impediment (CONI) from your country to say you can get married
• marriage visa.

You'll need to get a certified translation of the document if it is not in English.

You do not need a certificate if you are a UK citizen living outside of Scotland.

You can get married or form a civil partnership in Scotland if you’re:

• over 16 years old and a resident in Scotland, otherwise you must be over 18
• in a mixed sex or in a same sex relationship
• not already married or in a civil partnership
• not related to one another in a way which would prevent you marrying each other
• able to understand the nature of a marriage or civil partnership ceremony and consent to marry or form a civil partnership

You can also get married in Scotland if you live in another country and your marriage or civil partnership in Scotland will be valid in your country.

If you've been married in another country, you cannot get married again in Scotland.

Check if you can get married or form a civil partnership (mygov.scot).

A hate crime is any criminal offence that is motivated by hostility or prejudice based on the victim's:

• disability
• race
• religion or belief
• sexual orientation
• transgender.

We believe that there is no excuse for any form of hate crime: it is simply not acceptable and it will not be tolerated.

When it does happen, we want the justice system to deal with such crimes effectively so that victims have the confidence to report it, secure in the knowledge that they will receive a good level of service from the police and other agencies.

Disability hate crime

A crime becomes a disability hate crime when it is 'perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by malice or ill will based on a persons disability or perceived disability'.

Anyone can commit a disability hate crime.

They can be a:

• young person who shout abuse when a disabled person walks by
• carer who takes advantage of a disabled person by taking their money
• student who bullies another disabled student
• retired person who harasses their disabled neighbour because they have a disabled parking bay.

Mate crime

There are also some people who might make friends with a disabled person so that they can take advantage of them. 

They use their friendship to cover the fact that they are committing crimes at the disabled person's expense. Some disability organisations call this 'mate crime'. 

'Mate' covers a wide number of people including friends, family and carers. 

Sometimes the exploitation may not be an illegal act but still has a negative effect on the individual.

Why you should report it

It is important that all hate crimes are reported to the police. It helps Strathclyde Police in tackling hate crime. 

Challenging these people can stop this from happening to someone else.

Anyone can report a hate crime - whether they are: 

• the victim
• someone who witnesses a hate crime
• someone the victim or witness tells about a crime. 

No matter how trivial or unimportant you think it is, your complaint will be taken seriously when you choose to report it.

The information you provide is valuable because it helps the police to identify areas of concern or patterns of behaviour and could lead to the prosecution of offenders.

How to report hate crime

You can report a hate crime to the police:

• in person at a police station or speak to police on the street
• by phone - call 101 for non-emergencies or 999 if it's an emergency
• online on the Police Scotland (Poileas Alba) website
• in a third party reporting centre such as a library.

You do not need to know the victim or give their name when reporting a disability hate crime.