Bluestone Planning

Did you know that since the 1st October 2009 applicants have been able to seek ‘formal’ amendments to their permitted schemes in a move that sought to replace the previous informal approach to making minor amendments to applications?

Often when a development is proceeding it becomes necessary to change aspects of the design or construction due to previously unforeseen issues.  In the olden days planning consultants submitted revised plans to the planning authority seeking their approval of the changes as ‘minor amendments’ to the permitted scheme.  

Since October 2009 however the government has formalised this approach with the introduction of Non-Material Amendments and Minor Material Amendments.  In general this is a positive step since it clarifies the legal status of amended plans.   In the case of Minor Material Amendments it will hopefully encourage planning authorities to facilitate such applications by imposing a planning condition on all decision notices stating the approved plans / plan numbers.  An applicant can then apply to substitute those plans if necessary.  

As with all positive changes, there is a down-side too; NMAs now incur a planning fee of £25 for householders and £170 for everyone else.  MMAs will incur a planning fee of £170 if a variation of condition is applied for.

Interestingly there are no statutory definitions of NMAs or MMAs – as with all things it is advisable to discuss your proposals with a planning consultant or the planning authority first!