Check the permitted activities before choosing equipment for the new site

Give the advisers enough detail to recognise what needs assessment. Describe the work in ordinary language before relying on industry labels such as “light engineering”.

For each intended activity, record:

• What the business proposes to do at the premises.
• Where it expects the activity to happen, including any outside areas.
• Its proposed operating pattern and relevant customer or vehicle attendance.
• Known process characteristics for specialist assessment.
• Existing documents or representations about the site.
• The date by which the owner needs an answer for the premises decision.

The technical people should supply process details accurately. Do not guess classifications or turn incomplete information into a declaration that an activity is low risk.

GOV.UK's planning guidance advises contacting the local planning authority to establish whether permission is needed. It also points to separate planning systems elsewhere in the UK. Use the correct authority and qualified advice for the site's location.

A fictional operator is moving from a site with an Environment Agency permit in England. It cannot assume that moving the same equipment carries every site arrangement with it. The Environment Agency distinguishes permit change, transfer and surrender routes. Ask the environmental adviser and relevant regulator what the proposed operation requires at each location.

Keep the old site's permit and property handback programme visible while establishing the destination position. One site can have outstanding closure questions while the other has unresolved operating questions.

An agent's statement about a building's history should be treated as information to investigate. Ask the property adviser to check the documents and any conditions affecting the intended use. Do not infer the legal position from photographs, neighbouring businesses or an equipment delivery booking.

Record the response, its scope and any conditions. Identify what remains unconfirmed and who must resolve it. If an essential activity is not supported under the current proposal, return to the candidate-site comparison.

Check service suitability alongside permissions. The business needs both an accepted activity and suitable provision for carrying it out; neither answer supplies the other.

Avoid releasing equipment on the assumption that a new operating model is agreed when its permitted activities remain uncertain. UK Auction Group can discuss the intended surplus enquiry while the owner explains those conditions. Confirm the release scope once the relevant business decisions are supported.

The relocation hub links the other pre-commitment checks.